Does anyone have an explanation for this?

[catstevens]

Hello! I'm new to these forums so I'm not really sure how it works but I hope it's alright if i just post this here!

I have a male orange tabby who is three years old and neutered. Earlier today I heard a ruckus coming from another room, and I ran to find him lying under a window sill in an awkward position with urine sprayed everywhere.

He was breathing very heavily through his mouth, looking quite startled with dilated pupils, and his tail was extremely bushy (he's short-haired). When I came near him, he didn't move at first, but then cautiously creeped over to a corner, where I eventually coaxed him to come out.

After cleaning the urine, he seemed to be back to normal. He was rubbing against things as he usually does, even purring. I have no idea what happened, and was wondering if someone could give me a possible explanation for what triggered this?

Thanks so much!

 

[thesighrye]

Hi there! Welcome to the site!

Well, first instinct on what you described is perhaps he saw another cat, perhaps another animal in general, outside the window that he wasn't used to seeing. Does he sit in the window very often? My cat does, ALL the time. Is it ever open?

Perhaps he saw an outdoor/stray cat... got freaked....spazzed out a bit and sprayed to mark his territory. Cats can still spray, male or female, even if they are fixed. I found this out recently with my female! Who'da thunk it, lol.

 

[catstevens]

He does sit in the window a lot. As you said, he must have seen something he hasn't before that startled him! After reading a bit more on cat behaviour, that's what I'm leaning towards. Thanks for putting my mind at rest!

 

[catsallaround]

I would worry about a seizure as that sounds how my cat was.  

 

[mservant]

The cat I live with that started having seizures would start to walk round and round in a little circle with his head going side to side as his eyes were doing that so he tried to follow them, then when he fell over he would toilet but not before.  He was pretty sedate and not walking about afterward, he would just lay still.  To me it sounds more like feeling really scared and threatened like seeing another animal or something at a window that spooked your cat.   If there is any more unusual behaviour though I would take him along for a vet to check out.

Mouse sometimes spooks himself out when he's going through one of those crazy cat half hour sessions.  He can knock stuff over or mis-judge jumps and fall off things and then the noises and movements in the room will get his adrenalin racing even more and he goes all jumpy.   When he pulled his cat tree over and caught his tail up in a toy he was very like you describe except the spraying, and thankfully I was just outside the room and racing in in time to catch the falling tree and able to disentangle his tail before serious damage was done.  It also meant I knew what had frightened him.  (Cat tree now firmly fixed to wall and no toys swinging from it).

 

[catstevens]

Thanks for all the replies, if something like this happens again, I'll definitely take him to the vet, just in case it was a seizure!

 

[thesighrye]

That sounds like a good plan to me. I'm really thinking he was just telling whoever...who's boss!'

So maybe it's an isolated incident. Happens again, take him to the vet because ruling out medical issues is first and foremost! Best of luck