Our cat is obsessed with 'phantoms'

[benjeremy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a cat seeing phantoms.... Shadow has been doing it less these days, but still gets in the mood. She also must be aware of how bad it is to get on our dining room table (she's really sweet and well-behaved), though when she is in the mood, she ignores us humans and our calls to get down from the table.

 

[kittykat718]

My cat has her episodes like this. Their senses are very sensitive so it could be something we can't or won't ever see or hear. Little weirdos haha

 

[kittykat718]

We're not alone:  

http://www.savagechickens.com/2012/06/why-do-cats-stare-at-walls.html

Love this hahahha

 

[lady of cats]

Maybe there are rodents or something behind the walls.  Could be what your cat hears.  If there is get yourself some mothballs.  If you have an attic put a bunch up there. 

 

[david's steph]

Ozzy is so handsome, what a guy looking out for you!  super Ozzy watching things, keeping an eye out, I love him!

 

[mosey]

I also have three cats who see phantoms. They will look up at the wall, ceiling, floor and on me!  I thought they might be looking at a very small insect, but on close inspection, I would see nothing. They will follow the phantom, independent of each other, and on different days and times. It is kind of creepy.

 

[mooka]

I adopted a new cat almost a year ago, when my other cat passed away.  Ever since, even today - the new cat becomes very tense and fixated on a certain spot at the top of the couch. First she watches this "phantom" progressing on the floor from down the hallway, then she looks up as if it went up on the couch, then even higher at the top of the back-rests and stares at it moving across the top around the couch!

She is a young cat, absolutely no health issues, there are no reflections or sounds when she does this and it's always the same spot she follows around the top of the couch. She only does this in the living room, with or around the couch.

The other day she stood up on her hind legs and watched a spot at the top of the couch so intently, it made me look at what she was watching cause I've never seen her stand on her two hind legs and try so hard to see what was at the top of the couch.  Of course - nothing there!

Sometimes she completely avoids the couch for some unknown reason.

Not to weird anyone out, but that is how our cat who passed, would jump up on the couch and sit on that one particular side, which the new cat stares at.  The new cat has never hung out on that side of the couch, just stares at it.  She chooses the other side, where the old cat never lingered. And she never stares at the "acceptable" side of the couch. 

Personally I think it's too much of a coincidence.  Cats are sensitive creatures, and who knows what they can and cannot perceive? Just saying . . .

 

[texansgal]

I joined the site for this very reason. Six years ago we moved to a new house. Since the day we moved in our male cat has stared at the corner of our sliding deck door. He doesn't do it constantly but if he happens to be at the door his eyes automatically dart to that spot and he will stare up there for about a minute. At first there was a valance on the door so we thought maybe it had something to do with the curtain. Last year we had the door and screen replaced during some remodeling and he still does it.

 

[greylynn]

We had a cat (passed on) that would go bonkers and then would hide in a corner looking up and kinda talking to whatever...

 

[sparklexo]

My cats growing up would stare at things/follow things/run from things, but to be honest, there was alot of weird stuff that happened in that house that freaked people out too (it was literally this huge 120+ year old mansion). My mom still lives there, and I hate visiting haha. My kitty now doesn't do that, but sometimes she'll look alarmed and stare just past me, as if there's someone or something standing directly behind me. She'll watch wide eyed until I turned around or say "go away" (I'm totally superstitious haha). It doesn't happen too much but it's pretty creepy! I wonder why they do that. Or maybe I don't want to know

 

[kaisersmom]

Sorry about the duplicate posts, I'm new to the site and figuring my way around.  Here's a photo of our Ozzy, checking out some invisible something outside.  He was sitting on his chair at the counter, then jumped up on hind legs with his paw on the counter like he suddenly saw something.  Gotta say, he made me turn around and look!  :lol3:   But there was nothing there, of course.

IMG_0886 - Version 2.jpg

• betsygee
• Mar 22, 2013

Omg he's adorable lol!!!! My husband has a sign behind our "bar" that says, "everyone needs something to believe in.... I believe I'll have another beer!" Man would that fit perfectly with this picture!!

 

[betsygee]

Wouldn't he? LOL  

 

[wah102862]

There is a 12 yr old cat "Louie" in my apt belongs to my niece whose away on scholarship and I said, I would watch him til she come back. Louie hasnt done this since he been with me in 2012; he was sitting at the bedrm window and come running (dining/living rm) passed me to the front door a couple times (back+forth) no reason, which, I could see. Then, onto the arm of the couch glared at me...like I should know. Prehaps, I would have, if, he was not living with me. I use to see people in/out of my apt and I still hear the voices. But, Louie ran crazy around.

 

[kaisersmom]

I think you should make a "meme" with this picture! It's so funny!! I have shown it to the 4 kids and my husband- they all think I'm crazy but it's the look on his face lololol!!

 

[smitten4kittens]

BEER ME!!

 

[shesnothere]

I've heard and from watching my own cats believe that they see "angels" that visit us.

 

[catspaw66]

I wonder if they are actually hearing the walls and ceilings expand and contract.  Or maybe bugs in the walls.

 

[vees cats]

That's funny--our cats have invisible "emergencies" at the other end of the house all the time.  

oh! this is great! my cats do this ALL THE TIME!! They make such a ruckus that it almost seems like they did something wrong and are running away from the scene. I love it so much!

 

[mammacat]

Our middle cat, Shadow, one of the sweetest cats you could imagine, has been acting strange every now and then... for short periods of time (a couple of hours), every couple of days, she becomes obsessed with the ceiling/walls of our living room and dining room - to the point that she gets on the table (she knows she's not supposed to be there, and normally NEVER goes up there). She seems to be following a fly or bug, but there is nothing there.

I've tried figuring out what she is keying in on.... it does not seem to be related to lights (her attention is glued, regardless of lights on, off, curtains, etc...) and she follows this "phantom spot" around. The other two cats do not seem to see this, nor do any humans. I've shined a flashlight in the spot, but Shadow never wavers from her vigilance. 

Seems a bit spooky.

It does not seem to be related to her ingesting catnip, since we rarely dole that out to the cats, and these incidents are not happening in any sort of relation to those times.

By any chance is your cat on steroid meds? My cat was prescribed Prednisone for her IBD and suddenly she started acting like yours. She was seeing things I could no see etc. I did some research and found that a side effect of steroids in cats can be hallucinations. I later confirmed with the Vet that indeed mine happened to have a rare side effect. We stopped the steroids and she was back to normal.

 

[kaisersmom]

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• kaisersmom
• Apr 5, 2013