jumpy kitty!

[kittymama]

My cat is so jumpy! 9/10 times when we go up to him from behind, he jumps 2 feet in the air - and it's not graceful! It's as if he isn't even aware of anything around him until we touch him and he freaks out!! Maybe he's in his own little world?? We have two other cats who we can scoop up from any angle, and they don't mind. There have been a few times where either me or my boyfriend will be holding him, and he'll hear a noise and just FREAK out, and claw his way out of our arms (owch!). Just this morning, he refused to get off the table and he turned his back towards my boyfriend. When my boyfriend went to push his little booty off the table, the kitty just jumped with claws beared and ran off.

For the most part all you see is his gentle soul and he just loves to sleep with us and lick our faces and cuddle. He never hisses or growls at anyone... even when we brought a new kitty home. he is basically a big bundle of love!

Now, we know this jumpy kitty has great hearing and vision b/c he hears us before we get into our apartment and he sees the tiniest bugs on the floor as prey, and he eats them. So we don't think he has any sort of visual/spacial issues. He is very sweet and he loves his brother and sister (not biological) very much. He is a big boy, about 15 lbs and so cute, he's completely indoor now (he was a stray before we adopted him at the shelter), and he has claws. I'm worried that someday his jumpiness may cause him to scratch a human baby or something :( he'll play with me at times without clawing me (he doesn't retract (?) his claws), but i still get worried.

Does any one have any idea what could be his problem? And, what we might be able to do to help him through it?

[kb2yjx]

Welcome to PT. Has your cat's hearing been evaluated by a vet?? Just a thought....

[heidiv]

What kind of kitty is he?? Is he white with two different color eyes??

He may be deaf on only one side of his head. If you adopted him from a shelter you may not know if he has has an underlying ear issues that weren't taken care of properly???

And WELCOME TO PET TALK everyone here is great! :D

[jennielynn1970]

What kind of kitty is he?? Is he white with two different color eyes??

He may be deaf on only one side of his head. If you adopted him from a shelter you may not know if he has has an underlying ear issues that weren't taken care of properly???

And WELCOME TO PET TALK everyone here is great! :D

That's what I was thinking... there has to be some kind of sensory issue going on. Definitely have him taken to the vet!

[kb2yjx]

PLease let us know what you find out....

[kittymama]

everyone, thank you very much for your concern. our jumpy kitty is a black and white guy with very big paws. he has lovely green eyes (both are green) and a big heart! we recently took him and another cat of ours to the vet about 1.5 months ago due to some litter box issues but the vet found nothing wrong with either cat. we concluded the litter box was too small for this big ol' boy and we got a big box and the problem has been eliminated. however, we've never had his ears checked before, but we know he hears b/c he always comes when called and he always seems to hear things outside. maybe he is only sensing vibrations? not that he's a dolphin or anything.... he's barely 2 years old, possibly younger (we adopted him at the humane society so it's very much an estimate). he's grown a LOT since we got him, so we think he may have still been a baby.

either way, if you have any other thoughts please let us know. otherwise, i'll be scheduling an appt very soon!

[kb2yjx]

Your boy sounds very sweet. The reason I suggested getting his hearing checked, was about 10 years ago, on our neighbour's property, there was a bunch of kittens that we were trying to trap. One was orange. I was able to walk right up to him. He never moved, I even clapped my hands beside his head!! Several seconds later, he looked up, saw me, and took off. We were able to remove several kittens. However, the colony was wiped out by distemper. EXCEPT for Tina Peepers(also a tuxedo)who had been living under the shed with the dead baby kitten bodies. As I write, Tina is curled up on the counter, gathering her strength. Supper will be ready shortly....Hope all is well and glad the litterbox problem was resolved!!! Sandra

[kittymama]

peepers sounds like a lil angel! thanks for all the advice, and i will be taking my big baby in this weekend to get an ear check up (and maybe a little advice on how he can shed a few centimeters around the waist! hehe) the big nut jumped again when his little brother had him pinned down. he turned over into the leg of a chair and he jumped and took off.. maybe he's just a lil wacky! :p