> I have also heard they will also occasionally get fits and tear through the house with a wild-eyed look.

...yes, mine do this although they are both outdoor cats they do seem to enjoy the odd "gallop" through the house. Sometimes they will have worked out a circuit so they can tear through the house, out of one of the windows, around the house, through the back door and back to the start without even so much as a pause.

Unfortunately, while lying on the couch, I have been caught in the middle of this racetrack and was made aware of this fact as 5.5 kilos of cat (12lbs for the metricapped ) hits my stomach and springboards off as if I was just an added bonus of the track...