Cats: A Deep Dive into their Weird Behaviors

Cats are intelligent and friendly creatures that often keep their owner entertained with their weird behaviors. Let’s understand the reasons behind bizarre cat behaviors.

Cats are a unique species with all sorts of behaviors that baffle even the most experienced cat parents. A cat has a heightened sense of sight, hearing, touch & smell. And many of these behaviors are hard-wired from birth.

You may wonder, why does my cat rub on its chests and throats, why does it drool when it’s eating, and why does it purr when you pet it?

You may have noticed that your cat is calm and friendly, but it scratches you within a blink of an eye. Here are some of the more bizarre weird cat behaviors explained.

Five weird Cat Behaviors Explained

Before getting yourself a cat friend, you must seek to understand all their behaviors to avoid running to the vet at every single weird act. 

• Slow Blinking

You’ve probably seen a slow cat blink before. It’s the moment when a cat’s eyes close and reopen very slowly like they’re sleeping or in deep thought. But the slow blink has several meanings behind it, and some of them are surprisingly human-like.

It is a behavior common among cats, but it doesn’t mean they’re bored or trying to hypnotize you. Humans can use slow blinking movements to communicate trust and affection to their cats. Fast blinking is often a threat signal in cats, especially kittens.

• Squeeze In Tiny Spaces

Cats love boxes, but sometimes they get too enthusiastic about them. Cats can squeeze into tiny spaces, like cardboard boxes or holes in the wall. Cats also pretend to be trapped inside a box or other object before attacking it.

The instinctual behavior is called “predatory play.” Your cat will often use this tactic when training. The weird cat behavior is also a recall to their ancestry line who slept in tiny places to hide from predators and learn how to fight a predator if one approached. 

• Climbing on Top of Furniture And Scratching Furniture

Cats are known for climbing on furniture, especially when they want to relax. The weird cat behavior is common in kittens. Cats climb on top of the furniture because they feel safer when they’re up there. Cats know they won’t fall if they get startled or scared. That way, cats feel more secure.

Some cats climb on top of furniture to better view their surroundings and check out what’s happening around them. Their curiosity gets them climbing up there. Cats also tend to climb when bored, so keeping them busy might help keep them off the furniture.

Cats scratch furniture for several reasons. They want to mark territory, seek attention from their owners, and exercise to sharpen their claws. The best way to deal with furniture scratching is to provide your cat with various toys.

• Chattering

Cat chatter is a behavior that many cat owners have observed. But if you’re not familiar with this behavior, it can be pretty strange. Chattering is when your cat holds her mouth in an open position and makes a chattering sound. The behavior is often accompanied by other signs of excitement, such as prancing around and tail-twitching. 

Chattering is a type of feline communication. It’s not quite a meow, a squeak, and not purring either. Most of the time, cats chatter when they are excited about catching prey but also frustrated at not getting them.

Cat chattering sound resembles the noise made by parakeets or other small birds. This weird cat behavior mostly is a mixture of happiness and frustration as they can see the movement of prey like lizards, birds, or rats while they can’t reach them.

• Kneading

Kneading is a behavior that both cats and kittens use to comfort themselves. They do it by rubbing things with their paws. It’s similar to how we rub our hands together to warm them up, but it has more to do with contentment than temperature regulation.

Kittens will knead their mummy tummy when nursing to help stimulate milk flow. It also helps them bond with their mother and find comfort in the warmth of her body. Adult cats will still knead to show affection, or even just because they feel happy. So when you find your cat kneading on your thighs, don’t remove it unless its claws are hurting your thighs, which means you neglect to groom your furry baby. So get your nail clippers and trim the claws.

Domesticated felines retain this innate instinctual behavior because it’s comforting to them. The act of kneading also helps cats release endorphins (those feel-good chemicals), making them feel relaxed and happy afterward. It’s also essential for kittens to learn how to knead while they’re young to develop strong muscles in their back legs and shoulders.

Final Thoughts

Cats are unique and friendly creatures. While they may seem similar to us, they’re more than meets the eye. Even after years of owning a cat, we will never truly know their behavior. But that’s what makes our time with felines so fantastic. 

There is an adorable explanation for every weird cat behavior you can think of. Their behaviors aren’t necessarily destructive; they’re merely different from ours. It would be best if you had a little understanding of their strange idiosyncrasies to understand your cat’s weirdness. And like dogs, you must get a cat collar to help identify it in case it gets lost while playing or chasing prey.