I would imagine this is similar to PTSD in humans.
Imagine if one time you were sleeping and got suddenly woken up by someone literally trying to kill/eat you, not an uncommon occurence for a cat -- it might cause similar symptoms.
this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
66 points (95.8% liked)
cats
19204 readers
999 users here now
typical internet cats. videos, pics, memes welcome!
rule 1) be kind
other cat communities midwest.social cats
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
This certainly sounds feasible. It's such a shame for him.
I wonder if there is a way to help him with this or if it's something that will hopefully get better with time.
My parents adopted a quirky cat that seems to have had some past trauma. She's finally getting more friendly and less skiddish - AFTER FOUR YEARS.
Sometimes it's just love and time that helps them get over past trauma.
My cat was not a trauma victim, we got her quite young, but she sometimes still jumped out of her skin while doing nothing - because she got an itch. You'd see her skin twitch in a spot, and then she'd jump out of her skin to dash off to somewhere else just to scratch it. It was just the sudden unexpected unpleasant physical sensation that triggered her, so it's not always a trauma thing. Admittedly she was a rather flighty cat, despite her leisurely safe flea-free existence.
However, for a new rescue, they're definitely going to be extra jumpy for a while. I hate his format, but Jackson Galaxy gives solid and practical cat behaviour info. He doesn't go into trauma and memory anywhere near enough but here's a perspective on cat memory you might find useful. Maybe your cat remembers a smell from a cleaning chemical at the rescue place?
Give him nothing to be scared about and he will slowly forget.
I'm trying!
Cats going to cat 🐈⬛
I’m all seriousness my stray that adopted me did/does the same thing and I was being a over cautious new cat dad and was neurological or something bad. Vet just pretty much said “some models just come with different quirks is all”. YMMV
Thanks for the advice
I've seen one of my cats do this too. My theory is that he was juuuuust dropping off and dreamed that he was falling.
Mine has farted herself awake, which scared her and she dashed out of the room.
I followed her to make sure she wasn't having the trots but nope she just farted herself awake.
ive had dozens of cats, to me this is 'standard issue cat'. most cats exhibit those behaviors to some degree.
That poor baby. I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet. There's a good chance he's still getting used to all the changes and just needs a bit of time to figure out how everything works in his new home.
like sleeping at grandma's with all the not-normal sounds waking you up at night.
Yh, he has definitely been improving in his short time here.
I've had cats my whole life so I kind of feel like I'm already used to him so I have to keep reminding myself that everything here is very new to him.
He is cat. Cat do cat things. Hope this helps.
Man, that sounds like a pain. What do you do with all the skins?