Hi, I'm Dr. Q with drquesten.com, and today we're going to talk about the hyperactive cat. Well, what is a hyperactive cat? It can be anything from a young kitten to an adult that's exhibiting an unusual behavior that one might called hyperactive. So, let's talk about the different kinds of cats that we might call hyperactive. One would be a young kitten. Very normal for a young kittens to be very active to do everything from climbing the curtains and jumping off from under the bed to attack your ankles, all those kind of things. That's not hyperactivity, that's normal kitten activity. So, any cat that's exhibiting those kinds of behaviors that's under six months of age, that's probably just normal kitty behavior. So, after six months of age, what about if you're seeing hyperactive activity? Well, after six months it might be more related to sexual maturity and so, if your cat has not been spayed or neutered, that would definitely be the first place to start. If cats are not spayed or neutered, then, they tend to be thinking about things other than being your best friend and so, it's definitely a good idea to have them spayed and neutered so that they think more about being your nice, calm house pet rather than running around trying to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend. So, then, of course the adult cat that's hyperactive and in that case, if you're seeing something like that, you want to take that kitty to a veterinarian and have them examined. There are actually some medical causes for hyperactivity in cats including something that's relatively common in older kitties called hyperthyroidism. And hyperthyroid cats are extremely active especially at night and it's something that would be a change from their normal behavior. So, if you see something like that in a cat that was kind of mellow before and then suddenly it becomes hyperactive, definitely warrants a trip to the veterinarian. Now, if it's not a young kitten and your cat has been spayed or neutered, been checked out by the veterinarian and doesn't seem to be any kind of abnormal blood work, then the next thing you think about is make sure that you're interacting with your cat. We tend to think of cats as this solitary creatures, but they actually get quite bored sitting at home waiting on us to come home from work. So, having some toys and activities for them and playing with them on a daily basis is actually very important. So, some of the things you might consider would be playing, having them chase like a sparkly ball, having a tree for them at that they can scratch on or this puzzle ball for Timba which unfortunately he's figured how to use. And so, it's not too challenging for him anymore. When you put treats in there and he has to use his little brain to find them or actually, I should say his little brain, but to find them and bat them out of there so that he can get those treats out. So, other things to consider would be what kind of breed of cat that you have. If you have an exotic breed cat such as my friend Timba that Toyger here, whose actually one quarter non-domesticated cat; his behavior is going to be a little different than your typical kitty cat. But, that doesn't mean anything. Domestic cats can also have pretty engaging personalities as well. So, if you are playing with your cat on a regular basis, they have been checked out and deemed to be normal by your veterinarian and you're still having issues, then that's definitely a time to talk to your veterinarian because it could be time to involve a behaviorist who might prescribe some medications such as Prozac. That sound kind of strange, but Prozac, Prozac is actually use in kitties fairly commonly to treat a variety of conditions. It's relatively safe and it can really improve some of the behaviors that might be undesirable. So, overall, what have we talked about; well, what is normal kitten behavior, we've talked about spaying and neutering, we've talked about making sure these guys are healthy from the inside out with some blood work done at your veterinarian, we've talked about making sure we're using lots of toys and games and interacting and playing with your kitty cat every single day. And if you're still having issues, then its' definitely time to consult a behaviorist and who might want to prescribe some medications for your kitty. On that note, I'm Dr. Q and the rest is up to you. Thanks for stopping by.
