We generally link staring at blank spaces like walls with deep psychophysical thoughts! So when your cat does the same, does it mean that she’s about to chant some philosophy into your life? Well, a clear no! But why do they do it?
Why does my cat stare at the wall? Is it a matter of concern, a natural cat behavior, a medical problem, or unexplainable behavior? We have all the answers, keep scrolling down!
Why does my cat stare at the wall?
1. Seen Something: Sight Far Beyond That of Human!
Cats have a very sharp vision, which means that they can see much better than you! They can see even in low light, tiny bugs, spiders, or whatnot, after all, they are hunters!
Cat eye’s peripheral vision extends to 200 degrees. Though cats don’t have the ability to see so many colors, they do have many more rods and can see incredibly well in low light. While human vision can expand up to 180 degrees, the cat’s vision can expand up to 200 degrees.
So the bottom line is your cat can see 10 times more than you! So maybe something is crawling on the wall and your cat is staring at it. There is one more thing that might simply surprise you, cats can have episodic memory.
The episodic memory allows your cat to remember a particular event, situation, and experience. So if your cat is staring at the wall, at the same time, every day she’s waiting for that beautiful shadow of threes falling on the walls again.
So here’s a reason to why does my cat stares at the wall!
2. Heard Something: A Keen Sense of Hearing!
Cats don’t just have a strong smelling sense, but they also have a keen sense of hearing. My personal experience states once I brought a kitten in my house, and after a few days, other cats started visiting my house.
It was such a big surprise or mystery you must say because over years I never had such visitors!
How come the other cats knew that I have a kitten in my home, and for her safety, I used to keep the house shut most of the time. This is because cats don’t just have a strong smelling sense, but they can hear good too!
If your cat is straining at the wall with pricked ears and fiercely concentrating, the chances are she’s heard of something and is taking followups until the sounds go completely off!
So here’s a reason to Why does my cat stares at the wall!
3. Your Cat Thinks Differently
Cats and women, as they say, can be difficult to understand at times! Well I won’t dare to say about the women but yes, cats do think differently, and they do have a mysterious brain. That’s why sometimes we just won’t understand what they are trying to tell us.
Even experts agree to it. So, why does my cat stare at the wall, could be because it must have found something which is interesting enough to look at for whatever hours!
Cats choose different ways to zone out, and the point is that they can spend hours discovering it.
4. Aging
We feel quite sad to discuss this reason why does my cat stares at the wall, but the truth is aging can also be a factor responsible for it. Older cats swing in between confusion or disorientation due to cognitive decline.
And the sad part is that you can’t prevent this from happening, cats just like us, humans have to go from various stages of life which brings a lot of uncertainty.
Followed with other traits like being, less active and playful, they may sleep more, gain or lose weight, and have trouble reaching their favorite places, you will have to deal with it.
5. It Can Be Due to Cognitive Decline
Some cats can develop FCD (feline cognitive dysfunction) in the later stage of their life. According to the ASPCA, feline cognitive dysfunction (FCD or cat dementia) affects more than 55 percent of cats aged 11 to 15 years old and more than 80 percent of cats aged 16 to 20.
With FDC in cats, the ability to learn, awareness, hearing sense, smelling sense, and perception all of this deteriorate.it disturbs the sleeping patterns, eating habits and overall nature of your cat also reduces her activity level.
So how does, cognitive decline relates to why does my cat stares at the wall? Older cats tend to forget most of the things, for example, they will forget the location of the litter box, or food and water bowls.
So staring at the wall can be a way for them to reconnect the dots of an event or the movement of a small creature. However, this health issue has a wider spread than just losing memory and getting lost in a particular situation.
But let’s have a look at the possible behavior change or cognitive decline in cats:
- Confusion and Disorientation in Space
- Gets lost in places he knows.
- Looks at or fixes his gaze on something, or merely stares into space.
- Solely wanders around
- Is unable to travel around or over barriers after becoming stuck.
If you can find these characteristics in your cat, then look out for other symptoms, such as :
- Increased sensitivity and irritability
- increased anxiety about being touched or approached
- increased aggression decreased
- responsiveness to your voice
- reduced ability to get to usual eczema
- reduced ability to adapt to change
You need to book an appointment with your cat’s vet, to rule out the medical condition she might be suffering from.
6. Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
Why does my cat stare at the wall, above we discussed reasons for it and how it’s not a big deal to be worried about.
But that won’t be the case applicable always, sometimes it can be a sign of some serious health concern. Staring at the wall is one symptom of this condition, hyperesthesia syndrome, let’s look at the other possible symptoms:
- Enlarge pupils
- Skip rippling
- Excessive grooming
- Excessive grooming on the tail portion
- Loud howling
- Excessive meowing
- Very sensitive to touch
Well, a ray of relief we would like to give you is that, if you want to control the hyperesthesia in your cat, then you should consider resolving the anxiety issue in your cats.
Cats can get anxiety and stress in almost every small situation, but that goes back to normal after some time. But if you don’t make attempts to resolve them, then they will grow into much more serious health issues. So here’s a reason to Why does my cat stare at the wall?
7. At Times, Cats Are Just Weird and Unpredictable
Even though it is the twenty-first century, many people still believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings such as vampires, demons, and so on. While 99 percent of the population would disagree, some people still believe that cats can detect the presence of extraterrestrial creatures.
In fact, focusing on a single area inside a dark or dimly lit room in your house could be their only motivation.
So you don’t really know what is going inside your cat’s head as they are very unpredictable, and this reason managed to create its place as one of the reason, why does my cat stare at the wall!
However, there is no such proof it’s just a claim of a few experts, and moreover how spooky is that! So here’s a reason to Why does my cat stare at the wall?
Conclusion
If you catch your cat staring at the wall, most of the time there’s nothing to be worried about. Because if you had a hearing and smelling sense that stronger, you would have done the same, but we ain’t cats! Right! But also look for the medical conditions in your cat from which staring at the wall is a symptom.
However, if your cat has only one hobby which is staring at the wall, then you should really consider providing her some good options like cat interactive toys to kill the boredom!
Why does my cat stare at the wall?
References
- Hyperesthesia Syndrome in cats — Cornell University
- Older cats with behavior problems — ASPCA
- Cognitive dysfunction in cats — Pubmed