Cat acting skittish, scared, or just weird in Spring?

I’ve noticed my 5 year old cat, Giga, acting quite strange the past few days. There are a number of possible causes that I can think of, most of which can be verified by online articles as well. A few days ago she started meowing more than usual at the top of the stairs as if she was stuck and couldn’t get past the locked baby gate. But she’s always been able to fit through the stair railings. I make sure she has enough food, and she hasn’t been eating all of it, but most of it. She also is meowing and getting closer to the back door when it’s open, so I think she wants to go outside to enjoy the warmer weather we’ve been having. I think I even noticed the same behaviors last spring. But what’s strange is that she seems skittish and scared of nothing that I can see. She’ll move in a crouching motion like she’s stalking something, but then back away a few steps like she’s smelled or seen something she doesn’t like. I know animals have better senses than we do, so maybe she’s smelling something strange. But it happens in random places around the house.

Sickness or Illness

First of all we need to determine if she’s sick. You can read about diagnosing possible illnesses and checking for certain behaviors in this article at HowStuffWorks. The biggest take away there is to make sure you’re describing your cat’s behavior in detail to your vet. I’m worried that her stalking-scared-backing away might be a neurological issue because it almost seems like she doesn’t have a good sense of balance. My previous cat had an imbalance problem due to second hand smoke, but we don’t smoke.

In Heat/Full Moon

There are some articles online that mention weird behaviors once every month or so, which could be hormonal for a female (even if she’s spayed) or related to the moon cycle. I’m not sure about this one, even though the full moon is only a couple days away, her behaviors don’t reoccur every month. I’ve only noticed it in the Spring.

Affectionate, Needs Attention

If your cat is acting more affectionate, it could be hormonal but it might just be that she’s lonely and wants more attention. Although cats are pretty independent, they still want attention. My cat doesn’t rub against me any more than usual, but she still sleeps on my pillow at night.

I think I’ll keep monitoring her for symptoms and see if anything strange occurs with her eating or elimination. Have you noticed your cats ‘acting funny’ occasionally?

Buying a Treadmill for Dog Exercise

If your pet dog is like mine, he can get pretty cooped up during the winter months when it’s too cold or snowy to go for a walk. I’ve seen on Caesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer TV show where they used a treadmill to help a dog use up some extra energy and get some exercise when it’s not feasible to go for a walk. Even if you do take your dog on a short walk every day, most dogs need more physical exercise than that. So a treadmill may be a great idea for both owner and pets!

Type of Treadmill for Pets

I took a quick look on Craig’s List for cheap treadmills and found some for very cheap. After looking around a bit, they could actually be manual treadmills versus motorized. I don’t think manual treadmills will work very well for dogs. I know it will take some time to get them used to any treadmill, but how would you get them to start and keep walking on their own? So I’m thinking electric, motorized treadmills would be best. They don’t need to have an incline or lots of options. Unfortunately the article on About.com on the pros/cons of manual vs. motorized treadmills says that motorized ones go for $750 to $5000! Not quite in my price range. You may be able to find used ones for cheaper, though. Try Craig’s list, Ebay, and Amazon.com. Manual treadmills are much cheaper and fold up for easier storage. They can be from $100 to $200 new.

Let me know if you have any comments on treadmills that are good for canine exercise!

Pet-Friendly Apartments in Northwestern Columbus

I’ve been doing some research into pet-friendly apartments in the Northwestern Columbus, Ohio area, specifically Dublin. I’ve been compiling a list of apartment complexes with their addresses and phone numbers in a Google Doc Spreadsheet. But I thought it would be neat to map them all on one map and see spatially where they are located. So I decided to make a custom Google Map with them all! I’m also trying to record some details such as if there is an additional cost for pets, if they only allow cats or small dogs, etc. Here is the embedded version:

Pet Friendly Apartments in Northwestern Columbus, Ohio

**Interactive map has been removed for performance reasons. Go to Google Maps to see Pet-friendly apartments in Northwestern Columbus.**

Please leave a comment if you know of another one, or have any feedback regarding these apartments!