Conference misery::feline_v1

    No personal experience Jo but the 'cats' in zoos pace
    back and forth all the time.  I always thought it had
    something to do with the frustration of confinement
    or something like that.
    
    Donna

    Well, that may be true in Kalliste's case since he is confined to
    the stud room, but Krista has the run of the house, and has never
    been outside, so probably doesn't realize that she is confined.
    
    Also, Kalliste has been confined to his room since he was about
    5 months old.  He just started pacing in the last couple of days.
    I had to confine him as a kitten since he had chlamydia, then I
    continued to confine him since I thought it would be cruel to let
    him have the run of the house until his hormones kicked in, then
    confine him.  He has company all the time, right now Kaitlin and
    her new litter are in the room with him.  Usually, one of the girls
    is in there with him, or one of the kittens.  I spend alot of time
    with him when I am home.  He probably gets bored during the day
    and so started the pacing.  The good news is that he probably won't
    have a weight problem ;^).
    
    Birmans have a tiger-like gait, so it really does remind me of tigers
    in the zoo.  
    
    I guess I will have to buy him some new toys.
    
    Jo

    Panther paces, but usually he has something in his mouth that he has
    "killed" (catnip mouse, fuzzy ball, bathroom rug, etc), and he growls
    while he is pacing. I that that he was just doing it to impress the
    girl cats with how "macho" he is. He will always stop when one of the
    females come over to groom him. (In fact, he will keep doing it until
    one of the females comes over to groom him).
    
    Deb

    Schnitzel paces when she's mad at me!  For the last few days she's not
    been able to go outside as she had her teeth cleaned and the vet said
    not to let her out for 3 days due to the anesthesia (of course now it's
    raining!).  She'll pace at night in whatever room I'm in when she's not
    been able to get outside.  I think she does it to irritate me 'cause
    she lives in a six room house and has plenty of stuff to get into.
    
    P.
    

    Re: .4
    
    Are you ever devious enough to put things in her path?  Does she
    make a pattern as she goes across the room?  Krista and Kalliste
    are compulsive about their patterns.
    
    Jo

    The only pacing I ever saw was one of Tony Costa's folds that Bev
    has been showing.  I can't remember if its Bianca or the other one,
    but one of them will pace in the ring cage.  Of course she can't
    get very far, but she really reminds me of tigers in the zoo. 
    Back and forth, back and forth......
      N
    

    Re: .5
    
    No, I don't put any obstacles in her way, at least not intentionally. 
    She doesn't do it for too long.  She goes around the perimeter of the
    room then cuts across to the couch, where I am, then does it again and
    sometimes stops at the closet to see if anything new is in there. 
    After a few times, Schnitz will come and sit near me and stare at me.
    I usually tell her it's not going to work and she's not getting
    whatever it is she wants.  Other times she does keep it up until I
    can't stand it anymore and give in.....I swear I see her smiling a
    grin of victory!
    
    P.
    

    Mocha paces a LOT but his track is up the stairs, down the stairs into
    the living, then the dining room, then into the kitchen, under the
     counter bar, across the dinning room into the living room and up
    the stair again. He can do this until I could strangle him. NOTHING
    will deter him in his mode of pacing.
    
    I'm glad to know that someone else has the same problem. Now if we
    could find a cure I would consider it a miracle.
    
    While Mocha is in this mode, Ming lays by her condo and looks at
     him like he is bonkers. She does not follow him in this crazy 
    action.
    
    Barbara

    my Siamese paces around whenever she is ticked off at me...and she
    mutters while she paces..and I must say that her language is
    deplorable :-)))
    
    Fran
    

    Barbara, IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!  Glad to see that it drives someone
    else nuts too.  Try putting things in his path and see what he does.
    ;^D  That is the only way I can stay sane while I watch them pace,
    I amuse myself by trying to find things that they have to go around
    instead of over.
    
    What was really funny was when Krista would pace and my kittens
    would chase her tail.  She would run a bit, look over her shoulder,
    then run a bit more, with them close behind.
    
    Both she and Kalliste seem to be content to pace for hours at a
    time.  The funny thing is that it is always the same figure eight
    pattern for both of them.
    
    Jo

    You know, I'd almost forgotten - Mao paces, or used before she
    moved to the top of the fridge.  We used to call it her "rounds"
    as in "the patrol cat is making her rounds."  Never bothered me.
      Nancy DC
    
    p.s. Mao also used to do "rounds" in the bedroom.  Her route always
    included walking across the waterbed at a level designed to have
    her walking across both of our bodies :-)

    Nancy, just noticed your personal name, I love it!
    
    Jo

    re: 6 That's cause they don't like being confined - side-to-side
    movement.
    
    My KoKo paces - when I notice it, I just say, Oh, there goes KoKo,
    she's out for a walk.  It can drive ya nuts after a while, but
    sometimes I think it's because of a hairball or something like
    that.  Maybe instead of the hairball coming up, they are trying
    to move it along down.  ??

    Julie paces...but at 50 miles an hour!  I call it 'the rips'.  She rips
    thru the house, up the stairs, over the bed, down the stairs, thru the
    living room, up the stairs....
    
    I tried putting things in the way, but she became a feline Edwin Moses
    taking the hurdles.  Good thing she's cute!
    
    Mary

    Tymothee has started doing that too! He's definitely a happy cat
    these days.  (Too bad he still harasses the girls - tho not as much)
      (How do I draw crossed fingers?)
      Nancy DC
    

    TiJai used to pace the master bedroom ...making a large square and
    'yeowrring' his Siamese cry as he paced. He was neutered and had
    the run of the house so we just figured it was part of his
    personality..   Sheba, TiJai's half-sister and the oldest of my
    two Siamese old-timers regularly paces the same route around the
    livingroom (in silence, thank goodness). Her daughter, Sity, (at
    17) seldom tries the slow pace, but she often 'bombs' her way through
    the kitchen, the livingroom, across the fish tank, up the stairs,
    into the bedroom, over the bed, around the room across a burea,
    and down the stairs again. I figure when she 'grows up' she'll
    probably slow down to the more sedate pace of her mom!
    
    None of them appear(ed) unhappy in their pacing routine, so I just
    accept it as a form of exercise for them...
    
    Linda
    ...who_can't_stand_watching_the_beautiful_big_cats_pace_in_a_zoo... 
    
    
    

                Don't hold your breath waiting for the youngster to stup
        the periodic racing through the house. Ours did it until she was
        about 14 or so! It just got less frequent over time.
                
                /s/     Bob

    re .17   I know what you mean, Bob.  Sity, the 'youngster' I was referring
             to, is 17. Sheba, her mother, still paces daily ...at the
             age of 19 ...and TiJai continued his routine until he
             left us at the age of 20...  Their pacing route seems to
             have self-imposed boundaries as they are free to roam most
             of the house, but they stick to the same path. It has become
             one of the ways I watch for their health/condition. I know
             if they break the routine of their daily workout it's time
             to take a closer look...
    
             Now, if only I would be that faithful in my exercise
             routine....    :^)
    
    
             Linda
    

    Well, the news from Krista's new owner is that she still paces,
    even after the spaying.
    
    And Kalliste is really pacing right now.  He has a girlfriend over
    for breeding, so I had to put him in the tokyo cage till she settles
    in and gets used to him.  Now he really looks like a big cat in
    a cage, his back feet never move, he only paces with the front ones,
    two steps in one direction, then two steps in the other.
    
    Poor boy,
    
    Jo

    Now Kallista sounds like Tony's Bianca - the little fold kitten
    who paces in the ring cage.