Spike shakes in his sleep

Canada
January 30, 2009 7:23pm CST
I have a year old burmese ragdoll cat named Spike. When Spike is sleeping he twitches. I worry that maybe its his heart. When he was six months old we bought one of those laser pointers but when we used it on Spike after, like 30 seconds, he would be panting and his little heart would be racing. Anyone know anything about this?? Also at night time Spike walks around the house talking really loud. It will wake us up. My daughter can even hear him from downstairs with her music playing and her door shut. I used to think that he got lost but when I go to bed I'll take him with me and he will leave right away and start talking as soon as he leaves the room. Help please???
1 person likes this
9 responses
@ElicBxn (63194)
• United States
31 Jan 09
most cats will twitch and "chase" in his sleep so I wouldn't worry about that now, the panting, you might want to take him to the vet and find out if he has a heart murmur he is from the siamese branch of the family so he might be vocalizing, don't know why he waits until the lights are out If he has blue eyes, they don't always see as well in the dark as normal cats, so maybe he's trying to find his way - you might consider leaving a night light on somewhere for him and see if that helps.
1 person likes this
@kellycat (48)
• United States
1 Feb 09
Spike is dreaming!!! Remember cats are nocturnal, they like the nighttime. This is the time when they want to play and interact they are calling out to anyone to come play! Cats usualy sleep during the day, so they are wide awake at night. Most of my younger cats will do this, but cats are also known to do this as they age. As for the laser pointer not a good toy for cats. It does not sound like spike reacts well to it.
@rmuxagirl (7548)
• United States
31 Jan 09
my brother's cat walks around the house meowing exceptionally loud for no reason, probably because he wants my brother to wake up and play with him. Mine has started snoring in her sleep and I'm wondering if it's her lungs since she is an old cat. Sometimes cats just need to talk REALLY loud to make themselves known.
• United States
31 Jan 09
My kitty used to twitch in her sleep...to the point she twitched herself off the couch once. But she grew out of it. As for the panting and accelerated heart rate, you probably should see a vet about that. While you're there, ask about the talking but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.
@sam4mumu (114)
31 Jan 09
I have a ragdoll cat too, she is called roxy, She twitches all the time in her sleep, so does my other cat. All cats twitch in their sleep some more than others. It must be when they are dreaming. If my other cat is out at night and Roxy is in she walks round the house meowing, she wants the company and attention. I think this is because we shut the bedroom door and she doesn't want to be left on her own. When my other cat is in at night she is fine because she has him to cuddle up to, but if you take Spike with you maybe he is meowing because he wants to go out. I've had quite a few cats in the past and I think most cats show behaviour like that at times but if you are worried Spike speak to the vet.
1 Feb 09
Hi Renae73, Not a lot of help really but to say I agree as we to have a cat he crys around the house the vet says he can smell a female in heat! Also both the cat and dog dream and move in their sleep, our dog crys/wimpers so we wake him, nightmares are horrid don't you agree.
@snowy22315 (168421)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I guess I think your little cat is probably dreaming. My dog dreams often and is always twitching and stuff in his sleep.It is sort of funny to watch him also. I like all of the little things that cats do. They are really pretty cute. My kitty is so sweet.
@capirani (2497)
• United States
31 Jan 09
He is dreaming. Animals dream. And they make movements in their sleep along with the dreams, just like humans do sometimes. All my pets have done this when they are in a good deep sleep.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
31 Jan 09
First always see a vet if you suspect something is wrong. You should see your vet yearly just to be sure you cat stays in good health. If the twitching is just sometimes it means he's dreaming. Both cats and dogs twitch when they dream. Has Spike been neutered yet. If not do it now. The crying could be because he smells a female in heat. It could be a mile away and it will still bother him. Neutering is always best for an animal. Their hormones will drive them crazy if it's not done. It also prevents testicular cancer and helps prevent marking their territory.