Ah, the zoomies. There’s nothing quite like watching your cat pinging off the walls like a pinball. One minute they’re flying across the sofa, the next, they’re launching themselves at the lampshade. They’re here, there and everywhere, all at once. Then they fall asleep.
Most cats get the zoomies, also known as ‘frenetic random activity periods’ or ‘FRAPs’, at some point. Cats are crepuscular, so the behaviour is more common at the start and end of the day, and occurs more frequently in kittens and younger cats.
It also happens after pooping (hence the terms ‘poophoria’ and ‘crapnfrap’) and various reasons have been put forward for this.
Some people think it’s a reaction to a dirty litter box. Cats are clean animals, so they want to get away from their faeces as quickly as possible.
Some think it could be a sign of a gastrointestinal infection or other digestive problems.
Another theory is that the behaviour harks back to the animal’s wild past. Faeces smells and can attract predators, so scarpering quickly after the deed is done can help to avoid unwelcome attention.
Meanwhile, gastroenterologist and author Dr Anish Sheth (who coined the term poophoria) has suggested that passing a big stool can stimulate the vagus nerve, which links the brain with key organs in the abdomen.
According to the theory, this leads to a drop in heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to the brain and can trigger a feeling of light-headedness. This results in the moment of frantic feline folly that is the zoomies.
It’s an interesting theory, but rather than making an animal more active, vagal activity is classically thought to make animals more, rather than less, relaxed. So, for the time being, the jury is out.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Ann Rosales, via email) 'Why do cats get the zoomies after pooping?'
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