My 5-month old Maine Coon, whom I adore, once a day runs around the house like a maniac, making devil sounds, sometimes stopping for a few seconds with his red tongue hanging out. He has stopped scratching but still likes to bite, especially my chin! Is this normal? Any advice?

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2000

Answers

MY CAT FROSTY IS ALMOST 9 MONTHS OLD. HE HAS BEEN NEUTERED AND DOES THE SAME THING. HE IS SO WILD AT TIMES IT SCARES ME. HE STILL SCRATCHES THINGS AND CHEWS MY PLACE MATS. HE DOES NOT WANT TO USE THE SCRATCHING POSTS THAT I HAVE. I HAVE TRIED CATNIP ETC. ANY IDEAS? THANKS DIANE & BOB

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2000

Young cats have tons of energy (after all, they're hunters). I've found that giving my MC a good workout during a play session calms him down. Sometimes in the evening, I use a feather toy to make him leap into the air. He loves this, and it tires him out. Usually when cats vocalize a lot and/or run around the house, it's because they need an outlet for their pent up energy. I've also found that my MC loves to climb his cat tree. I think you'll have to find ways to help your MC expend some of his energy either through climbing, jumping, and/or running activities. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Apart from the Exorcist noises, it does sound like typical kitten behavior--the well-known "crazy hour" when your cat chases poltergeists, sounds as if it is wearing heavy boots as it galumphs about, etc. Do you have any other cats--especially male ones? We used to have an MC-type cat who was remarkable for making a sound like a chainsaw if he saw or smelled another male cat. The depth and timbre of the sound were truly astonishing.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2000