What are those invisible things that cats chase around the house?

[Liberal Veteran]

You cat servants know what I mean. The cat will be just minding it's own business one minute and then zoom across the room and try to jump straight up a wall and then will chase the invisible object from room to room until it goes away.

Anybody know?

[Don_G]

1. Cat Hair

Wafting in the breeze?

[Catshrink]

2. Who knows what visions lurk in the minds of that noble creature, the cat?

I've often wondered that myself. They can be lying next to me as I read, and suddenly, just a mile in the air and take off running.


edited for spelling.

[GURUving]

3. Really really really really

small mice?

[hyphenate]

4. Gremlins

From a parallel universe. Cats and occasionally dogs are the only ones who can see them. Unfortunately for the rest of us, they also tend to hide keys, change and anything else you put down and expect at some time to find again. ;-)

[madrchsod]

5. art bell`s

"shadow people"- only cats are fast enough to see them....

[frylock]

10. nice guess, but it's prolly just rods.

http://www.roswellrods.com/

[prole_for_peace]

6. what about when they just stare at nothing?

my "child" will just stare at the wall or ceiling and i will get all nervous thinking maybe there is a bug or something but when i look...nothing.

or sometimes when i am up late watching tv or playing on the internet she will start and then stare at a door or window. oh i LOVE that one. it really freaks me out. i think she does it on purpose.

[ldf]

8. cats have such good hearing

that they can hear into walls. they will look at the wall, while they are really listening to a sound in the wall.

my cat, betty, can actually hear a roach walking.

edit for spelling

[Kremer]

7. I always thought it's b/c they are just wild and crazy when they play.

I've seen the shoot up the wall, out of nowhere many times. From what I tell, there's nothing they are chasing. I think they get so hiped up in a frenzy when they play and think they see somehting. Or some times I've seen them do it and the are chasing a fly and it looks bezserko b/c the fly is hard to see so it looks like their chasing nada.

[Dookus]

9. I think it was Erma Bombeck

who identified these mysterious creatures as "greeblings" and "sweece". The Greeblings fall down from the ceiling, and the Sweece run around on the floor.

[Catch22Dem]

11. Are you talking about one of these?

[Bertha Venation]

12. The cat is ripping, LV.

Ripping is merely when a cat absolutely must be in another room RIGHT NOW!! It's not chasing anything. It's just ripping.

All cats do it. It's as required -- yes, required -- as sitting on the newspaper just as you've opened it.

You haven't lived until you've seen four cats rip at once, with the two older ones cowering in place, looking at each other as if to say, "we never did that."

[TheZoo]

13. That's easy...

Ephalumps and Woozles!

[Catshrink]

14. How about their alter egos -- like this?

An eight-week-old Siberian Tiger shows his teeth during a media presentation at Nuremberg Zoo, southern Germany, Tuesday Dec. 9, 2003. Three tigers of the rare species were born Oct. 7, 2003 at the zoo, though one of them died soon afterwards. But male cubs Jenki and Gawan grow up well and were shown to the public for the first time Tuesday. (AP Photo/Frank Boxler)

[pansypoo53219]

15. ghosts

definately ghosts

[FireHeart]

16. I've got several amusing mpgs of my cat

doing that exact same thing. It's utterly flabbergasting, because there's never anything there for him to jump/attack/leap (whatever) at.

My wife suspects ghosts.

:shrug: