Why is my cat staring at nothing for hours?
Cats will fixate on a blank spot for hours, sometimes even struggling to stay awake, which creeps owners out and leads them to suspect their home is haunted. Often, the cat is just acting like a sweet little dummy or obsessively returning to a spot where they previously found an insect.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1checking for tiny bugs or insectsDid this help you?
- 2checking electronics for flickering or high-pitched noisesDid this help you?
- 3chalking it up to invisible 'greebles' or normal weird cat behaviorDid this help you?
- 4Asking online pet communities for explanations of the behaviorDid this help you?
- 5Consulting vet-approved groups for medical or behavioral adviceDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Does anybody have advice. I do think it is a ghost atm I do believe in that stuff. But its just creepy and he hasn't stopped either.”source ↗
“Yeah, my cat will keep returning to the spot she found an insect long after I’ve released it outside. Hahaha.”source ↗
“Mine does the same thing. Sweet little dummy.”source ↗
“It goes on for hours and he has even difficulties to stay awake during the process”source ↗
“My cats used to do this, always in the same room at the same time almost every night. Never figured out what it was but that apartment was definitely haunted”source ↗
“Sorry he just has never done something like this for over 30 mins before its just freaking me out”source ↗