Cats scratching themselves randomly

[Cat_Crazy]

I've noticed mine doing that too.. its interesting to know why these things happen! 

[Fire Fox]

Noah breaks off and has a wash especially licking his legs when he is playing with the laser pointer, to the point his fosterer thought he may have sensitive paws (after pododermatitis). I treated him with kid gloves at the start, only playing for five minutes and only on the soft rug, but he flung himself around with such abandon once I got the Da Sparkler that I soon realised he wasn't in any discomfort. He does still break off for a wash a bit with the Turbo Track tho.

[Mollys Slave]

Yep, the Molster does this too - if she falls off the bed / sofa / windowsill etc..... it's as though she is acting like it was a deliberate move on her part - looks all nonchalant, non plussed , was all part of th masterplan type thing.    

Doesn't fool me for a second, and she DOES NOT like it when she hears me laugh at here I get the death stare.......   

If she could speak hooman... I'm sure I'd hear a  from here. 

[Feline Costumier]

Dave just did this! He's haivng a mad bouncing about like a loon half hour and tried to bounce onto the storage box under the lounge window. Front paws sort of missed, he half smacked his face then managed to get up I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Then once he had regained what composure he is capable of he had a little lick of his side

[JackSpratt]

Life can deal some pretty unexpected hands, though can't it? I hope you do well in your course.

[Mark]

Not sure really. It just appealed to me. I would obviously like to do something with animals. A zoo sounds interesting but not sure I would be able to cope with shift work. I will see how it goes. The problem is there will be quite a few people going after the same jobs at the end of it. I would like to work at CP HQ and I suppose having a degree should give me the edge. I will be 50 if & when I graduate so there are a lots of other ifs.

[JackSpratt]

  What are you hoping to do at the end of it? Great subject choices - nowhere round here does those kind of courses.

[Mark]

my brain couldn't handle it....

Trust me - mine can't 

I believe there is some truth in the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" 

This is my timetable this term.

Thurday
9 - 11am Animal Behaviour, 11am - 1pm Conservation,  2 - 5pm Animal Science (Anatomy this term)

Friday
9 -10am Exotic animal husbandry 10 - 11am Domestic (ie farm animals) animal husbandry 11am - 1pm Experimental design & analysis (stats)

[JackSpratt]

That's the one 

My head is spinning doing 5 subjects at the same time - I use the wrong word sometimes 

Misdirected is more to do with a bullied cat taking it out on a more timid one - or a human hand 

It is indeed. I didn't study 5 subjects at once, my brain couldn't handle it....

[tab]

Although Amber does the random scratching mid play the one she does most is the stop and lick her bum when having a cuddle  .....and then come back for more cuddles 
love
Tab

[Mark]

That's the one 

My head is spinning doing 5 subjects at the same time - I use the wrong word sometimes 

Misdirected is more to do with a bullied cat taking it out on a more timid one - or a human hand 

[JackSpratt]

It's also known as a displacement theory, Mark. Cats do things like have a wash when they've fallen off something so they can think about their next move as their last one was unprecedented. 

[Janeyk]

Yup, mine do that when they're embarassed 

[Mark]

I think that comes under misdirected behaviour 

We did that last term. She showed a picture of 2 cats having a face-off. They are not sure if they should "fight or flight" so do neither and instead, do something random like have a wash or a scratch 

[Kucinta]

Mine always seem to stop and scratch themselves when they've done something undignified, like falling off the book shelf, as if to pretend the embarrassing event never happened. 

Though I guess in those circumstances it counts as non random scratching!

[Mark]

Ever wondered why your cat can be in the middle of playing, then suddenly stops to have a scratch, then carries on playing?

In biology yesterday, we were doing the nervous system. She said that all animals do certain things that don't need to be processed by the brain - eg the hammer on the knee with humans. The other example she gave is cats scratching themselves. it is a response to an itch but the message doesn't go to the brain - so a cat doesn't consciously decide to scratch an itch 
Maybe that is why it sometimes seems so odd