Why Do Cats Get the Zoomies?

If you’ve ever lived with a cat, you’ve probably seen it. One minute your little furball is curled up on the couch, a picture of feline contentment. And then bam! He’s flying up the stairs like a rocket ship, crashing off the walls and obliterating anything and everything in his way. “It’s the cat zoomies!” says certified cat behaviorist Pam Bennett-Johnson. “They go from zero to 100 miles per hour in no time.”

But why do cats get the zoomies? As with all the other mysteries of cat body language and cat behavior—like why cats meow, why cats love boxes and why cats knead—there’s a method to their madness. “Even when a cat’s behavior is strange, it always makes sense to the cat,” says Bennett-Johnson. “When you look at it, there’s a reason.”

So, what is that reason? We asked pet experts to explain this seemingly crazy cat behavior—and found out what you can do about it.

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What are cat zoomies?

Essentially, the zoomies are just sudden bursts of energy that build up in your cat and have to be released. Sometimes the cat zoomies come on after a long nap or a trip to the litter box, but often they arrive completely out of the blue. “Cats will sleep most of the day, but then they have all this pent-up energy, and they need to get it out,” says Frank Caporale, DVM, a veterinarian in Ormond Beach, Florida.

The zoomies are common in both kittens and adult cats, and they appear in other species as well. (Dog zoomies are also a thing!) There’s even a technical name for it: They’re called frenetic rapid activity periods, or FRAPs. But most people just call them the cat zoomies.

Why do cats get the zoomies?

The answer is a little fuzzy. “No expert can say definitively: ‘This is why the cat gets the zoomies,’” says Bennett-Johnson, author of the bestselling cat-training guide Think Like a Cat. “But we do have theories.”

Playfulness

Most of the time, the cat zoomies are really just a way for a cat to have fun and blow off some steam. “It’s a play behavior,” says Dr. Caporale. “It means the cat is happy and feels like having fun.”

A hunting instinct

The zoomies may also harken back to the way cats hunt in the wild. “Cats are ambush predators,” says Bennett-Johnson. “They hide and lie in wait for their prey, and they’re storing up energy to be ready to pounce.”

Indoor cats build up the same kind of energy as they sleep during the day (it’s part of why cats sleep so much), and if they don’t get enough ways to release it, they can get the zoomies. “All of a sudden, they feel the need to make the hunt,” says Dr. Caporale. “It’s like they’re back in the Serengeti.”

A trip to the litter box

Many cats get the zoomies after using the litter box, and experts have several theories as to why. “For some cats, the litter box is an uncomfortable place,” says Bennett-Johnson. “They feel vulnerable in there, and they can’t wait to get out.” Anxious cats may fear a predator could track them by the smell of their waste and want to get away as quickly as possible. (It’s also why they bury their waste.)

Bowel movements also stimulate the cat’s vagus nerve, the longest of the cranial nerves, which some think might give the cat a brief feeling of euphoria. “Some people call it poo-phoria,” says Bennett-Johnson. “That to me is a very logical explanation for that burst of the zoomies after the litter box.”

A health issue

Sometimes the reason for the cat zoomies isn’t positive. Cats may display quick bursts of movement if they are being bitten by fleas or if they are experiencing acute pain. “If a cat experiences any discomfort in the litter box, for example, he may rush out,” says Dr. Caporale. “Essentially the cat is thinking, If I run away, I’ll get away from the pain.” In those cases, the zoomies can be a sign it’s time to take your cat to the vet.

When is the most common time for the cat zoomies?

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An active cat is a happy cat

Keeping your cat active and engaged will not only reduce the cat zoomies—it will likely also improve the bond between you and your cat. “If the cat is busy and entertained, it will cut down on behaviors you really don’t like and which can be destructive, like climbing the curtains or picking on a companion cat,” says Bennett-Johnson. “And we owe it to our cats. We have that obligation to make sure that we’ve provided an environment for them that is not only safe and healthy but also rewarding and stimulating.”

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