Not all cats do this, but many of them do. After defecating, a cat will exit the litter box on the gallop, sometimes running like crazy around the house. (They don’t seem to do it after urinating.) Some of mine did it, too, and I’ve seen this behavior in many other cats. But why? There are many reasons given and many sites purporting to answer this vexing question (see here and here, for instance), but most of them don’t satisfy me. Perhaps there is a panoply of explanations, each of which might apply for some cats or some post-poop dashes, but I think the phenomenon is so general that there has to be an overarching explanation.
To show you how it looks, I wanted to put a YouTube video of the phenomenon here, and I was certain there would be one (after all, it’s the Internet and cats). But I couldn’t find one. If you do, send me the link. Here’s what it looks like, but this could simply be a cat “crazy hour”:
After contemplating every explanation, I think this is the solution: they feel better and lighter, and take off in celebratory joy.
That sounds wonky, but when I was in college I had a friend who would always raise this philosophical question: “When you feel better after pooping, when you’ve had to hold it for a while, is that pleasure or simply the absence of pain?” Now those can of course be conflated, but I think with cats it’s pure pleasure. After all, with a litter box there needn’t be any pain, as you don’t have to hold it until you find a bathroom.
I’m not convinced that attempting to explain the behavior of cats is going to be a profitable undertaking. They are cats, and that’s all you need to know.
Old joke from the astronomy department :
Q. Why are comets like cats?
A. They both have tails, and do what they want.
The litter box is a horrible smelling place for all involved. Once you don’t have to literally stand in it anymore, you just want to run away fast and catch your breath.
At least that’s what I want to do when I get too near a litterbox, especially those ammonia smelling ones.
Properly cared-for litter boxes do NOT smell of ammonia. Hmph!
Yes I agree, I try to shovel out any business as soon as possible. I have watch my cats run like that after a bowel movement. One keeps running and running, and he is 19 years old. So funny to watch. I believe they are just feeling good, that’s it. Up
They are dancing with joy because now their owners have to clean up the odoriferous mess.
Well known in the cat world that there are all sorts of monsters who live in sandboxes, litter boxes, compost piles, and Grandma’s favorite flower gardens. Cats know to run like heck before one of these nasty parasites leaps up and enters into that nice chamber before the sphincter slams shut.
Sprinting after pooping is not limited to cats. My dog does the same thing.
Mine don’t run around, but one of them scratches grass on its poo (or attempts to anyway). Trying to cover it?
I have thought so. But the attempt to conceal must surely be fairly useless since their sense of smell is so good that other Canids would detect it anyway.
I did a little more research on this. Apparently, dogs and wolves have scent glands between the pads of their back paws. By defecating and then scratching the earth, it gives a double scent to protect their territory. I didn’t know about the feet scent glands. It also wasn’t clear if domesticated dogs actually have the scent glands, or just continue to carry the genes that produce the behavior.
I had two dogs that regularly did this, too.
We are staff to six kitties of varying age, two males, four females.
We have served cats for many years.
None of our cats exhibit this behaviour with the exception of Sam a ten year young brown tabby who does something similar.
Sam has a wild dash around before using the litter box, only for solids, never for urine, then having used the litter box he calmly strolls off and washes.
The others generally are quite discrete and carefull with their ablutions, covering over and normally no mess and not much smell.
The secret is having plenty of litter boxes.
A good diet free of junk and kibble.
We have ten or eleven boxes depending on the season and never use clay or commercial litter, just softwood pellets which are good at odour reduction, absorbing liquids, biodegradable,non tracking and relatively cheap particularly if purchased In quantity e.g. by the pallet .
It could be related to some kind of potty training trauma.
I am staff to 9 formerly feral cats–all now strictly inside. Most of them and the others I’ve had over the years do the post-poop dash. I’ve always assumed they just feel better afterward.
I think they call you an animal shelter above 5.
Well, before pondering a putative phenomena I would like to see statistics that convincingly show it exists – here a causation between box use and running at or above some speed, say – against a null. (Of course I can accept as more or less given that cats can use the litter box, and that they can run. 🙂 )
Sorry, I did not mean to poop in your litter box, but hypotheses can run like crazy. I just learned a tall tale of pseudoscience (and the references seem to check out): http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/EskimoHoax.pdf . Yes, it was a (chemical) engineer that started it, more or less.
I have two cats and observe them closely. I believe it is behavior evolved to avoid predators. They are nervous about anything that puts them in a position which can be predicted by a predator. Any place they are forced by circumstance to return to makes them nervous. A predator could have smelled them at a watering hole or a poop spot when they weren’t there and then simply lie in wait for them to return. Both our cats look over their shoulder as they drink water from the bathroom wash basin, especially if I don’t wait with them to put them more at ease. Once they finish, they leave quickly. I suspect it’s the same with the cat box. This also explains why they change their sleeping spot periodically. It’s a balance. They obviously choose these spots for their safety but they “know” they can be predictable and put them in danger. Their owners’ presence is a modulating effect on all this as big friends are also a protection from predators.
I agree with Paul
Our theory is that they are trying to get any poops attached to their fur is dropped. Our cat always sprints out the litter box, but she also does it when she’s outside of the box and has something attached to her fur
Yes. Absolutely.
This sounds very feasible.
I wonder if lions (or other apex predator felids) do this. If so, then the reason wouldn’t be fear of predators.
Even lions have enemies. Hyenas are particularly problematic I believe. And let’s not forget humans.
Good points.
I came to the exact same conclusion as I was reading through peoples thoughts.
That would be a perfectly reasonable evolutionary explanation for that behavior.
They had been in one place too long and not particularly been concentrating on possible predator awareness. By dashing around, if there was a predator stalking, they would at once both lure it out and be in a position to try to make an escape at the same time.
I meant to add that I have never not had cats, currently 3, at the most 6, only one now occasionally will do this behavior. In the past I would say one in four cats would occasionally do this if I look back at the 50 years or so of cat defecating history that I can recall.
I too pretty much agree with Paul. When a cat poops, it will be hampered in detecting predator movements, especially towards its back. In addition to pure escape, sudden bounding could be designed to induce a startle response in a lurking enemy, making it reveal itself. I have owned cats (4 at present) all my life but have never noticed this particular behavior. Darwin commented that the variable occurrence of a trait may mean that is no longer under selection. As Mark R. comments, a survey of the behavior in wild felids of different sizes might help pare down the hypotheses.
Have not seen this in either one of our two cats. They have their own litter box which is cleaned daily and changed weekly. I do see this trait in one of the cats after getting something good to eat. This cat pays attention to all human food as well as her own. If we are having fish or chicken it is best to give her some. Sometimes that causes her to shoot around the place.
My cat only does the poop dash if he’s got one stuck halfway. He’s old. The real mystery is why after a cat pees in the evening does rocket cat engage and they race around, chasing and pouncing on everything.
The evening rocket cat thing is called the Night Crazies in our family.
Sometimes we call it ‘kitten fits’, but rocket cat seemed more approriate since he just takes off like an engine suddenly ingited.
I haven’t seen our cats do this. The one that poop indoors in a tray spends an inordinate amount of time covering her poo.
The behaviour that has mystified me is that she “digs” the floor in front of the water bowl before she drinks.
Mine, who insists on a drink from the tap, does the same thing, digging in the sink basin before imbibing. No ruddy idea why.
One of ours does the “digging” in the water but the other doesn’t. I think the one that digs is very fussy about the quality of the water. He’s also a finicky eater. He evidently has a strong fear of being poisoned. I suspect the digging is related to that. He seems to be equally satisfied if I swish the water instead. I think he’s just trying to ensure that it is running water and not a dirty puddle though I don’t really get how us doing the swishing helps. Although he is somewhat afraid of the running tap, he also likes it because occasionally he tries to drink from the running water and not the bowl. If he could tell us, I’m sure he’d say “It’s complicated.”
My sister looked into the “kneading” that cats do – it apparently looks like an attempt to reduce anxiety.
I always thought that kneading (aka “making bread”) was an instinctual behavior to remove insects from an area where the cat intends to sleep. However, only one of our cats does this that I’ve noticed and only seems to do it when purring and wanting to lay down next to me or my wife. In other words, it also seems like it is related to showing affection and pleasure.
Does she paw at the floor in front of the water, or at the edge of the bowl? Cats have trouble seeing water if it’s completely still, so they’ll paw at water in a bowl so they can figure out where the water line is before lapping some up (nobody wants a nose-full of water). Even if she’s pawing at the ground in front of it, it may be to get the water to ripple a bit.
They don’t usually paw at the water if you provide a fountain for them.
She paws at the floor in front of the water bowl. I will have to observe closer to see if it is so that the water ripples. Her bowl is outside so I will see if she does it only when there is no wind to disturb the surface of the water.
Yes, I have seen cats spend inordinate time covering up, which seems to contradict the theory that they are quickly bounding away from potential predators.
No, it means covering up smell is an important task. The bounding away is because they can’t poop without producing an odor regardless of how much covering up they do. Covering up produces smaller and smaller returns until, at some point, bounding away is more important.
Hmmm… would it be that in the wild predators might be attracted to the smell? Running away from the dumping ground would be a sensible option rather than just ambling off.
But then again, as Steve Gerrard suggested, the probable answer is that they are just cats.
Just seen Paul making the same suggestion !
I love that theory. Which is yours = )
My cats do that. Frankly I always assumed they were instinctively moving quickly from potential predators after a period of vulnerability.
I have a couple vthat spring out of the litterbox and run to the next room, but most don’t (I have 7 cats, aged 2-16.) I think maybe they afraid of being stalked and confronted there as I have one that will run to the boxes when he hears another cat scratching there. Some will randomly fly around the house, unprovoked, but often just after I return from work or if I’ve been out of the house for awhile. I call these, “The Zoomies”.
I actually think they do it to get…all…the cat litter…off…of their paws. And that’s probably…only why they do it! Less effort for self-grooming time. Self groom time saver. Less litter in their mouth when grooming!
Agreed. It’s a saying in my house when you’ve had a bad day you need either a nap or a crap.
Funny, none of my cats have ever done this.
The more important question: why do cats have “crazy time,” or, as my family and I have always called it, “bonking out”? Where does it come from, why does it happen, and why does it suddenly start and stop?
🐾🐾😺
The difference in weight pre- and post-poop are trivial, so the explanation is unpersuasive to me. When I set down a heavy barbell, I don’t go skipping out of the room.
Interesting! I’ve never heard poop referred to as a “barbell” before. “Log”, certainly, but not “barbell”. Oh, I get it. You are just referring to the release of a heavy weight. 😉
But it doesn’t matter whether there is much weight difference but more of whether the animal *feels* lighter. For example, we don’t directly act on sound intensity, but a curious function of it, loudness, etc. So maybe cats have a weird “psychophysical function” for internal “weight” or “distention”?
I have only had one cat (1993-2011) and I thought this behaviour was idiosyncratic to him. I always thought he must have felt lighter after pooping 🙂
Have two cats and two litter boxes. One just goes and strolls off, the other (male) either goes and leaps off OR spends a full minute trying to cover it (whatever it may be) by pawing the sides of the litter enclosure, starting at the top, 18″ up.
Aren’t you glad nobody’s studying OUR bathroom habits😬
My silly 18-lber, Booker, loves to drink out of the main floor toilet, and when guests are over, I always need to make sure there’s no kitty litter on the seat or paw prints in the bowl. I don’t remember any of my kitties particularly doing the post-poop dash. Some have been overly fastidious on the cover-up, though.
And don’t forget the second part of catjoy I’ve hidden it and no one can find it! Or maybe it’s more wait till the next guy digs, is he in for a surprise! I have one who runs the circuit several times, two who hop out quickly, and one who seems to want to forget the whole thing.
This has always made sense to me…in the wild, spoor like poop will draw other, and perhaps bigger predators to the site. My kitten does tbis a lot and usually comes to a halt on high ground ( which is often my head), and looks back. This is presumably to see if she was followed.
I must go now as she is in her bix even now and I really must avail myself with a blanket or robe as I’m just out of the shower ans don’t feel like being a pin cushion. Hope this helps.
No. A non-herbivorous animal in the moment of defaecation is quite vulnerable. Cows for example just poop as they go, like horses. Therefore as in the wild that would also be done as a message to rivals – then I expect it is having been static for a while it is expedient to get moving again quickly…
Our Cat spends a few minutes after defecating burying it in the Litter, which she does very effectively, the smell, as well as the poop, is gone. But she does have her crazy moments hurtling around at breakneck speed, with no reason that I can see.
I have a huge male cat and he does this. He’ll come running out and through the house and back again growling. I have to yell at him to stop. LOL
😂😂 I yell at my cat to stop too. Funny thing is she calms down
I always figured that my cats were running from the scene of the crime. Usually when they poop, it stinks so bad that I want to run away from the smell. And with their noses being so much more sensitive than ours, I can only imagine how bad it smells for them. But I could totally see the phenomenon being a result of feeling lighter and happier and “jumping for joy” after dropping a deuce. Most of the time my cats leap out dramatically but there are times that they will bury their poop too, taking what feels like a year to do so. Hopefully you will get a real, intelligent answer. Ive always wondered about this as well!
My cat does this every day! After she poops she runs around the house like somebody chasing her lol. I just assume she trying to get away from her own smell lol
I’m in love with whoever caused the first question of my day to be, “Why does a cat . . ?” do anything? Nothing better than a day beginning with a giggle, guffaw or belly laugh! And guess what . . .I think that is the answer to your question, “Why do cats (some) break into a pot-poop run?” The comedian, George Carlin, frequently peppered his stand-up with questions about cat behavior. George asked, “Have you ever noticed that cats are the only animal that suddenly needs to be somewhere else? One minute they are actively doing something – sleeping, staring out the window, even playing and it’s ALARM (?) goes off and kitty exits the room.” So, I’ve never even thought about the “post-poop” run, but I immediately knew what you were questioning. My answer – to give their humans something infinitely more amusing than their latest ache, pain, squabble with their spouse, or work snafu. In the Bible, we are assured that “all will be answered” once we make it through the “Pearly Gate”. I’ll leave the heavy thinking to others. All I want to know is “what, in or out, of this world, made my cat do . . . a post-poop run?” 😌😂😅
So glad I read your article! I have three cats all of them are around 14 years old. One of them does the dash every time he uses the potty box to poop. All three are indoor cats and have never been outside. He racist through the house Non-Stop at Breakneck speed. And most of the time when he’s doing this he’s howling sort of. I always figured it was an announcement for me to get up stop doing whatever I’m doing and take care of his business. Someone said it’s a stinky place inside that box, after all we probably do the same if we have to use an outhouse or a Johnny buck! I agree with the cat. Get the heck out of there! He is also the only one that scratches the sink or the bathtub where he likes to get a drink of water. Wonderful form of entertainment!
It’s called poophoria……
Maybe when they lived in the wild they ran after they pooped because they were scared of being smelled out if they hung around to long.
In the wild, animals communicate through scent. They mark their territories, attract mates and find one another through the use of scent. For example, when a dog gets separated from their pack in the wild, they leave poop trails so the other members will recognize the familiar scent and find ine another. But, the scent of poop can also leave an animal vulnerable to attack, so dogs and cats instinctively cover up their feces and distance themselves from the area immediately so they will not attract predators. Domesticated animals still carry some of these behavioral traits from their wild ancestors, and this is what explains many of the seemingly strange actions of our pets.
same reason they bury it – poop attracts predators. if they just went the smell is still fresh and if they don’t run nearby predators can smell it. it is dangerous to hang around.
It could be pure instinct. They cover it up so that predators may not find their scent. They run to make sure they avoid the area and to get away from a predator in case it’s on it’s way to get them. I also think that all guesses are possible.
How do cats recognize *where* to do it? I’ve seen cats which cannot have been taught automatically find a litter box, or so it appeared.
They seem to be attracted to places where they can rake something over it when they’re done. Loose dirt or sand is obvious but ours also use a patch of ivy on a regular basis. I don’t see how raking ivy with claws really achieves much but perhaps it feels like it does to them.
Inside cats that poop outside the box may not know about the box, thought the box was too dirty and smelly, were making a “political” statement, or simply made a “mistake” as we humans do on occasion.
I totally agree, I have observed my cat’s behavior after peeing and pooping, she never exits the litter box in jubilation after peeing, but she is jubilant after the poop! Her litter box is in the garage, and after the “poop” she bolts out of the box, does a lap around the garage and then runs in the house through her pet door. It’s so funny! I can tell by how hard the pet door hits if she’s pooped or not!
I have an orange and white male domestic/tabby and he does exactly that every time he takes a dump. I never fail to be amused by the way he darts out of of the room where his litter box is located and runs around helter-skelter, jumping over furniture and running up and down the stairs to the second level of the house and back down. I too subscribe to the same theory that he does that because he’s happy to unload the unnecessary weight and makes him feel more lithe and freer to perform his athletic leaps up and down his cat tree. Ah to be cat and experience that same joy and be able to run around like that!
I think that it has to do with something from their instinctive past, and with that being said it would make sense that in the wild after going number 2 you would be worried about your predators smelling your business, so you either try to bury it afterwards or you don’t bury it afterwards and run like the wind to get away from that area before your enemies smell it.
Milan Kundera said that kitsch is the denial of shit. In this case, punctuated evacuation is the denial of shit.
I too sprint out of my human litter box. Who wants to be near any of that smell! How I always read it anyway.
We call that,
The poop zoomies!!!!!
I have watched this behavior in all our cats, but only when they went to the litter-box, and never when they defecated in the garden.
Garden or box, they would take care to conscientiously cover up their poo, but then from the box they’d bolt.
I always thought it must have something to do with the overpowering smell (and the litter-box not being an open-topped model). I suppose the smell clings to the fur, and after going trans-sonic the airflow takes care of the clinging stink. Cats usually do take great care to have as little odor as possible, after all.
And of course they do it to show that they’d prefer us to call it the catapult, and not the (somewhat belittling) kitty litter box.
You are exactly right. Plus, after pooping who hangs around near it? And they are WAY closer to their than we are to ours. So, they exit the quickest way they know.
So, I was just talking to one of my coworkers about this, funny enough! I told her I have a theory on this! I believe it’s to clean their paws off from the tiny litter specs. When they run, I believe their paws expand after every step they take, releasing any remnants stuck to them. My explanation is that I have a carpet and one of my cats will run out the door or jump up his cat tower. When I vacuum, I tend to find hear a lot of, what sounds like litter, getting sucked up. Maybe this just a result from them running from a good ol poop session, or this is their most efficient way to get cleanse their paws.
Litter box problem and old age:
Litter box problems can easily show up in the Adolescence cat. This problem arises due to chronic and continuous renal failure as well as diabetes in kittens which may give rise to severe litter problems. Due to Arthritis, your cats are unable to climb over the high-sided box and perch in the covered box. With age, the activity level of older cats is decreased and also have a less efficient digestive system. Due to the less efficient digestive system, constipation is the major issue in older cats.
It may also happen that your cat developed the avoidance issue of the litter box because he/she associates the urinary condition and constipation pain with a litter box. If there is more than one cat in your home, then your older cat may be scared in a litter box or have less area than that of companion box.