Cat lovers know that their feline family members can have
very peculiar bathroom habits.
Arguably, the greatest mystery of these behaviors is when
cats use the litter box.
Bolting out of the litter box is a bizarre phenomenon,
and the theories aiming to explain it are quite varied.
Some say post-poop freak-outs, or "zoomies,"
are a carryover survival instinct, so that predators can't trace the smell back
to the kitty responsible for it.
Others, including a veterinarian, say that it can be a
sign of discomfort stemming from food allergies or even an infection.
Still others, including another veterinarian, say that
using the litter box might lend some fresh energy to cats, and they burn off
the high with a favorite exercise: running frantically around the house.
It could also be that cats run to cast off any remnants
of waste. Or perhaps kitties sprint, some cat lovers speculate, because they
can't stand the smell of their own droppings.
Or maybe it is just exactly what it often looks like: a
sign of happiness and exhilaration.
In humans, the vagus nerve, which descends from the
brainstem to the colon and is stimulated during defecation, can cause all kinds
of reactions, even feelings of exhilaration, according to gastroenterologist
Dr. Anish Sheth, who wrote "What's Your Poo Telling You."
A similar phenomenon could be occurring in cats and could
explain why cats seem elated and happy, running around and scratching their scratching
posts with joy, Erin Willis, animal physiologist at Oklahoma State University,
told The Dodo.
"Dr. Sheth calls the pleasurable sensation with
defecation 'poo-phoria.' Good name for humans I guess, but the term 'poop
crazies' is much better for cats, in my opinion, since they essentially run
around like crazy cats afterwards," Willis said, adding that there is very
little research on the matter.
Whatever the reasons are, we just keep scooping — and
sweeping up the litter.
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