You’re petting your cat and everything seems perfect — they’re purring, leaning into your hand, enjoying the affection. Then all of a sudden they swat or bite and run off. Did your cat go crazy? No — they were likely overstimulated and needed to escape.

Overstimulation in us cats happens when prolonged touch overwhelms our sensitive nervous system. It turns pleasure into unbearable discomfort. But there’s good news! Cats usually give subtle warning signs ahead of time. Once you know what to look for, you can prevent these painful, confusing moments.

When Cat Pleasure Become Pain

If your cat strikes out at you when just a moment before they were affectionate and happy, it’s because it literally “hurt too good!” For a cat, sensory overload can cross from pleasure into neurological distress. So it’s actually a pain-like sensation.

Here’s what’s going on:

• High volume of nerve endings
  Cat nerve endings in their skin are dense, and they are especially focused in the places humans like to pet them — the back, sides and base of the tail. Too much touch in these areas can cause a sensory malfunction that’s painful.
   
• Cats respond to sensory input differently than humans and dogs. With our highly sensitive nervous systems, they have less neurological capacity for prolonged tactile stimulation — especially at heightened arousal levels.
   
• The predator-prey instinct also plays a part. Cats are both of these, so if they relax into a state that they perceive as too vulnerable, they may act out in a way that’s defensive because they automatically want to protect themselves.

Cats Act Out Because They Want the Pain to Stop

It’s not because your cat doesn’t like you. It’s not because they’ve suddenly gone crazy. They are reacting in a way that totally makes sense once you understand what is going on with them physiologically.

You want your affectionate moments with your cat to be pleasurable. You don’t want them to feel pain, which may eventually lead to them having negative associations with your sessions. So here are some clues that will help you gauge if your cat is becoming overstimulated.

Signs of an overstimulated cat:

• Twitching skin. This is a real giveaway — if the skin on your cat’s back begins to twitch or ripple, that’s a big signal to stop touching them.
   
• Increased purring volume. Yes, some cats do purr loudly, but when it increases with an underlying vocal noise or growl, that’s overstimulation. My human calls it, “the menacing purr,” which is a pretty good description!
   
• Lashing tail. If your cat is enjoying themselves, their tail will either be still, or maybe give a slow, occasional move. But if they start lashing or flipping their tail aggressively, their nerves endings have gone into overdrive.
   
• Tensing up. When you are petting your cat, they should be completely relaxed, leaning into your hand, and enjoying the moment. If you can feel their muscles tensing up, or you can see their body posture stiffening, they definitely want an end to the session.

What Can You Do When You See Any of These Signals?

Easy. Stop touching your cat. Just let them be, whether they decide to stay put or move away from you.

Sometimes a cat will continue to solicit attention after they’ve shown signs of overstimulation. Don’t touch them. Their nerve endings are in a mixture of pleasure and pain, and pain will win out at this point. It’s better to just leave your cat alone so their nerves can cool off.

How Can You Avoid These Episodes?

There are several things you can do, not all of them obvious.

A Few Things NOT to Do With Your Overstimulated Cat

• Never persist. At the slightest sign of overstimulated behavior, stop. Yes, I’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Don’t continue petting them. Don’t try a different way. Just don’t touch them. You’ll only make it worse if you do.
   
• Don’t let your cat’s acting out color your relationship with them in a negative way. Your cat is having a physical and instinctive reaction, not an emotional one. You want to be helpful to someone having a physical reaction. You don’t blame them for it.
   
• This should go without saying, but never, ever EVER lash out at your cat for the way they acted — verbally, and especially not physically. They are having a natural reaction to an unpleasant physical stimulus. If you react in a negative and frightening manner, your cat will learn to be scared of you and avoid you. Your cat didn’t want to hurt you, so don’t react in a hurtful manner.

Once you learn the signals, and how to respond to them, you and your cat should be able to enjoy time together peacefully, calmly, and lovingly. The way it should be.

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