Does your cat or dog suddenly get a burst of energy and perform athletic feats around the house that would make even a gold medallist jealous? Welcome to the world of zoomies.
Zoomies involve intense periods of high-energy activity including running, spinning, jumping and rolling. All at top speed.
A proposed scientific name is frenetic random activity periods (FRAPs). In rabbits these high activity periods are called “binkies”. But many cat and dog owners simply call them “zoomies”.
A proposed scientific name is frenetic random activity periods (Getty Images)
So why do our animals experience the zoomies? And is it something we should be worried about?
Why do animals get the zoomies?
Think about when your cat or dog gets the zoomies.
You might see post-bath zoomies, dog park-zoomies, midnight-zoomies and good ol’ out-of-nowhere zoomies.
The trigger may be excitement or a sudden increase in stimulation.
In cats, a commonly reported trigger is using the litter tray. This may be explained by “poo-phoria”, a feeling of euphoria following defecation. This is possibly caused by large bowel movements stimulating the vagus nerve,
