My animals are acting REALLY strange, and it's freaking me out.

[SeattleGirl]

Went to take the dog out a minute ago, to play ball with her, which she loves, but she wouldn't step out the door. She tucked her tail between her legs, and was "on point" in the doorway. One of my cats was sitting nearby, and she did come outside, slunk low to the ground, tail also tucked, and slunk over to the shed.

I picked the dog up, and took her outside and she was shivering like crazy. The cat is frozen in front of the shed, so maybe there's another animal in there (I have spotted raccoons around here from time to time).

I hope that's all it is. Last time they acted this weird, we had a pretty sizeable earthquake. :scared:

[SPKrazy]

1. oh noes....

no earthquakes sis!

hope all is well... just a raccoon


:hug:

[SeattleGirl]

3. I hope so too.

:hug:

[barb162]

2. I suspect it's bigger, more like a coyote

becasue a lot of cats aren't really all that afraid of raccoons. If a coyote comes by, my animals get scared, but not with raccoons.

[SeattleGirl]

4. A coyote?????

:scared: :scared: :scared:

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Keep your critters inside, to be safe.

[havocmom]

10. They are ALL over the place in the heart of Tucson and most people never see them

They can be mighty close and people won't see them.

Not sure if you are IN Seattle or out of the urban area. Any chance a bear might be about? Here in MT, biologists are finding surprising info about how many bears will be in close to new housing developments and not get discovered by human neighbors.

[SeattleGirl]

13. I'm actually IN Seattle, in a highly populated area.

I know that a lot of non-domesticated animals have made their way into cities for various reasons, and in fact, there have been several bears that have had to be trapped and returned to the wild around here in the past year. Well, not in my particular neighborhood, but in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area, and that had not happened before.

[barb162]

16. I'm in a highly populated area too, way bigger than Seattle

and I saw a coyote about a week ago walking in the yard.

[barb162]

17. Seattle Times : Coyotes may be killing area cats

Sunday, July 10, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM




Coyotes may be killing area cats

By Peter Lewis

Seattle Times staff reporter

Steve Millard can't say for sure who mauled Angelo, the family's 5-year-old cat, but he has pretty strong suspicions based on a neighbor's sighting of a coyote where Angelo's collar and part of his remains were found in Wedgwood on Thursday.

"I didn't know coyotes lived in our area before this," said Millard, who has resided in the neighborhood since 1986 and whose family has had cats the whole time.

"They're everywhere," Sgt. Kim Chandler, who covers King County for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said of coyotes. Yesterday he could offer no population estimate but was confident there are "thousands" in the county.
snip
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002371689_coyote10m.html

[SeattleGirl]

22. Wow. I must have missed that story.

Hope to hell that's not it. The dog still won't go outside, and she is clinging to me.

[barb162]

42. That's the way my pets act when there's a coyote around

They want to be inside and they are scared even inside. Dogs and cats have such a great sense of smell. They know way before we do there's a predator around.

[havocmom]

5. Do a good inspection of anyplace a snake might find attractive.

Lots of snakes out and about. Make sure pets are safe.

[SeattleGirl]

8. I've lived in this house for 14 years, and have never even seen a

garden snake around here. Hope they haven't suddenly discovered where I live!

[havocmom]

12. Garden snakes wouldn't be my concern.

Rattlers would be, especially if there is any building going on, fires nearby or recent flood/ landslides.

[SeattleGirl]

14. Not really any of that around in my neighborhood, except for a

remodel of the grocery store a mile down the hill from me. But it's just a remodel, not a tear down or anything. And no floods or landslides.

[MsKandice01]

6. I hope that's all it is too..

Being a lifelong Californian, I totally understand your concern. I'd be freaking out too.

[SeattleGirl]

11. We've had several earthquakes since we got our pets, and

they have always acted weird before they hit. I'll take a raccoon any day!

[undeterred]

9. My dog was all whiny when I came home and it was quite annoying

then I realized he was telling me his water bowl was empty. He was complaining.

Last night on PBS there was a show about people rescuing animals after Hurricane Katrina. People were foolishly told to leave their animals behind. Some SPCA people were going from house to house collecting cats and dogs and when there was no more room in the shelter, they still went around bringing food and water to the pets that were in houses. At one house there was a dog standing on the roof- you could see his ribs he was so thin. So they went in and kept filling his water bowl and he just drank and drank. Then they picked him up and took him back to the pet hospital and fed him, and he was eventually reunited with his owner. There were sad stories too, they found dead pets. But it was just tragic how many animals were left behind to drown or starve to death because they were not included in the plan. Thank you idiot president.

[SeattleGirl]

15. It wasn't the water dish. When that's empty, the dog goes to the

sink and jumps up and down.

I've seen several shows about what happened to a lot of the animals that had to be left during Katrina (yeah, idiot president), and it just broke my heart; it did make me feel good, though, to see all the SPCA workers, and regular Jane and Joe Citizen doing whatever they could to rescue and save the animals.

[Haole Girl]

18. Uh oh...

Do you have a strong archway to stand under... just in case?

I wonder if it could be Mt. Rainier... are you close to it? :hug:

[SeattleGirl]

19. Several strong archways, actually, so I'm good there.

Haven't heard of any seismic activity on Rainier, and yeah, it's kind of close.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

20. My dog just peed on me.

They're all weird right now for some reason. :shrug:

[SeattleGirl]

23. Has the dog ever done anything like that before?

That is weird. My dog peed in the middle of the kitchen floor once, but she hadn't been feeling well, and was on prednisone, which makes her very thirsty, and I think that's what lead to her doing that.

[slutticus]

21. Could be the Cascadia

subduction sucks

[mentalsolstice]

24. One of our dogs won't eat right now...

Perhaps the heat?

Our yellow lab is as perky and playful as can be in 100+ degree heat. She's outside/inside, although, when she's outside she has access to a cool, damp basement. Yet she has barely eaten in the past 2 weeks (have to add, she's always been figure-conscious).

Our cat has been acting weird as well, in terms of litter box habits.

Our pug, on the other hand, hasn't missed a meal, or lap-time, yet she scratches more than normal.

However, we've been treating all of them for fleas (Frontline), and for some reason, it doesn't seem to be working as well as it has in past summers.

Global warming?

[satya]

25. There was a little quake (2.4) at 6:38 pm 6 mi. NE of Naches.

http://www.pnsn.org/recenteqs/Quakes/uw08210138.htm

I've been a bit nervous about quakes myself lately. I lived in Southern Calif for 17+ years, then another 6 years in the SF Bay area, so I should be used to quakes, but the Nisqually quake here really shook me up (literally).

[SeattleGirl]

28. I was in Pt. Angeles the day the Nisqually quake hit, and we really

felt it! I was a district manager at the time, and was there visiting the office staff. It was quite strong out there! Worse still in Seattle, where there was a lot of structural damage to building in the SODO district.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. One way or the other, listen to them.

They don't want to be outside perhaps because of a coyote, but you should do the quick review of earthquake procedures. We live with this hazard and critters are the only warning system we have.

FWIW, the cats in my neighborhood either don't send signals when there's a coyote nearby or they just refuse to go outside. We have visits from coyotes fairly regularly in the late summer/early fall and sometimes cats do disappear.

[SeattleGirl]

29. I just spotted the neighbor's orange tabby sitting on top of my

other shed, so she's freaked about whatever the heck is going on.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. Listen to your babies...

How long in advance of an earthquake do they start acting weird?

[SeattleGirl]

33. Last time, it was about 24 hours before the quake hit.

I really hope that's not what it is.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. I hope not too!

Be prepared.... :hug:

[SeattleGirl]

38. I am.

Got food, water, flashlights, batteries, candles, etc.

[Dangerously Amused]

27. I suspect something more dangerous than a coyote, bear or earthquake at this point.

Are there, perhaps... any Republicans lurking about the neighborhood? :scared:


You may be able to run them off by reading loudly from the Constitution. Well, the parts of it that are still viable anyway.


:hug:

[SeattleGirl]

30. I'll grab my copy of the Constitution and start shouting out the Bill of Rights!

That'll scare the crap out of them (well, all except for the 2nd Amendment.....)

[hyphenate]

32. That would have been my first guess

But then, me and the cats lived in SoCal for 15 years, and tremors were quite common.

[Zomby Woof]

35. Just let Harry prop up your walls

Like this:




(Fellow survivor of the '01 Nisqually Quake) :hi:

[SeattleGirl]

37. You!

:spray:

(Howdy, fellow survivor! :hi: )

[flamingyouth]

36. Weird.

Two of our cats are acting really weird today too. They don't go outside but they've been really jumpy - way more so than normal. I was just commenting on it early this afternoon.

[SeattleGirl]

39. Really? We should check with Julie, see if her two furbabies are

also acting weird! :scared:

[idgiehkt]

40. It's freaking me out too

I hope you figure out what it is. And please update us. I know this is how they act when there is a ghost around. I know they act this way about prowlers, and large predators like coyotes. Have you thought about calling the police and letting them come inspect your backyard just to make sure. Please keep us posted. :hug:

[mzteris]

41. check this out

Monday, August 20, 2007 at 08:17:04 PM at epicenter

Location 46.785°N, 120.630°W
Depth 7.2 km (4.5 miles) set by location program
Region WASHINGTON
Distances 8 km (5 miles) NE (40°) from Naches, WA
13 km (8 miles) N (1°) from Eschbach, WA
13 km (8 miles) NE (46°) from Tieton, WA
22 km (14 miles) NNW (340°) from Yakima, WA
147 km (91 miles) SE (127°) from Bellevue, WA
159 km (99 miles) SE (125°) from Seattle, WA

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 0.8 km (0.5 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst= 26, Nph= 26, Dmin=14 km, Rmss=0.33 sec, Gp= 58°,
M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=0
Source Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network

Event ID uw08210317
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/uw08210317.php




overall area pic & events last day/week, etc....:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US10/42.52.-125.-115.php



edit to add:
MAG UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s LAT deg LON deg DEPTH km LOCATION
MAP 1.1 2007/08/20 09:33:56 46.480 -122.443 19.3 6 km ( 4 mi) SSE of Mossyrock, WA
MAP 1.1 2007/08/19 00:18:25 47.884 -121.987 15.2 3 km ( 2 mi) N of Monroe, WA
MAP 2.3 2007/08/16 22:47:03 46.159 -122.270 9.3 8 km ( 5 mi) SW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.0 2007/08/16 16:11:07 46.228 -122.181 42.1 3 km ( 2 mi) N of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.2 2007/08/15 18:48:56 46.513 -122.025 7.2 20 km ( 13 mi) ESE of Morton, WA
MAP 2.1 2007/08/15 17:04:27 46.243 -122.497 0.0 25 km ( 15 mi) W of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.3 2007/08/14 05:06:52 47.519 -121.849 16.7 2 km ( 1 mi) SSW of Snoqualmie, WA

[idgiehkt]

43. okay, WHY were your animals freaking out???

was it the earthquake? I've been waiting all day for the answer...tap,tap.

:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

44. Oh! My bad! Yes, I believe it was. I didn't feel anything, but

I do know animals are far more sensitive than humans. They started getting really weird about 90 minutes before the quake (160 miles from us) hit.

:hi:

[idgiehkt]

45. I'm so relieved, I was afraid you had a prowler.

Good to know things have settled back down. It's interesting they know things like this are going on but at the same time it must be very stressful on them, too. :hug: :hi:

[SeattleGirl]

46. It was stressful all around last night at Case SeattleGirl.

I usually head downstairs to my lair about 8:00, but I stayed upstairs until MrSG got home from work at 10:30, because I didn't want to leave the furbabies alone when they were so skittish.

I have to admit, I was really freaked out too. I mean, normally, I'm absolutely fine being alone in the house with the animals, but they were SO weird last night, it got to me! :scared:

[idgiehkt]

48. that would freak me out too

I am glad things settled back down. I have a friend who has a ghost in his house and he can always tell by the way his dogs acts if it is there. I'd move, lol.

Hope you have a more restful evening tonight. :hug:

[MissMarple]

47. Smelling something wild. n/t

[SeattleGirl]

49. Nah, I'm pretty sure they were reacting to the earthquake that

happened 160 miles from here last night. They were freaking out about 90 minutes before it happened.

[MissMarple]

50. 160 miles...interesting.

Time to think about getting another dog. We still have the cat. :)