sudden skiddish cat behavior

Question
Hi,

I have two cats, we adopted them as kittens on the same day, although they came from different mothers.  The one has always been a bit skiddish, but we think that was due to an error on the part of the adoption place (they claim she was 8 weeks old, but she had just fed on mommy's milk, we think she was just large for her age and was much younger, but one way or another, she was force-weened).  For the most part, she's become very comfortable with me, just not so much anyone else.  Recently, I would say in the last two weeks maybe, both cats have become very jumpy.  The other cat is nearly always calm and relaxed unless the vacuum is running.  Aside from that, nothing gets to her.  Earlier today and yesterday, something scared them both to the point that their instinct was to run into our screen door and knock it off the hinges, which terrified them even more.  I can't tell what has made them both suddenly very on-edge.  Do you have any idea?  I would imagine if one cat did it suddenly, it could be medical, but for both to do it at the same time, I can't see medical being the cause.  As for medical history, they are both about 2 years old, we have had them since they were "8 weeks old", completely indoor cats, no medical conditions, no access to any other cats or animals.  Oh, and we live in an apartment complex, but we never have visitors.  Oh, and I plan on calling the vet to ask if they have any opinion, but their vet is in another state, so we can't just take them in unless it's urgent.

Answer
Jacqui,

Normallly, one should not obtain kittens until they are at least 3 months old and, preferably, 4 months of age. The weaning, per se, probably has little to do with the skiddishness of the one, as some cats are just like that.  I am also assuming both cats are neutered/spayed.  In this part of the world (North America), many cats are in season and all of catdom (even neuters/spays) can sense something os going on.

I wish I had a good answer for you.  But something must have really frightened at least one of them them.  You have ruled out all the normal things, living in an apartment.  The only thing I can think of is that an animal, i.e. another cat or dog got into the apartment complex and frightened at least one of them very much, just by its presence.  If one cat is seriously frightened and exhibits intense fear, the other one will "catch" the behavior.  I have seen how this behavior becomes highly contagious amongst cats.

If you have had them for two years and all else is O.K., I would give the situation time to right itself.  Sometimes treatment for anxiety might help to mellow them out.  Even though it may be a pain to see your vet, I think a physical examinationm may be in order to make sure they did not hurt themselves and obtain a suitable treatment for anxiety.  

These things generally right temselves in a few weeks, but I have heard of it taking many months before things are normal.

Have you looked into finding a vet closer to you?  This would be especially useful in case of an emergency.

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.