How to Recognise and Treat Stress in Cats
Just like humans, cats can also suffer from stress brought on by a number of situations.
A change in their environment, a visit or overnight stay at the vets, and new cats within the household or foreign cats regularly visiting the outside area near where they live can all lead to a general feeling of insecurity for your cat.
Often signs of stress can go unnoticed but occasionally you may spot a slight change in your cat's behaviour.
The common signs of stress include scratching, urinating and aggression.
First let's look at scratching.
Cats regularly scratch to keep their claws sharp but will often favour a few quiet areas.
If you begin noticing scratches appearing in numerous places around the house it may be a sign that your cat is looking at increased ways to leave visual signs, as well as scent signals, to mark out its territory.
This could well be the actions of increased stress or at the least a sign that your cat is feeling unsettled.
Urine marking or spraying is a common method cats use to mark out territory.
Spraying is not just limited to males; it is common for females as well as neutered and non-neutered cats.
Spraying outdoors may well be a fairly common occurrence, but spraying inside the house is never a good thing.
It should be noted however that larger puddles of urine may be a sign of other conditions which are best investigated by a vet.
Don't ignore these signals and definitely don't reprimand your cat especially if such acts are out of the ordinary.
With increased stress cats can often become more aggressive.
It's a fairly obvious aspect of stress which we recognise in humans, but spotting the signs in cats can be difficult.
Cats will occasionally show aggression if cornered or surprised in some way.
If you have several cats in your household you may find that stress is simply as a result of the numbers you have or the interrelationships of some cats.
You may also pick up on aggression which is targeted towards one particular cat.
This can be a sign of stress in the aggressor but will also create stress for the victim.
You will find that certain cats cope better with stress than others.
Some will remain happy with all manner of situations and yet others may find even the smallest change immensely difficult and quickly start to suffer with acute or chronic stress.
So what do you do if you think your cat is showing signs of stress? As with all such issues the obvious starting point is to consult your vet.
If your vet agrees that stress is an issue he may well suggest Feliway.
By mimicking a cats natural facial pheromones Feliway works by creating a calming environment.
With treatment cats generally feel familiar and secure.
Feliway can be used as a spray which helps target troublesome areas or installed as a simple plug-in diffuser much like a regular air-freshener.
The results can be fairly dramatic.
Although not all cats respond in the same way, as any cat owner will tell you, they are after all individuals, but Feliway is well worth a try.
A change in their environment, a visit or overnight stay at the vets, and new cats within the household or foreign cats regularly visiting the outside area near where they live can all lead to a general feeling of insecurity for your cat.
Often signs of stress can go unnoticed but occasionally you may spot a slight change in your cat's behaviour.
The common signs of stress include scratching, urinating and aggression.
First let's look at scratching.
Cats regularly scratch to keep their claws sharp but will often favour a few quiet areas.
If you begin noticing scratches appearing in numerous places around the house it may be a sign that your cat is looking at increased ways to leave visual signs, as well as scent signals, to mark out its territory.
This could well be the actions of increased stress or at the least a sign that your cat is feeling unsettled.
Urine marking or spraying is a common method cats use to mark out territory.
Spraying is not just limited to males; it is common for females as well as neutered and non-neutered cats.
Spraying outdoors may well be a fairly common occurrence, but spraying inside the house is never a good thing.
It should be noted however that larger puddles of urine may be a sign of other conditions which are best investigated by a vet.
Don't ignore these signals and definitely don't reprimand your cat especially if such acts are out of the ordinary.
With increased stress cats can often become more aggressive.
It's a fairly obvious aspect of stress which we recognise in humans, but spotting the signs in cats can be difficult.
Cats will occasionally show aggression if cornered or surprised in some way.
If you have several cats in your household you may find that stress is simply as a result of the numbers you have or the interrelationships of some cats.
You may also pick up on aggression which is targeted towards one particular cat.
This can be a sign of stress in the aggressor but will also create stress for the victim.
You will find that certain cats cope better with stress than others.
Some will remain happy with all manner of situations and yet others may find even the smallest change immensely difficult and quickly start to suffer with acute or chronic stress.
So what do you do if you think your cat is showing signs of stress? As with all such issues the obvious starting point is to consult your vet.
If your vet agrees that stress is an issue he may well suggest Feliway.
By mimicking a cats natural facial pheromones Feliway works by creating a calming environment.
With treatment cats generally feel familiar and secure.
Feliway can be used as a spray which helps target troublesome areas or installed as a simple plug-in diffuser much like a regular air-freshener.
The results can be fairly dramatic.
Although not all cats respond in the same way, as any cat owner will tell you, they are after all individuals, but Feliway is well worth a try.
