Pet Anxiety Awareness Month 🐱

Stress in cats

Felines are subtle animals, and it can be tricky to tell if you’ve got a stressed cat in your home. Their behaviour might change slightly, or they might begin to do things that you perceive as ‘being naughty’. In fact, the domestic cat can be great at hiding signs of stress – in the wild, this could help them avoid becoming an easy target for predators.

Like humans, there are many reasons cats get stressed. Stress is an immediate response to a threat that activates the cat’s ‘flight or fight’ response. It is important you spot the signs and try to reduce anxiety as much as possible, to ensure your cat stays healthy. Learn how in our short video below.

How can I make my cat feel less anxious?

While there are a lot of things you can do at home to calm a stressed cat, planning in a visit to the vet should be top of your list. Your vet may suggest things you can do at home to keep your cat calm, such as altering their environment or changing their routine.

If you’re struggling to reduce stress, you might be referred to a qualified behaviourist who can identify the underlying cause of the stress and design a tailored behavioural plan for your cat. Make sure the behaviourist belongs to a regulated body like the Animal Behaviour and Training Council. 

One way to help reduce stress is a plug-in pheromone diffuser like Feliway. You simply plug it in the room where your cat spends most of their time and it can help to reduce their anxiety. However, it should be used in combination with medical and behavioural advice as it is one piece of the puzzle to help.