Skip to content

🚚 2-8 DAY FREE US SHIPPING on orders over $30

cat stress

Cat stress: How to de-stress a cat

What causes cat stress? How to de-stress a cat? Our pets suffer from cat stress just like everyone else. People experience stress from work overload, relationships with other people, including family, moving, high taxes, and other life situations. Cats don't experience many of these situations, but it's a mistake to think they never experience cat stress.

Cats, like all living creatures, are exposed to difficult situations, which can stress cat and eventually leads to serious cat stress.

 

a cat

What can stress a cat out? The most common cause of cat stress is fear of something or a sudden change of scenery. If a person is able to understand and analyze the situation, then cats perceive reality as it is. It is not always possible for the owner to understand that a pet has cat stress, recognize cat stress symptoms and signs of cat stress, and understand what causes cat stress.

In any case, if the pet's behavior has changed dramatically, this is the first alarmin signal of cat stress signs; this should alert you. If cat stress symptoms and signs of stress in a cat are ignored for a long time, this condition will last long too. In this case, treatment of cat stress will be very difficult, and possibly even useless, as cat stress has a negative effect on the entire pet.

 

scaredy-cat

Chronic cat stress symptoms and signs of cat stress

Cat stress is defined as the body's response to external stimuli, overload, and threats. Cat stress symptoms include:

  • wide open eyes and dilated pupils - these signs of cat stress are necessary for a cat to better view the surrounding space,
  • increased heart rate/ palpitations - signs of cat stress, giving more energy to fight or flee,
  • arched back, often with fluffy hair and tail - signs of cat stress, which makes the cat bigger and more fearful,
  • ears are pressed to the head - signs of cat stress giving concentration and sharpening hearing,
  • hissing - the most effective and threatening signs of cat stress.
kitten hisses

Some pets react to cat stress and stressful situations in exactly the opposite way: they will try to hide, be silent, or they will pretend that they are not around. These stress cat symptoms are drastically different, but still the same cat stress signs.

So what causes cat stress? There can be many reasons for cat stress, but the result is the same: the cat becomes lethargic, on the contrary, aggressive, which is an of stress cat symptoms. Perhaps this list of cat stress symptoms will help you better understand your cat and avoid many of the problems caused by cat stress.

 

cat's hiding

When a cat fails to recognize a source of threat or pressure, or when there is no way for the owner to avoid their exposure to the pet, this can stress a cat and cause chronic cat stress and anxiety.

There are many cat stress symptoms, depending on the individual cat's temperament. The most common of stress cat symptoms include:

  • deterioration in self-care - cat stress signs, most noticeable in females,
  • more frequent attempts to hide - cat stress signs, which are typical for shy cats in a normal state,
  • frequent loud meowing - in addition to a situational attempt to attract the attention of the owner, this may be one of cat stress signs,
  • decreased desire to explore and play - cat stress signs, most noticeable in affectionate cats,
  • poor and / or disturbing sleep - one of the most noticeable signs of stress in a cat,
  • loss of appetite - this cat signs of stress can be detected at the earliest stages,
  • toilet in inappropriate places - signs of stress in a cat, which may also indicate illness.
evil cat

Note that these cat stress symptoms and signs of cat stress can also mean illness. Whenever you are not sure what is causing a particular behavior, if you see one or more of the listed cat stress signs, it is recommended that you take your cat to the veterinarian to eliminate possible diseases, stop cat stress and prevent the development of chronic cat stress.

 

a woman holds a disgruntled cat in her arms

What causes cat stress?

What can cause acute cat stress? What can stress a cat out? Generally speaking, any unexpected threat or change in the environment (such as an encounter with an unknown cat, dog, person, loud noises, etc.) can stress a cat and provoke cat stress. Trips to the veterinarian and other trips, especially by car, also cause acute cat stress. Below we will tell you how to relieve cat stress.

What causes cat stress? What can stress a cat to the point of causing chronic cat stress? There are many reasons that stress cats, which can be grouped into three categories: environmental, physical, and emotional.

 

depressed cat

Environmental causes of cat stress include everything related to the cat's environment. For example, strange noises of unknown (for a cat) origin, a new baby or a new pet in the house, strong smells from air fresheners and house cleaners, a loud radio or TV playing, construction noises, etc.

Physical causes of cat stress are illness, obesity, physical punishment from the owner, fleas and parasites, surgeries, etc.

Emotional causes of cat stress include neglect, prolonged absence, or loss of the owner or other family members, including other pets. Emotional cat stress also includes a prolonged lack of mental stimulation (boredom), frustration when a cat’s needs are not understood and not satisfied, fear of people when a cat has been abused, etc.

How to de-stress a cat: cat stress relief technique

How to reduce cat stress? Before dealing with cat stress relief, it is necessary to exclude all other diseases. But if you know exactly what stressed a cat and notice that the cat's behavior has changed after being frightened, you can anti-stress a cat in a simple way: pet the animal, a calming herbal tincture, and ensure good sleep. Such a simple cat stress treatment is available to every owner.

How to relieve cat stress? Does petting a cat reduce stress? Of course. Your caress is a simple and natural sedative that will help anti-stress cat in a daily situation. But remember that this simple cat stress treatment works like simple cat stress medication, but is effective only in the early stages of cat stress and provided a pet does not have chronic cat stress.

 

cat sits

What can reduce cat stress? How to de-stress a cat on your own at home? How to deal with chronic cat stress? What are commonly available cat stress relief techniques? First you need to determine what causes cat stress.

Once you have identified the cause of chronic cat stress, the next step is to eliminate it from your cat's life as quickly as possible. If you have not been able to identify what can stress a cat out (cause), or if it's impossible to get rid of, you can help reduce cat stress by using the simple cat stress treatment described below.

  1. Provide your cat with a cat cave or bed. This is the perfect place to give your pet some privacy. This is a great technique for cat stress relief.
  2. Provide your pet with vertical shelves, boxes, cat trees, and other anti-stress cat tools so that it can hide from threats at any time. Safe places where cats can feel protected can help reduce cat stress.
  3. Scratching posts are necessary to satisfy a cat's natural need for sharp claws. The scratching process itself also reduces cat stress.
  4. If you have a few cats, make sure each pet has its own bowl of food and water, as well as its own cat box. This will help anti-stress cats.
  5. Communicate with your cat often and pay attention to it daily. Play and petting stimulate the release of endorphins, known as the happiness hormones which help to cope with stress. Endorphin is a natural cat stress relief.
kitten sleeps
  1. If you have a kitten, introduce it to different situations, people and animals. This is called socialization and it will help reduce cat stress and prevent chronic cat stress in the future.
  2. If you are building trust with your cat, take your time and be patient. The ability to take a step back in time is also cat stress treatment.
  3. When interacting with a frightened cat, get down to floor level as often as possible so you don't look too big and intimidating. This is a simple cat stress relief.
  4. Don't try to force petting or stroking your cat when a cat's not ready for it (this can be seen in the way the cat tries to avoid your hand). This is another key cat stress relief.
  5. Let the cat get used to you, wait until the pet smells you or your hands patiently. This is the best recipe for how to relieve cat stress. Take your time and little by little your cat will learn to trust you.
a little kitten sleeping on a pillow