Face your cat's emotional stress! How to stabilize your cat's emotions?

Face your cat’s emotional stress!

Just like humans, pets can be affected by stress and anxiety, which can affect their health. In particular, improper medication for sick pets can cause further stress, which can not only aggravate existing conditions but also lead owners to misjudge behavioral issues.

When stress is suspected, owners should first check their pet's health, such as observing urination frequency and posture, and checking the litter box for any abnormalities, such as urinary inability or frequent urination, or other urinary tract problems. If there are no abnormalities in urination, stress should be considered.

Stress in your pet is a serious concern. Chronic stress can suppress immune responses and lead to various physical illnesses. Therefore, owners should be aware of their pet's emotional state and appropriately manage stress to ensure their health.

How to recognize when a cat is stressed

Cats can exhibit a variety of symptoms when stressed, including physical problems like skin, bladder, or gastrointestinal issues. Feline Lower Urinary Tract Syndrome (FLUTD), for example, is a stress-related bladder issue. Cats may also urinate or defecate outside the litter box, growl or hiss loudly, or overgroom. Some cats may also overgroom due to stress, leading to hair loss.

Here are five of the most common signs of stress in cats:

Excessive licking of fur may even lead to baldness.
Excessive vocalization, barking constantly.
Hiding aside, lifeless.
Walking around and fidgeting.
Furniture destruction and biting behavior.

Causes of stress in cats

There are many reasons why cats become stressed, but here are two common reasons:

Changes in the environment

Cats are creatures of habit and are prone to anxiety when their environment changes suddenly. For example, the arrival of a new family member, moving, changing furniture, sudden thunder, or the sudden operation of a washing machine can all cause discomfort to cats.

Traumatic Anxiety

A cat's past traumatic experiences can become intertwined with their current lives, causing them to feel anxious, uneasy, or even fearful. Improper medication administration and past medical experiences can also have a negative impact on a cat, and in severe cases, can cause indelible psychological trauma.

How to stabilize a cat's mood?

Identify your cat's stress sources and take appropriate action

Once you've identified the source of your cat's stress, you can take appropriate measures to alleviate its anxiety. For example, try replacing the litter box with a new one, closing the curtains, or reducing the number of visitors. You can also add enrichment to your cat's environment, such as adding a climbing frame, to provide vertical space, help it expend energy, and alleviate its anxiety symptoms.

Using pheromones

Using diffusers and sprays to release feline pheromones can help relieve stress in cats. Pheromones are chemicals that affect animal behavior and can calm cats. Many veterinary clinics use these pheromones to calm cats during visits.

Using a prescription diet

If the owner is unable to get the cat to swallow oral medication, a prescription diet containing anti-stress nutrients can be used instead, in consultation with the family veterinarian.

Conclusion

Cat anxiety and stress are issues that cat owners need to address. Many factors can contribute to stress in cats. Symptoms of anxiety in cats can be identified by observing their daily behavior and tail posture. Owners should remember that to reduce their cat's stress, they also need to manage their own stress levels and avoid transmitting their own negative emotions to their cats.

If you're wondering about your cat's stress issues, your veterinarian is the best person to ask. They can advise you on how to make your cat's visit to the clinic more stress-free. Once your veterinarian has diagnosed and confirmed your cat's stress issues, you can discuss whether other methods, such as prescription diets, can help reduce stress.