Think food puzzles to engage minds and bodies, vertical space for climbing and surveying their domain, scratching posts, safe outdoor access (like a catio), window perches and interactive play. “Play is an important part of relieving stress,” Delgado says. “It helps cats release those feel-good hormones.”
If your cat is stressed, they can become emotionally and physically unwell, resulting in problem behaviours and a worrying time for both cat and owner. From an emotional perspective, cats can feel fearful, anxious, frustrated, or even depressed.
Symptoms Your Cat Is Stressed
Spraying and urinating outside the litter box are traditional stress symptoms for cats, even after they've been neutered or spayed. A howling cat that meows excessively may be a sign of stress, as can eating less or sleeping more. Excessive grooming and scratching can be stress-induced.
Given that catnip can have a calming, soothing effect, it can be used to: help reduce a cat's stress and anxiety when going to the vet, help reduce stress when traveling, help with urinary issues (note that stress is a major contributing factor to urinary obstruction in cats!).
The good news is that most kittens calm down with age. Cats develop much quicker than their hooman families so you can expect your kitten to slow down at around 9-14 months as they advance into adulthood.
Creating a relaxing environment for your cat, with access to toys, scratching posts, and a safe space away from potential threats, can help reduce anxiety. Playing with your cat and providing them with interactive toys, such as wand toys and puzzle toys, can also reduce anxiety.
Supplements, such as L-theanine, Zylkene (hydrolyzed milk protein), or other calming formulations for felines. Pheromone products like Feliway, which release calming cat scent signals. A Thundershirt or other body wrap, which provides comfort by mimicking swaddling. Herbal treatments such as Rescue Remedy for pets.
Its calming properties come from its nepetalactone and nepetalactone acid compounds. In animal studies, catnip reduces anxiety. While there isn't enough research to determine if this is the case in humans, the nepetalactone in catnip may reduce nervousness, anxiousness, and restlessness.
Toys and games let your cat burn some nervous energy, and help strengthen the bond between the two of you. Toys that they can play with on their own, scratching and climbing posts and other cat accessories help keep your cat entertained, lowering their stress levels and improving their quality of life.
Catnip can calm and soothe some cats. As an herb, catnip is easy to grow at home. If you grow it, you may find your kitty indulging in it at intervals throughout the day and maybe even chewing on it. For the most part, it's a fairly harmless indulgence.
Can Kittens Have Catnip? Catnip is not harmful for kittens, but most cats won't react to catnip until they are 6 months to 1 year of age. Some cats can be exceptions to this rule, as they will slowly increase their sensitivity over the years.
Signs of Emotional Trauma in Cats and Dogs
Trauma can also manifest as “shaking, hiding, urination and/or defecation when the trigger attempts to interact, howling, pacing, excessive vocalization, and panting,” says Pia Silvani, director of behavioral rehabilitation at the ASPCA's Behavioral Rehabilitation Center.
Common signs of stress include:
Territorial marking behaviors. Excessive grooming or self-mutilation. Immobility (depression) and hiding. Redirected aggression toward people or other animals.
Signs of a Depressed Cat
Loss of appetite or changes in feeding habits. Changes in body language, including ears held back, tucked tail, and hairs standing on end. Meowing more or less than usual or making low-pitched, mournful meows. Lack of energy or a decrease in activity level.
Cat anxiety may be caused by pain or illness, exposure to something toxic or infectious diseases that affect the nervous system. A psychological trigger may be to blame, like a traumatic experience, lack of proper socialization or a history of abuse or neglect.
Stroking involves running the hands with light to medium pressure over the cat from the head to the tail and down each of the limbs. By opening the massage with long, light-touch stroking, we can help relax the cat and set the stage for the rest of the massage.