No bills, no responsibilities, endless hours spent batting toys beneath the furniture, napping in soft sherpa beds and watching birds flit around the feeder outside the living room window.
From a human perspective, the life of a pampered house cat looks pretty sweet. So it can be startling to learn that our cats’ lives might not be as stress-free as we imagine.
Everything from our household cleaning habits to the way we interact with our feline companions can be a source of anxiety for them.
While “one stressor may not mean a lot, a bunch stacked up can make for a very unhappy cat,” says Danielle Bays, senior analyst for cat protection and policy at the Humane Society of the United States. And since cats lack the facial expressiveness of dogs and tend to display their likes and dislikes in subtle ways, it’s easy to miss the clues.
By Lorie Huston, DVM
It may be strange to think that your cat might suffer from anxiety. However, a stressed out cat is much more common than you’d think. Even worse, stress and anxiety can affect your cat’s health negatively, manifesting itself in a variety of ways including illnesses like cystitis and inappropriate elimination.
If your cat’s behavior changes suddenly in any way, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. He or she can rule out any underlying medical issues as well as make suggestions to help lower your cat’s stress level. But why wait? Here are some basic cat needs, and tips for creating a stress-free environment in your home today.
Have you ever considered the possibility that your kitty is stressed out? No matter how hard we try to create an enjoyable and peaceful home environment for our pet cats, at some point, most of them are exposed to stress in some form or another. Just as with people, how well our feline friends handle stress varies and depends on their inherent dispositions along with the nature of the stressor.
Three veterinarians at Autonomous University in Barcelona, Spain (yes, there really is such a place) have recognized the significant role stress plays in the lives of pet cats. Marta Amat, Tomas Camps and Xavier Manteca recently published an article that recaps what is known to date about feline stress. The article is extremely thorough and includes 150 references. It appears in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. This article titled, “Stress in owned cats: behavioural changes and welfare implications,” focuses on the causes and effects of stress along with strategies for stress prevention and reduction.
Why is it important to pay attention to this topic? Just as is true for people, cats who are stressed can suffer negative health consequences. Additionally, stressed kitties often manifest undesirable behaviors that can result in re-homing or, worse yet, euthanasia.
Causes of cat stress
There are many potential triggers for feline stress. The authors of the article mentioned above believe that the following stressors are the most significant:
- Environmental changes such as introduction of a new household member or change in the physical environment
- Change in the daily routine
- A barren environment that creates a lack of stimulation and few opportunities to express normal feline behaviors such as hunting, scratching and territorial communication
- A poor human-cat relationship arising from inappropriate socialization, too little handling, or punishment
- Conflicts between cats that can arise from the introduction of a new cat into the household, reintroduction of a familiar cat that has been away from home (at a veterinary hospital or boarding facility) and competition for resources such as food bowls and resting places.
Health consequences of cat stress
Amat et al, emphasize that a stressed kitty is more prone to health issues and that stress is commonly associated with suppression of normal immune system function. The following examples of stress-induced health issues were discussed in the article:
Behavioral consequences of cat stress
Exposure to stress can result in a wide range of behavioral changes that can negatively impact the cat’s quality of life. Unfortunately, as Amat et al point out, these changes are a very common cause of giving up or euthanizing cats. The more common behavioral abnormalities resulting from stress include:
- Not eating as much
- Change in grooming behaviors
- Playing less
- Exploring less
- Less facial marking (kitty not rubbing her face against objects in the environment, including her favorite humans)
- Less positive interactions with other cats and humans
- More vocalization
- Hiding
- Urine marking (includes spraying and urinating indoors, outside of the litter box)
- Aggressive behavior
- Compulsive behavior such as over-grooming or eating non-food items (plastic, rubber bands, fabric, etc.)
Stress reduction strategies for cats
In their review, Amat et al cover a wide range of stress reduction strategies. Ideally, if a stressful stimulus can be identified, it should be removed from the cat’s environment. When this is not possible, as often is the case, gradual exposure to the stressor within a pleasant context may diminish the stress response.
Controlling inter-cat conflict to reduce cat stress
The article reviews a multi-phase method to reduce stress arising from conflict between cats living in the same household. The steps include:
- Complete separation: The cats are kept in completely separate parts of the house with separate food, water bowls, litter boxes and toys.
- Olfactory habituation: Locations are reversed so that each cat is exposed to the odor of the other.
- Visual habituation: The cats remain physically separated, but are allowed to see each other through a screen or mesh door.
- Direct contact habituation: The cats are allowed physical access to one another.
Click here to learn more about introducing new cats to the household.
Environmental enrichment to reduce cat stress
Amat et al emphasize the importance of providing ample space and resources (food, water, resting places, toys, litter boxes) for each individual cat. Additional stress reduction strategies include the following:
- Installing cat trees, shelves and platforms to allow the cat to explore space vertically and horizontally
- Providing fun kitty hiding places
- Frequently changing out toys to stimulate curiosity and interest
- Providing moving toys that mimic small prey
- Hiding treats within the environment
Chemical stress relief for cats
The authors briefly touch on the use of some chemical stress relievers like medications, pheromones and aromatherapy. It’s important to talk with your veterinarian if you are considering these options.
Whatever you do to help your cat feel good, I encourage you to have a conversation with your veterinarian if you suspect that your kitty suffers from stress. It’s important to rule out an underlying medical condition because disease-induced and stress-induced symptoms and behaviors can look the exact same!
If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian — they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.
Stress. We hear that word often as it relates to humans but it can be a big problem for cats as well. While stress can’t be totally avoided in life and a certain amount is necessary to help us all survive (Acute stress triggers fight or flight response), we can limit how much cats endure.
Types of Stress in Cats
Acute stress:
This is something cat parents more easily recognize in cats. Just picture your cat on the veterinarian’s exam table or remember the day you brought home a second pet or moved to a new house.
Chronic stress:
This can easily be overlooked. This is the day-to-day stress that a cat may experience from any number of causes. Behavior may change so gradually that cat parents miss things such as change in activity level, appetite, grooming habits or litter box usage. Short-term stress is something the body is equipped to handle but long-term, chronic stress can play a major role in the onset of behavior problems and even disease.
A Veterinary Check-up Comes First
Granted, a trip to the veterinarian is often stressful in itself, but if you notice a change in behavior, weight, appearance, litter box habits, appetite, or water consumption, have your cat checked out. Don’t skip this all-important first step.
Reducing Your Cat’s Stress
Here’s a list of 10 tips to guide you on ways to reduce some common stress triggers.
1. Maintain Your Cat’s Health
Don’t skip annual veterinary wellness visits. Catching a potential medical problem in the early stages increases the odds of successful treatment and maintenance. Also, keep up at-home health routines such as good nutrition, parasite control, dental care, grooming and nail care.
2. Less-Stressful Veterinary Visits
Stress is one of the most common reasons cats don’t see the veterinarian as often as dogs do. You can reduce that stress in a few easy ways. First, get your cat comfortable with the carrier. Leave the carrier out and periodically toss treats near it. This helps take the fear out of the carrier’s presence. When going to the veterinary clinic, bring an extra towel which can be used to cover the carrier opening to give kitty more privacy. When sitting in the waiting room, hold the carrier on your lap or on the seat next to you. Avoid placing the carrier on the floor since that can be more stressful. If you have a carrier where the top can be detached from the bottom, during the exam you can let your cat remain in the bottom part.
3. Consistent Cat Training
Reduce stress by making sure everyone in the family is on the same page with training. For example, if kitty isn’t allowed on the table by one family member but is permitted by another, it sends a confusing and stressful mixed message. Train with kindness and consistency.
4. Create a Peaceful Mealtime
It starts with feeding a high quality food that’s appropriate for your cat’s age and health. Next, create a peaceful mealtime setting by keeping the feeding station clean and inviting. Use a food bowl that’s a comfortable size and shape and doesn’t cause your cat’s whiskers to get squished. Locate the feeding area in a quiet place that’s free from sudden noises. Place food and water a little distance apart as many cats don’t like water right next to food. In a multicat household, give each cat an individual food bowl because cats aren’t social eaters. You can discourage one cat from nosing another cat out of the bowl if they each have their own separate dishes. If necessary, feed cats in separate rooms to reduce stress.
To encourage successful mealtimes, add a grain-free topper like CORE Simply Shreds to your cat’s meal.
5. Your Cat’s Social Interaction
Never force your cat to interact. Let kitty set the pace of how much he wants to engage. Don’t insist on holding or petting your cat if he doesn’t want it. If he doesn’t mind being held, always put him down before he starts to struggle. Keep the experience positive. You can give him incentives to be more sociable, such as offering a treat or playtime, but always let it be his choice of whether to accept or decline.
6. Happy Litter Box Set-up
Make sure the litter box is the right size and type for your cat. It should be 1 ½ times the length of your cat from tip of nose to base of tail. As for litter, most prefer soft, sandy, scoopable litter. Texture is important to cats. Scoop the litter box at least twice a day to ensure there’s always enough clean area for elimination. Locate the box in a quiet spot that’s convenient and comfortable to access. In a multicat home, provide numerous litter boxes scattered throughout the house so one cat doesn’t have to cross another cat’s area. The general rule is to have one more box than number of cats.
7. Environment and Resources
Cats live in a vertical world. Provide cat trees, perches or other elevated locations to create security and comfort. Cats also like to alternate between being hidden and being visible. Offer hiding places for those times when kitty wants to watch the household goings-on as an undetected spectator. Indoor cats have to share overlapping territories so reduce stress by making sure each cat has comfortable places for napping, hiding and resource availability within their preferred area. This can go a long way in increasing multi-cat harmony.
8. Cat Communication
Cats are masters of communication and just their body language alone can tell you so much about what’s going on inside their heads. Observe your cat’s body language and become educated about whether he’s saying I’d rather not be disturbed now or please play with me.
9. Stress-Reducing Playtime
Playtime is more than just fun and exercise. Playtime releases good brain chemicals and helps a cat develop positive associations with their environment and people around them. Playtime is beneficial to reducing stress on an everyday basis as well as when you’re dealing with a particularly stressful event. Engage in interactive playtime daily and also create fun activities for your cat for when you aren’t home. This can involve puzzle feeders, tunnels and other activities to keep your cat stimulated.
10. Less-Stressful Life Transitions
Cats are creatures of habit but unfortunately, life is full of changes. Some changes are unavoidably sudden but if there’s an upcoming anticipated change, ease your cat through it gradually. Whether it’s the addition of a new baby, new cat or any other disruption in his normal routine. Go at a slow pace and let him take small steps through the adjustment. Your cat will appreciate the extra effort made to help him through life’s surprises.
