On Tuesday it was National Answer Your Cat’s Questions day. We got to spend part of that day interviewing Dr. Evan Antin, People Magazine’s Official Pet Vet, about stress in cats.
Every cat owner wishes that they could understand their kitty’s language. Especially when those furry little family members get stressed, and start to act out.
Unfortunately cats can’t tell us what is wrong with them, but our chat with Dr. Evan Antin will provide you with valuable tips, and an insight into knowing when, and why your friendly feline is stressed. Being a cat owner himself, alongside his veterinary skills, makes him the perfect source of advice.
After reading this interview, you will understand a lot more about why your felines aren’t themselves lately, and what you can do to make them feel more comfortable. So why don’t you grab a cup of tea or coffee, and read on to find out…….
How do we know if our pets are stressed?
Every individual is a little different, and so as a owner you wanna be kind of aware of any changes in their behaviour, and for cats like we are talking about today, that could be things like excessively scratching on furniture, or urinating inappropriately, like spotting or marking outside the litterbox. It could be hiding, it could be eating less, it could be being less social and engaging with their owners compared to how they usually are, and a number of other things, but those are some common signs that your pet has some stress.
What are some common stress triggers in cats?
Well first and foremost you wanna make sure its not a health issue, and so you know consult your local veterinary, and if you are seeing changes in some of the things I mentioned just a second ago, to make sure there’s not some underlying disease process going on, and so you can do that with a vet check, and maybe some diagnostics. And then other things, you know things that can cause stress are, you know moving a new child, a new pet, home improvement projects, all that stuff.
What if your cat is already displaying severe signs of anxiety?
If they are displaying things like that then you know again, I would consult your vet and just make sure there is not an underlying health issue. If there’s a cause of that stress and you can remove it, or separate them from that, then obviously do that, and if it’s something that you can’t feasibly do, like it’s a child, or you are moving, or something, then something else you can do, is use a Comfort Zone pheromone air diffuser. These diffusers actually release a mimic pheromone that cats release, or basically put out there to say, ‘I’m happy, and this is a safe place’, and it really makes them a lot more comfortable.
I’m just gonna say, just so there is a clear understanding, pheromones are chemical cues and smells that animals use to communicate to one another, and this could mean ‘I’m happy’, ‘I’m stressed’, ‘I’m re-productively active’, ‘this is my territory’, all that stuff. Comfort zone diffusers are just releasing the happy smells. So, it really helps mitigate some of those negative behaviours like excessive scratching, and urinating inappropriately, and more importantly, most importantly helps reduce stress in your cat, and makes them more comfortable.
Where can we go for more information on that?
Yeah, for information on Comfort Zone air diffusers, and stress in cats you can go to comfortzone.com
Do you have any tips for managing cats’ comfort levels during all seasons, so throughout the year?
I’d recommend cats stay indoors, for their own good, and for the health and safety of wildlife, because cats are such good hunters. So I mean their life shouldn’t be too different from season to season. I mean thermo-regulate your house, make sure it’s not too hot, not too cold. If it is hot, offer shade, offer water sources, that kind of thing goes for any kind of pets. If they are used to going into a space that they can’t go into in the winter, try to make up for it with other enrichment inside the home. I love laser pointers and the feather ones, where you can, get these guys playing with all kinds of toys, like cardboard boxes, you know, have some fun with it, get creative and give them some enrichment.
So, where can readers go to learn more information?
I mean some of the stuff we talked about with cats, and stress, and a lot of these topics, comfortzone.com will give you a lot of great information, and they’ll tell you more about the Comfort Zone air diffusers as well.
Where can people go to follow you online?
To see what I do you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
My Instagram handle is: Dr.EvanAntin, then my name on Facebook is Evan Antin, and you can follow me there.I’m posting content about what I’m up to, my travels, my patients, and all kinds of animal stuff.
Do you have a cat, or any other pet? Let us know on social media @celebmix