A stressed cat can develop behavioral problems including urine marking, furniture scratching, hiding, and ignoring when called. Cats are easy to become upset with many things, which includes car trips, loud noise from storms, visiting a veterinarian, meeting strangers inside the house, and so much more.
If your cat is suddenly meowing horribly, growling, or hysterically running around the house looking for a hiding spot. Your cat clearly shows that it needs help. Here are some of the things you can do to help your cat to chill out during its most stressful days.
Ways To Calm Your Cat
Here are some of the ways you can do to calm your cat:
Talk To Your Cat With A Calm Voice & Calm Behavior
To start calming your cat, talk to it with a calm voice and behavior. Tell it that it’s okay in a very gentle voice and allow it to see you sit and wait quietly. This can help your cat to realize that you won’t pose any threat and harm.
Some of the things you can do to get the trust of your cat is to:
1. Speak using a voice in a lower pitch and keep it quiet.
2. Sing a gentle song to your cat to help it relax. Just like when you are talking quietly, singing a relaxing or upbeat song can work to chill it out.
But take note not to sing too loud or harsh as well as anything fast that has changing pitches.
3. Open your Television and play something soothing
Draw Your Cat Closer To You
If your cat is feeling nervous, offer it with some food to calm it. Wet food looks more delicious to cats than dry food. It is also better to give your pet meat than fish because the latter has a stronger odor. Another thing you can do to comfort your cat is to let it climb to a higher place like a cat tree so it can see what is happening around it.
Some cats prefer to stay under things and hide when they are stressed or nervous. For this reason, it is best to give your cats both types of space where it can hide and see what is happening around. You may also try using your thumb to stroke the face of your cat lightly running from the bridge of its nose. But make sure to protect yourself with long clothing that can hide your arms and gloves for your hands.
Let Your Cat Spread Its Scent
Cats love comfort, it includes leaving their smell around to make a place feels home. They rub their face anywhere and leave markings with their paws to leave their scent.
Allowing your cat to leave its scent to places it cares about will help it feel relaxed when it is stressed. It is also a great idea to bring something that has its scent during a trip to help your cat to get through a stressful situation.
Use Essential Oils To Calm Your Cat
Other than their scent, cats also love other natural scents like essential oils. You can use lavender and honeysuckle that has a calming effect not only on humans but also on cats.
Drop some lavender oil on a piece of paper towel to help them chill out. But take note to store essential oils in a safe place where curious cats can’t reach it. It is because direct contact can be dangerous to cats.
Play Regularly To Lessen Chronic Stress
During the highly aroused state of your cat, playing with them is not a good option. On the other hand, it is ideal to play with your cat regularly to deal with long term stress. Physically and mentally stimulating your cat can boost its confidence in areas where it fears the most.
Cats are mostly afraid of large rooms as well as unfamiliar environments. You can use a lure toy to engage your cat with interactive play in such places to make it comfortable being in the space where it fears the most.
Final Say
To summarize, your cats need your utmost attention during their most stressful times. If your cat experiences discomfort, fear, or great excitement, you can try some of the things above to help it chill out.
Express your love with your cat with support in times when it needs you and expect to receive its comforting presence in your lonely days too. Cats are precious little creatures that can offer you a great company so make sure that your cat is always healthy in and out.