Did you know that 42.7 million American households own cats? If you’re one of them, then you’ll understand just how important these feline members of your family are.
In fact, not only do you treat them like mini-humans, but they also act like them. Like their human counterparts, cats can certainly have anxiety as well.
If your furry friend has cat anxiety symptoms, then you’ll want to read on. We’ll show you what to look for and how to alleviate your cat’s anxiety.
Cat Anxiety Symptoms
So first things first: how can you tell if your kitties are just vying for attention or if they actually have anxiety?
There will be some tell-tale signs that your cats genuinely have anxiety. These include:
⦁ Hiding excessively
⦁ Extra aggression
⦁ Excessive meowing
⦁ Excessive grooming
⦁ Refusal to use the litter box
⦁ Trembling
⦁ Refusal to leave your side (they follow you everywhere)
⦁ Changes in eating habits
⦁ Pacing
⦁ Lethargy
Essentially, if your cat is behaving in a way that’s different from normal, plus they seem stressed out, then it’s very likely that they have anxiety.
Why Do Cats Get Anxiety?
You’ll be surprised to learn that cats get anxiety for the same reasons humans do. Cat anxiety comes from perceiving danger that’s either unknown or imagined. For this reason, it may seem like your kitten has suddenly become anxious for no reason.
However, while it may not seem so apparent to you, there are several reasons why your pet’s developed anxiety. For example, illness, traumatic experiences, big life changes, or pain in the body can cause cats to be anxious. In addition, senior cats can become senile or have memory problems as humans do, which can lead to anxiety.
A very common cause of anxiety is the fear of being apart from you. So you may have noticed cat separation anxiety symptoms. This is often seen in cats who are adopted and have a history of multiple owners.
How to Treat Cat Stress and Anxiety Symptoms
Maybe now you’ve gotten some confirmation that your kittens have anxiety and you feel bad about it. You want the best for your furry friends, after all.
The good news is, there are things you can try and do to alleviate their symptoms so they’re happier and more comfortable. Here are a few suggestions below.
Never Scold Them
It’s pretty well-known by now that positive reinforcement works a lot better than punishments do. If you scold, yell at, and/or punish your cats for being anxious, this won’t fix anything at all. In fact, this might actually amplify their anxiety and make things much worse.
Instead, you need to take a step back and analyze exactly what’s causing their anxiety and try to fix those factors. You want to make your kitties feel as safe as possible in their space so their feelings of anxiety decrease.
A good place to start is to bring your cats to the vet for a full checkup. Cats are great at hiding pain and illness, so you want to first make sure their distress isn’t from those things. If you do find out that your feline friends are ill, then that can quickly be fixed by treatment from the vet.
Otherwise, they can prescribe anti-anxiety medications to help your cats feel calmer. In addition, they may recommend you to consult with a trainer so your pets can go through behavioral training. This is similar to therapies used for humans to desensitize them to stressors.
Give Them Plenty to Do in the House
This is a very important tip, especially if you suspect that your cat suffers from separation anxiety. Usually, their anxiety is magnified if they have nothing to do since they’ll focus on the fact that you’re gone and they’re counting down every moment that goes by until you come back.
This can be rectified by ensuring your pets have plenty to occupy them while you’re gone. Make sure they have plenty of toys and other stimulating things while you’re out of the house, such as pictures and outside views. The more, the better, since they’ll be having so much fun, they’ll forget that you’re even gone in the first place!
Make Sure They Get Plenty of Exercise
All living beings need a way to blow off extra steam. If not, they can become even more anxious.
This is especially true for your feline pets. You need to make sure you give them regular exercise, at least 15 minutes a day. This way, they’ll get to expend excess energy they have and feel more peaceful and calm for the rest of the day.
Make sure you create a safe space for them if you’re exercising them indoors. By doing this, it can help immensely in managing your cats’ anxiety symptoms.
Give Them CBD
You may have heard that CBD is promising for treating anxiety in humans. CBD (cannabidiol) is a compound found in cannabis that has pretty much all the properties THC does, except without the psychoactive effects. This means that humans are able to take CBD for all its benefits without being impaired.
As you may have guessed, CBD for cats can have some similar benefits. Seeing as CBD is promising for anxiety in humans and impossible to overdose on, it’s a great thing to try for your cats if they have anxiety.
Use Our Tips to Treat Cat Anxiety Attack Symptoms
After reading this article, you now know how to spot cat anxiety symptoms. Even better is you also know how to use effective methods to soothe your four-legged friend.
So if you feel like your pet has anxiety, give our tips a try. It’ll all be worth it when you can see them peaceful and calm, happy to be by your side.
For more articles like this one on cats and anxiety symptoms, please check out the rest of our blog.
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Great post. My cats are sick of my already being around- I think that stresses them. 🙂