Cats can suffer with stress too - would you know what to look for?

Cats can be creatures of habit and they can experience stress. Stress can lead to health problems and exacerbate existing ones.  As always, any change in your cats behaviour should be mentioned to your vet to rule out anything overtly medical. A cat can defecate outside of the litter tray because they are constipated and it’s painful to use, for example. There is a good app that can help you identify if your cat is in pain, it is here.

Here are some signs of acute stress in cats

·      Immobility

·      Body crouched

·      Whiskers back

·      Aggression if approached

·      Urination/defecation

·      Hissing growling and shaking

·      Vocalising – miaowing, yowling, growling

·      Belly exposed rapid breathing

·      Bent legs

·      Tails close to body

·      Head lower than body

·      Eyes open

·      Pupils dilate

·      Flat ears

CHRONIC STRESS – This can be more variable

 ·      Changes to patterns

·      Increased resting

·      Changes to feeding patterns

·      Hiding

·      Defensive aggression

·      Reduction in play

·      Pica

·      Increased marking

·      Displacement/ repetitive behaviour

·      Redirected aggression

·      Ambivalent behaviour – approach/withdraw

·      House soiling

·      Vigilance and being startled easily

Resources

Look at the environment and see if your cat has all these resources. The general rule is one per cat plus one.

Food should be away from their litter tray and water. The litter tray so there is no smell or any bacteria that is transferred. With water, in the wild,  a cat would drink and eat in separate places. This is because when a cat would eat a mouse all the blood and secretions would go over the floor. This would not be favourable to drink.

Place beds away from busy places where lots of people walk past and could disturb a cat. Feet can accidently kick beds for example.

Use vertical space where you can. Cats are prey and predators meaning they hunt, but are also hunted. A cat will choose to flee if they can (fighting can be costly), so having options to go up high and survey the area is very important.

If you want to find out more about learning cat body language and setting up a home so it’s optimised for your cats wellbeing why not book a session?