Some cats adapt well to changes in their environment, however many do not. The smallest change can cause anxiety in many felines and it’s our responsibility to help them through this.
Ugh, I’m dealing with this with my sweet Maggie. I noticed a few weeks ago she was acting a bit off. Much more skittish than usual. She is usually all over us and super friendly. Heck! She even attends our Two Crazy Cat Ladies daily morning meetings but then suddenly this all changed. Now with every little sound she will fly out of the room and will go and hide in our closet!
When cats have a sudden personality or behavioral change it’s always a good idea to get them into7 the vet. We took Maggie yesterday and the vet didn’t find anything obvious except Maggie has a bald spot on her belly from overgrooming, yet another sign of being stressed. We did blood work but so far everything checks out fine.
Something in Maggie’s world has made her stressed out. Cats can get stressed out for many reasons. It’s our job to help our cats adapt to change or stress.
Helping Cats Adapt To Change Through Scent
Did you know a cat’s scent is soothing to them? This is a big reason why a lot of cats will go outside the box. They are putting their scent throughout the home and it soothes them. It’s another reason why a cat might sleep all day in their bed, it has their scent and it soothes them.
There is a simple trick you can use to help your cats adapt to change, it’s called scent swapping. When your cat rubs their faces on furniture and other objects, they’re using their pheromone that signals the objects are familiar and safe. With scent swapping we are mimicking this behavior.
You simply take a soft cloth and rub it on your cat. Cats have lots of different glands that release pheromones. There are many concentrated around their face, on the chin, lower ears, forehead, cheeks and around the mouth so be sure to get those areas. Then take the rag and rub it around the house on stuff. If you get a new couch, rub your cat’s pheromones on it. New rug? New litter box? Rub those pheromones on as many places as possible.
Since Maggie is showing signs of high stress we are also starting her on our Cat Calm to help her get through this. It’s a lovely calming aid that takes the edge off but doesn’t sedate our kitties.
Sadly, our kitties will get stressed and need help adapting to new situations or objects; but fortunately there are ways we can help! With scent swapping we can make these adjustments much easier on them.
Reduce Stress In Your Cats Naturally
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