{"id":363,"date":"2021-03-18T20:27:24","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T20:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/purrfectpawpages.com\/?p=363"},"modified":"2021-03-18T20:31:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T20:31:19","slug":"what-stresses-out-my-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purrfectpawpages.com\/2021\/03\/18\/what-stresses-out-my-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"What Stresses Out My Cat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cats can be stressed out by several common occurrences in modern life. Stress can cause physical responses, such as, peeing outside the litterbox. It’s important to understand and anticipate sources of stress in order to help make your place a happy, stress free home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am always impressed with how well most cats do with children. Children can be loud and unpredictable. Small children haven’t yet learned the motor skills to be gentle. It is important to teach children how to be gentle, quiet, and calm with a kitty. Make sure the kitty can always get away, using vertical spaces helps with this. Finally, teaching children the signs of kitten annoyance can help, see this page<\/a> for more information on how to read cats. That being said, I never recommend that cats and children be left unsupervised since some cats may not have learned the normal cat signals on showing annoyance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by galiazaharieva<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a>. Notice the small pupils and forward ears indicating that the cat is likely not annoyed by being picked up. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dogs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs are actually predators of cats. Some dogs have lost this instinct but others have not. Huskies, for example, are notorious cat killers. Cat’s understand this and can find having a dog in the house very stressful. Make sure vertical spaces are available, and only introduce a cat to a dog when absolutely necessary. Leaving your cat’s claws long and sharp can also be helpful. I have lost patients, especially elderly cats that couldn’t run away fast enough, to dog attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Ingela Skullman<\/a> From Pixabay<\/a>. Nervous cat being sniffed by an over interested dog. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other Cats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cats can stress out your kitty too! Cats are territorial and can be stressed by outdoor cats, or new cats being introduced into the home. If you are introducing a new cat or kitten, go slowly over about 2 weeks! Jackson Galaxy has a good video<\/a> on how to do cat introductions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by Gerhard G.<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a>. Two cats defending their territory. Notice the vocalizations, turned ears, raised hair, and defensive stances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Noise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction, loud music, lots of people or animals running around the house can all be stressful for your cat. Make sure your cat has a few quiet spaces all to themselves for when they need to get away from it all. See this page<\/a> for how to set up your house for your cat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by BestNerdLife<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moving<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The territorial nature of cats means that moves are very stressful. I recommend using diffusers such as Feliway<\/a> when moving houses\/apartments. Also make sure that you set up some of your cat’s favorite beds, trees, or boxes that have their own smell in the new place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by DarkmoonArt_de<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a>. Comfortable and happy cat. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nCats can be stressed out by several common occurrences in modern life.…\n<\/div>\n
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