6 Things To Do To Help Tour Nervous Cat

“She is again meowing excessively and hiding herself at odd places. She is no more the same. She needs help. Yes she needs it badly.” This is often a common concern among the cat owners. Just like their human masters, cats are also prone to anxiety and nervousness. Cats like stable environments and are highly unwelcoming to changes and new additions. Being independent and solitary creatures in the wild, domestic cats are very good at hiding their nervous side. You need to be watchful of their physical presentation and behavior so that anything “out of normal” can be identified and resolved quickly.

Common indicators of nervousness in a feline are; loss of appetite, excessive vocalization, toileting at odd places, frequent hiding at secluded places, fastidious grooming and withdrawal from its master leading to no more purrs and cuddles. Although handling a nervous cat is a tough job, your love for the four-legged beauty drives the move. Let’s explore some of the effective ways to help your fur buddy during those anxious days.

1. Be calm and gentle

Every cat is an individual. Some cats might appear to be very casual and laid back while others might exhibit high level sensitivity to external factors. Being a feline parent, you must be very watchful of your cat’s behavior and once you notice any change, it is always advisable to tackle it with a calm and gentle attitude. Of course your initial reaction towards a “potty accident” is to berate and shout but that’s not the solution. Your feline buddy needs your help to overcome its insecurities. Just like humans, they need assurance and acceptance time and again. They must feel needed and loved. Those lovely purrs don’t come for free; every single gesture of yours counts towards it.

2. Play with them

Your choice of pets reflects your personality. Cats are labeled as the easy to maintain pets that sync well with a busy lifestyle. All they need is automatic water and food bowl, clean litter box and of course some place to climb and scratch. But this does not mean that you should leave your feline unattended. A cat needs your quality time to play around. Though super store shelves are loaded with different types of cat toys, human interaction is all that they need. A nervous cat is more in need of your help and company. May it be re-homing or any kind of displacement that has made your feline nervous, now it’s your job to give comfort and reassurance back to your furry. Positive play interaction is the best stress releaser that engages your nervous cat in physical activity.

3. Create a safe zone

A safe and predictable environment keeps a cat happy and stimulated. Any intruder from the neighborhood or a new pet in the house is highly disturbing for your fur buddy. The best thing in such circumstances is to make your garden and home as safe and cat friendly as it can be. Make sure that your furry friend has all the required resources at its disposal. An enclosed and safe outside space should be equipped with enough resources like drinking water, places to sleep, eat, hide and scratch. Same goes for its indoor environment. Never ignore instinctive needs and facilitate enough to help your cat adjust with the changing circumstances. Never try to make your furry #1 insecure by favouring new additions. Try to maintain balance and enough space for all. Always introduce any new pet gradually and give your feline time and space to adjust with the new housemates.

4. Provide a hiding place

A nervous cat is head -shy and will often react by walking and shying away from people and noises. It spends most of its time under a bed or behind a cupboard. For a nervous cat, a hiding place is a boon where it feels safe and less threatened. It is highly advisable to give your nervous cat a feeling of invisibility thus allowing it to roam freely in the house without being focused upon or caught out. Put the food bowls and litter boxes at places which are isolated and infrequently visited to promote a relaxed cohabitation. It is true that an anxious and nervous cat makes an unhappy pet but being a feline parent your proper understanding of the expectations of a nervous cat from its life will help you and your kitty wade through this unsettled phase.

5. Plan change in advance

A cat is very sensitive to any change in its master’s routine. Unpredictability makes a feline anxious and nervous so it is always advisable that if you are planning to switch your job or adding up new things in your ‘to do list’, you try to keep your interactions with your play pal consistent and predictable. You must plan these changes ahead so that it does not stress your feline partner. Don’t let change in your routine affect the feeding and play times of your cat otherwise you are sure to experience a decrease in cute cuddles. Once a cat becomes insecure, it develops mistrust and will get itself detached not only from its master but also from the surroundings.

6. Give your cat treats and rewards

Cats are wonderful companions. A complex mix of influences and individual genetics shape a cat’s behavior and character. A nervous feline is more prone to trying to escape. Food treats can help in bridging the gap between you and your nervous cat. Offering small amount of meat, fish or other tasty treats on the palm of your hand makes your furry buddy feel wanted and loved. Don’t let your four-legged beauty dwell in discontent rather lift it up by ensuring a “feel in control” environment.
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Although cats are merchandised as solitary creatures often desiring “my time my space”, constant isolation is alarming. Never lose your temper or act aggressively with a nervous cat. An owner’s response is significant in these circumstances. Bring back those lovely purrs and cuddles by calmly handling all the contributing factors. If you notice that all your efforts to calm your fur ball are further triggering restlessness, it is time to seek professional help. Consult a suitable cat behavior specialist who can provide tailored advice that addresses nervous behavior of your feline in an appropriate way.

Whisker Fatigue in Cats and Its Solution

Has your cat started acting unusually bratty or strange at meal times?

There may be significant changes in eating habits like reduction in the intake or throwing food on the floor which are indicative of high-stress levels.

  

The first conclusion that you draw may be a psychological disorder however there is another reason behind this crabedness known as Whiskers fatigue. It might sound like a terminology made up by kitty hypochondriacs, however, proof suggests that it’s quite real.

It is actually a condition that can affect cats, and cause them a great deal of stress. Let's take a deeper dive into the function of whiskers and what whisker fatigue is.

 Whiskers are NOT Ordinary Hair! 

Whiskers are the thick hair that are scientifically named is vibrissae. They're sensitive at the tips, where each one includes a sensory organ known as proprioceptor. Once the proprioceptors touch an object, vibrations travel down the whiskers follicles to the roots that are located in nerve-rich areas of cat’s body (mostly in the face but behind the front paws as well).
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How do whiskers work?

The general information regarding whiskers is that they help your cat to go through narrow spaces, however, they also help them navigate through the dark exhibiting the sense of touch and sensing air currents caused by objects in motion. To perform these essential kitty “chores”, whiskers send messages to your cat’s nervous system that determine the location, size and texture of objects.

It has been a long held belief that cats can see in the dark but the fact of the matter is that acute sensitivity of a cat’s whiskers appears to be partially responsible for their successful navigation through the dark.

How do Whisker get stressed out?

Whiskers translate sensory messages as they touch many things throughput the day. However, when your kitty is hungry; bumping of the sensitive whiskers in its muzzle against the sides of    food bowl that is too deep may cause him whisker fatigue. Imagine someone pulling at your hair every time you open up to eat something! Sucks right? That is exactly what your cat feels.

What to Do!

Fortunately, there is an easy solution:

• Change your cat’s narrow and small food bowl with a wide, deep or even a flat food dish. Make sure, the bowls are wide enough to not touch the cat’s whiskers.  

• Steel, glass, or ceramics bowls are the best option as they are easier to clean and do not accumulate bacteria, unlike plastic containers. Cat Evolution has specially designed food and water bowls that will provide a solution for your problem in no time.

• Generally cats like a lip-less, large flowing water source, for drinking. So cat parents should provide an automatic, fresh source, like a smart automatic cat feeder.

•  Another presented solution may ask you to trim the cats’ whiskers, but this is simply a NO, NO. Trimming cat's whisker can mute their expressions, slow down their perceptions and in general cause discomforts and annoy them.

So we can assume that whiskers are one of the important “organs”of the feline family. When it is fatigued, it causes discomfort and even pain. In addition, it makes eating and drinking stressful. The solution is fairly simple, so the best route would be prevention