We know that domestic cats are animals of habit, once they establish a routine, and feel comfortable with it, the level of anxiety decreases and with it, nervousness. We must know that any change whether it be in the home, new family members or, in very extreme cases, in decoration, can cause stress.
In this article on our site we want to help you calm down a nervous cat that may or may not be yours. We are going to share some tips that will be very useful to you. Keep reading:
The approach
The approach or approach in a nervous cat or stressed by some situation that makes it uncomfortable, is usually the most difficult to face. Once this barrier is overcome we manage to "tame the situation".
When it's a cat we don't know whether it's stray or someone else's, so we don't know how it can get to react, we must use all our tools so that the rapprochement is not frustrated. There are cats that are very stressed by the presence of strangers, but we must learn to read the behaviors and signals that their body sends us.
Cats that have been through some abusive situation normally recoil with their backs arched, but not with their hair standing on end, it would just be defensive behavior. Just like if you crouch down, sticking your body to the ground. We must earn their trust, so it is often good to extend a hand with an open palm so that smells us and speaking in a sweet and calm voice. You don't need to touch it, just let it know that it's not in danger and that we won't do anything that could harm it.
Sometimes, our own cat reacts nervously out of fear of something or some situation, sometimes unknown. Let's try not to act impulsively and overwhelmingly. Let's remember that in this case we must also earn his trust and if he doesn't want us to take him, we won't. We must go little by little, as slowly as they want, show them through smooth movements that there is no danger with us. We add words of comfort in a low tone and with patience. We can also resort to "bribe", taking advantage of the fact that we know you and, knowing your tastes, offer you your favorite toy or some foodthat he likes and thus, get him out of this stressful state.
It is very important Respect your times. If he tries to run away from us, we should never chase him, we leave him alone for a while, at least half an hour to try to approach again.
Spend time daily
Whether it is our own feline or one that lives on the street, the ideal way to overcome nervousness is to spend some time each day. You must get used to our presence.
In the approach we try to bring our hand closer to his snout, so that he smells us and gets used to our smell. We will not try to touch it as this can be very intrusive and set back the small advances we have already made. Always remember that changes are gradual, we cannot wait for instant positive reactions.
We can bring a toy and play ourselves to see if we manage to get his attention and out of curiosity, he gives in. The game acts as a distraction from their feline "concerns", which are often responsible for stress. Play is very important Especially if the cat is not yours, use a "fishing rod" type toy to prevent it from accidentally scratching you.
In felines that we already have a contact, not only visual, we can caress them, brush them and allow them to cuddle up next to us if they wish. This will strengthen the bond between the two, both for the cat and its owner.
The vet can help
Despite not being very involved in the use of tranquilizers, less for this type of behavior what they need is attention and love sometimes they can help us. It is not necessary to go to the consultation with our cat since it can cause more stress, but it is necessary to contact our veterinarian to see what advice they can give us.
The Acepromazine is usually the most used tranquilizer, or prescribed, in daily clinical practice. It is a depressant of the central nervous system that generates relaxation and indifference towards their environment. It also has a hypotensive action (lowering blood pressure) that would be contraindicated in heart patients. Like any drug, the doses must be prescribed by a veterinarian.
We have he althier options like Rescue Remedy (Bach flowers) that relieves both mental and physical stress. It can be given in the mouth, drink or rub a drop on the head of our feline.
In Homeopathy we also have great allies but we must try to individualize our pet, so consultation with a specialist is recommended. We leave you the benefits of homeopathy for animals.
The Reiki usually helps calm these states of nervousness, helped by relaxing music and, in cases of not being able to play it, from a distance we can also act.
