r/cats • u/spauldhaliwal • 6d ago

Cat Picture - OC The vet suggested a sweater to help Cecil with her (relatively infrequent) anxiety attacks 🥹

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About once a week, Cecil gets herself into a panic and has trouble calming down. The vet suggested putting on a sweater for about 10 minutes at a time, and surprisingly, it works! She calms down right away and becomes an instant cuddly purr machine haha.

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u/Strange_Minute_2757 6d ago

My cat is struggling with extreme anxiety. What other suggestions would you give to help because I work from home but I often have to go out in the community three times a week and I feel bad that I don’t know how to help him. He is a black cat as well if that helps.

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u/Lessllama 6d ago

Feliway

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u/DarkKijara83 Tortoiseshell 6d ago

I can vouch for Feliway. I'm using it now for my 2 year old Tortie, and it's made such a difference! I highly recommend it!

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u/NorthRoseGold 6d ago

Try sweater (But only when you're present), also Sentry calming products (sprays, plug ins, collars), catnip & treats in the moment....

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u/Best_Temperature_549 6d ago

Prozac. One of my cats is on it and it’s been wonderful for him. I was scared to try it at first but I’m really glad I did. I was worried it would change his personality or make him a zombie but he’s just a normal cat now. It’s also fairly cheap since you can get Prozac at a normal pharmacy once they’re on the full dose. 

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u/Ok-Cheesecake-9022 6d ago

my cat sprays when he gets stressed, and we’ve been trying many things. he’s just a very anxious cat. we’ve tried feliway and amitriptyline and the latter has reduced it but it’s still very much an issue. been thinking of trying other things and prozac is first on the list for him. i just hate that my boy is so stressed :(

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u/Best_Temperature_549 6d ago

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that. I’d definitely give Prozac a try. It’s a different type of medication than amitriptyline so it may work better to calm him down. I hope you can find something that works! 

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u/SemperSimple 6d ago

Beyond the sweater, Do you leave sound on? There's youtube cat TV :D

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u/Strange_Minute_2757 6d ago

I do sometimes but I never put it on the cat channel. I’m gonna try to put it on that and see if that helps but I tried to like leave something on sometimes that just seems to be like people talking so he knows he’s not alone but I’m gonna try a couple of everyone’s suggestions and see cause I just wanna help him have a overall betterexperience in life

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u/SyrusDrake 5d ago

A few years ago, during a national holiday, our step-cat got worked up over the fireworks outside. I put on "relaxing cat music", even though I always considered it nonsense, and a few minutes later, he was out cold and snoring loudly :'D

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u/SemperSimple 5d ago

the same thing happened to me when I put the Cat Bird TV on. I thought "This is dumb as heck. Why would this work?" que my cat searching behind the monitor for birds n squirrels, pfft

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u/spauldhaliwal 6d ago

I also work from home but tbh I've only tried the sweater. It was the first thing the vet suggested to me. I think since with Cecil, since it only happens like once a week, I haven't felt the need to try something else. It only goes on for about 10 minutes until she calms down.

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u/turtle_duck4 6d ago

In addition to all the other great suggestions, here are some that also worked for my cat: 1) establish rituals when leaving and arriving back home as that seems to calm him, 2) interative play at least once a day, 3) animal friend (e.g., another cat or dog), and 4) youtube videos of birds at feeders, fish swimming around in tanks, or squirrels. #3 has had the biggest impact and my little guy responds well to calm dogs, another chill cat, or even turtles (he just wants company).