Unstacking Triggers: Reducing Stress to Resolve Behavior Issues

Behavior issues in cats are often rooted in stress. What does this mean? Something, or more likely things, are causing the cat to feel unsafe, frustrated, uncomfortable, painful, annoyed, or bored. Stress reduction may be necessary to resolve behavior problems. It may also be recommended by your veterinarian for health reasons. Why can tackling stress … Read more

Anti-Anxiety Medications: Valuable Tool or Last Resort?

“My vet recommended [name of anti-anxiety medication] but I really want to try all of my other options first.”  Maybe your veterinarian has previously brought up anti-anxiety medication for your cat but you weren’t sure if it was necessary or right to try. Or maybe you already think medication might help your cat but you’re … Read more

The Trick to Using Treats

Do you have a scaredy cat? You’ve probably heard the advice to give them treats to help them overcome their fear. It’s great advice (unlike some of what’s out there…) but there are a few important tricks to using those treats effectively! Why Treats? Fear can’t be controlled in the same ways other behavior can … Read more

Get Over It!

Does your cat run from the vacuum, hiss at the new kitten, try to bite when you trim their nails, or have some other overreaction to a harmless thing? What’s up with that? You know that the vacuum isn’t a monster, that the kitten is just trying to play, and that nail trims are not … Read more

Coming Home: The Aftermath of a Vet Visit

This is week two in a series about coping with vet visits. In the first post I shared steps you can take before and during an appointment. Here I’ll talk about coming home. When Coming Home is Hard to Do You’ve managed to get your cat in their carrier, survived the vet visit with minimal … Read more