Cat owners - any experience of Feliway?

[kurotoshiro]

One of our cats, George, is prone to overgrooming, which the vet thinks is possibly stress-related, but said it was hard to pin down a cause. He's quite a timid cat and can get scared by noises nearby (eg, he was very stressed out by the noise when next door had some building work going on). Or it could be due to aggro with other cats in the neighbourhood. Or maybe because of living in a house with another cat. (The other cat, Wilson, is his brother. They tend to get on well, apart from the occasional bit of grumpiness over who gets to sit where - Wilson is bigger and bolder than George, so if there's a fight over who gets to sit on a cushion or whatever, George always gives in and retreats first - so I don't know whether this might cause stress as he's not the "top cat" of the house).

Anyway, we've tried using a plug-in Feliway diffuser to see if that eases any stress. I'm honestly not sure if it makes any difference or not. He did seem to stop overgrooming for a little bit, but it's off and on. So it may not be the Feliway, just coincidence. Does anyone have any (good or bad or indifferent) experience of using Feliway?

[timnowvapes]

Try grooming him yourself, find a brush / comb he likes.

Introduce a distraction if you spot him at it, cat-cip, have a new toy handy, or a little cat treat.

Try and keep to routine for meal times.

Since you have two, try two new cat cushions or cat beds, introduce at the same time, I know that worked for my mum.

You could try diet as well, see if one of the VN's do custom diets etc. If you have spare pennies you could try an allergy test, often missed with cats.

It is trial and error, every cat is different as is every environment for every cat. Just try one thing at a time until you have one that works or a working combination.

Persevere and you'll get there

[Karma]

Feliway certainly worked when my dad got a second hand cat

it also works for my daughter's cat which suffers from stress related cystitis!

[kurotoshiro]

Cheers Tim, I'll explore those possibilities. The only one I'm sure is ok is meal times. We do try to stick to regular times.

[kurotoshiro]

Oops, missed your post, karma. Thanks for that.

[fagin]

Debatable to say the least
www.catster.com/lifestyle/study-casts-doubt-on-use-of-feliway-and-dap

[Karma]

I really do believe that it works for some cats. the cattery my cat boards at when we are on holiday uses them too.

The dog one however imo is a waste of money

[kurotoshiro]

It's one of those things where it certainly seems debatable whether it actually does anything, but I guess I don't mind spending a few quid on the offchance that it helps.

[Chrissie]

I've never used Feliway myself as Maine Coons tend to be so laid back. However, I have heard of quite a few cat owners that say Feliway has helped de-stress their cats

[debb72]

Jul 21, 2012 12:12:23 GMT Chrissie said:

I've never used Feliway myself as Maine Coons tend to be so laid back. However, I have heard of quite a few cat owners that say Feliway has helped de-stress their cats

i love maine coons i was so tempted to get one before we had our bambino

[hissie]

Feliway did nothing to calm my Eppie when a stray cat & her kittens decided to take refuge in my house.

Has anything changed in your home kuro? Most cats don't like change of any kind & can get very upset especially if their routine is disrupted.

Also, irritants can cause a cat to over groom themselves as well.

Hope he settles down

[smokelessatlast]

Could be worth trying a few drops of Rescue Remedy in the drinking water. A darn sight cheaper than Feliway and usually a lot more effective. There's also a product called Zylkene which might do some good. If you are thinking of trying it contact me and I'll go through the cheapest way of doing so as it's quite pricey.

[hissie]

I personally wouldn't use rescue remedy as it contains a small amount of alcohol which isn't good for cats or probably any animal.

[azzie]

Could always try getting a nice bag of catnip pellets, makes our cat high as a kite and very chilled out

[smokelessatlast]

"I personally wouldn't use rescue remedy as it contains a small amount of alcohol which isn't good for cats or probably any animal."
Two drops in a bowl of drinking water aren't going to make that much difference but you are right to be cautious which is why they do an alcohol free version.