Cat calming products

[Grey623]

My cat goes through phases of “inappropriate urination,” aka, she stress pees on the couch and carpet. It lasts a week or two, then she’s fine for months, then it happens again. Repeated tests have been negative for UTI, we cannot pinpoint any stress triggers, and my vet recommends ongoing use of a Feliway diffuser.

I see that there are other (cheaper!) cat calming brands, like Comfort Zone and Top Sum, and wondered if anyone had opinions or experience comparing them with Feliway.

Any recommendations for treats or supplements that seem to help also much appreciated!

Grey

[hopper20]

My sister’s cat with this issue takes Zylkene which seems to help.

[Grey623]

Thank you! I’ll look into that.

Grey

[CHT]

WHen my cat kid Higgins starts to pee in appropriately, I have found a dose of medicam to sort him out. I don’t know why. We test his pee regularly (little test strips) and he does occassionally have small amounts of blood in his pee, but not always.

Zylkene may have helped a bit with introducing new cats, but Prozac is the only one that really seems to change their behaviour.

[Grey623]

The vet mentioned Prozac, but I’m reluctant to put her on it for reasons I can’t pinpoint. Do you notice any negatives effects from it?

Grey

[CHT]

No, but the cat we used it on, was only on it about 6 months - he was too aggressive to our other cats and causing them great stress… We weaned him off and although some of his bad behaviour came back, it wasn’t nearly as bad, and it gave our other cats time to get used to him (he had also been a stray cat).

Prozac is a drug you have to give daily - and it can take a while (weeks) to see if it will work. You have to wean them off it carefully too.

[Grey623]

Thank you. I think that must have been my concern. It is so inconsistent I’d rather try something I can use just when there’s a problem.

Grey

[Texarkana]

I have been using Feliway and the Amazon knock off and I’m not sure if it’s making a difference. Although I also only have 2 diffusers- one upstairs, one downstairs. I probably need one in each room.

But I do have some calming collars on order that have rave reviews. Same idea as the pheromone diffusers, but they wear it. I’ll let you know if they live up to the hype.

[beowulf]

I have a multi-cat household with multiple personalities, and occasionally have a similar problem. I did not notice a difference with Feliway and I gave it a honest college try (+8 months). I have one on Prozac and I did not see it help her particular issues (urine crystals, she never had inappropriate elimination), but I called the vet and asked if it would be unspeakable to give it to the cat inappropriately eliminating instead. They wanted to see her first but agreed to try it, and that helped some. I think her problem is even though there’s 5 litter boxes (1 being a Litter Robot), she didn’t feel she could walk through the hallway to it because of the other cats. IDK.

I also used Zyklene. I found it more of a PITA to dose than Prozac, but it made a difference too.

Both have sedative effects. I’m still giving my trouble cat the Prozac but not the Zyklene. Prozac is relatively cheap per dose compared to Zyklene.

I have been trying Rescue Remedy, which has a ton of positive reviews on Amazon. I didn’t notice a difference before it ran out, but it only lasted me a week or so between the 5 cats.

[Grey623]

Thank you so much! I feel the same way about Feliway not doing anything, though I certainly didn’t give it 8 months!

I just don’t care for the idea of Prozac for something that happens just a few times a year. Also, I’m often away for long weekends and couldn’t coordinate regular dosage. So I’ll stick with the waterproof couch cover and the litterbox shoved against the back cushion just in case. Luckily she chooses the end that I don’t sit at.

Grey

[Texarkana]

Hmmm. Gus has been wearing his calming collar for about 2.5 hours. And for the first time in months, he came downstairs willingly in the evening to eat dinner despite the dog being present. Usually he cowers upstairs in a bedroom, only emerging when the dog is crated at night or when she is outdoors.

Maybe it’s doing something?

[Texarkana]

Update: so the cat calming collar is definitely doing something.

My only complaint is that Gus’ brother keeps removing it and chewing through it.

But otherwise Gus has been more confident with the dog in the house and seems to have stopped his recent run of inappropriate urination outside the box.

Worth a try, a 4 pack was less than $20. On closer inspection I realized most of the “rave reviews” are fake, but it really does seem to be noticeably helping, unlike the diffusers.

[Grey623]

Thank you for the feedback! I’ll give it a try.

Grey

[Pippigirl]

Do you find the lavender scent to be really strong? A few years ago I tried one (Sentry Behavior and Calming collar) but the smell was so strong. Smelling it was giving me asthma.

[Texarkana]

@Pippigirl

Do you find the lavender scent to be really strong? A few years ago I tried one (Sentry Behavior and Calming collar) but the smell was so strong. Smelling it was giving me asthma.

No, I don’t think it’s very strong at all. I barely notice it.

It does glow in the dark? Which is kinda weird.

[Pippigirl]

@Texarkana

It does glow in the dark? Which is kinda weird.

Glow?! Lol! That might spook me!

[Simkie]

@Texarkana

It does glow in the dark? Which is kinda weird.

So you can find your cat hiding under the bed if it doesn’t work

[Texarkana]

It’s more like a faint green fluorescence than true “glow in the dark” which makes it extra bizarre.