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My cat is so jumpy!
Hi there.
I'm hoping someone has some ideas. My kitty is four years old, female, and spayed. She and I live alone, and if there's any kind of a sudden noise, or anything that might sound remotely like hissing, especially from outside, she's a big ball of poof.
These noises can be anything from the sound of rain to a car driving past our apartment. She's actually afraid of outside. I've never worried about her or put a collar on her because if you open a door that leads out of the apartment, she'll run the other direction.
If she was a human, I'd call it generalized anxiety disorder with agoraphobia. She's been like this since I adopted her as an 11-week old kitten. She's never been abused, or anything...
I don't like the idea of drugging my cat, but earlier she got startled and ran so hard into the other room that she stripped a layer off a couple of her back claws and they were sensitive when I touched them. I know it's normal for cats to shed claw layers as they grow new ones, but I'm worried she's going to hurt herself one of these times, and her little heart beats so fast when she's scared... I just want to help her. I know there's, like, cat Xanax, but even I don't want to take that, let alone give it to her. :(
Should I do something about this, or just accept her nervous temperament and give her lots of hugs?
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Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
Try some supplements like Stress Away (I know it's used in dogs... not sure for cats). Or there's a Vetri-Science supplement called Composure. It's used for animals when fireworks/thunderstorms/etc goes off. Those are not prescriptions and can buy them OTC. I'm not sure if PetCo, PetSmart, or Pet Supermarkets carries it though. It's worth looking into.
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Hey,
So this sounds like something most kittens go through-but maybe she's just a youthful cat.
I had this issue with one of my cats who was only 6 months old and doing this. Partly, it's to do with diet. Giving you're cat plain wet food or just dry buscuits should be effective. I'm no vet, though a vet recommended this for my cat. The thing is wet, supermarket food contains lots of additives which is what makes cats so frisky.
So I say stick to either plain food (such as simple chicken in gravy) and lots of cat biscuits from healthy brand (like Iams) will calm your cat down.
It may also be because she's bored. Think about it. Would you like to spend all day everyday in the same setting? Fair enough, if your cat doesn't like going outside, this is very common.
Why not invest in some catnip toys, and play with her. This will make her exhausted, which will flood her with relaxation and so she'll be less jumpy. This is called in psychology as 'flooding', and should also decrease fears she has aswell.
Hope this helps and my inbox is always open. Good luck :)
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