Is your cat showing signs of stress and you aren’t sure why? Stress can contribute to behavior problems in cats so it’s important to address it to keep harmony in your home. Sometimes once you’ve figured out that your cat is stressed, you may not be able to figure out what is causing their stress. Stress in cats can come from things that don’t make sense to us, but what really matters is your cat’s perspective. Here are a few common causes of stress in cats.
Medical Problems And Pain
When evaluating a behavior a client is concerned about, the first two things I look at are the environment a cat lives in (more on that in a moment) and if the cat has already been evaluated by a veterinarian to rule out illnesses and pain. Both of these can cause a lot of stress in cats. You’ve probably experienced it yourself: think about the last time you were sick or had a headache. Chances are you felt more stressed out by even little things!
Trips To The Veterinarian
While it absolutely is better to have your cat be evaluated by a veterinarian, going to the vet itself can be stressful. You can mitigate it by choosing a veterinarian understands cat behavior, getting your cat used to their carrier ahead of time, and/or having an in home veterinarian come to you. I especially recommend an in home veterinarian when it’s time to say goodbye.
Lack Of Ways To Be A Cat
If you don’t let your cat express normal cat behaviors like climbing and scratching, your cat is going to be a giant ball of stress. This is where the environment comes into play. Your cat may be stressed if:
- You don’t have enough places for them to climb
- There aren’t acceptable scratching locations
- The litter or litter box you provide them isn’t appealing to cats
Even if you cat is using, for example, the top entry litter box you provided them with despite cats really hating these types of litter boxes, they may still experience stress because of it. Whenever they use the litter box, it’s more of a, “Well… I have to” situation and less of a, “Ah yes, I found somewhere that meets my needs!”
Using Deterrents Causes Stress
If you use deterrents like remote punishment devices, you’ll not only be causing stress for your cat when they go off but creating frustration by suppressing behaviors the cat needs to do to be behaviorally fulfilled. These aren’t a good methods of behavior modification to begin with, but they’re extra bad if they’re being used to prevent a cat to do a normal behavior for cats.
Especially Scent Based Deterrents
Cats have significantly stronger senses of scent than we do scent is a foundational part of setting up a cat friendly environment. Unpleasant smells may bother us, but not nearly as much as they bother cats. Using unpleasant scents to try to prevent a cat from scratching your furniture or climbing on a counter is extra stressful for them. That said, you can take advantage of their sense of smell to reduce their stress by doing activities like Nosework or using a scent enrichment kit.
Behavioral Needs Not Being Met
Besides the environment not being set up to let your cat express natural behaviors, your cat may need you to help them engage in normal cat behaviors. Your cat needs you to help them:
- Play in a way that imitates a hunt (which I strongly recommend reading Play With Your Cat to learn more about cat play)
- Feed them multiple small meals during the day rather than two larger meals
- Leave their scent in their environment by not instantly cleaning everything they touch (with the exception of urine)
Interactions With Others
Cats have to constantly be alert for threats to their safety in nature so they prefer predictable interactions with humans and other cats. If interactions sometimes result in snuggles and other times result in a spray bottle being used on them, the cat is going to be less confident that humans are a source of good things. This unpredictability is going to cause stress.
Even if your cat isn’t running and hiding from you, it doesn’t mean the lack of predictability with your interactions isn’t causing them stress. Stress adds up over time.
Likewise, if some humans are fun while others can be scary, it’s going to cause your cat stress. The more predictable and positive all humans’ interactions are with the cat, the less stressed they will be.
Cats And Dogs
Your cat may be stressed by other cats in the home or dogs. Once again, this may not look like a cat chasing another one or a dog harming a cat. Your cat could be exhibiting subtle body language that you’re not picking up on. Even an occasional fight may cause stress due to the unpredictable nature of interactions with the other animal.
Things Outside Your Home
In some situations, there source of stress may not come from inside your home. Things outside can cause stress including:
- Noises from neighbors
- Smells (including your neighbor who is smoking “human catnip“)
- Other cats wandering through your yard
- Not being able to get to something they want to hunt outside
Territoriality
Cats are territorial and if they feel the need to defend their space, this can lead to stress. You often see territoriality show up if a cat guards a particular area or a particular resource. Cats can become territorial due to cats outside even if the behavior occurs in indoor only cats or cats that only have access to a catio. Mitigate this by blocking your cat from seeing other cats outside or adding more of the resource your cat is guarding.
What Causes Stress In Cats?
Causes of cat stress are complex and may not make sense to us. You might feel your cat has nothing to be stressed about, but remember that you are a different species. Something you love your cat may hate or your cat may be picking up on something in the environment you wouldn’t naturally notice. That’s okay! Cats can be confusing. If you need help, I’m here to guide you.
