Photos: Willee Cole/BigStock.com, Ztranger/BigStock.com, Jessie Weatherley62
PETS | Behaviour and training
http://www.petsmagazine.com.au
When Jessie Weatherley’s beautiful Russian Blue,
Sophie, started having ‘accidents’ outside her
litter box, at fi rst Jessie put it down to clumsy
kittenhood. After all, Sophie was just fi ve months
old and had only been with the Melbourne-
based family for a few weeks — Jessie was
sure her pet would soon grow out of the messy
behaviour. But as time passed and Sophie
continued to urinate in all the wrong places,
Jessie started to worry. When her mum came to
stay and Sophie was sprung about to wee on her
bed, Jessie knew it was time to seek help.
“Sophie is the sweetest little cat and very chilled
out. She wasn’t uptight or frightened, so I thought
it was a behavioural problem. I was at my absoluteA growing number of cats
are suff ering from fear,
stress and anxiety. Laura
Greaves investigates
what can be done for our
fretful feline friends.Scaredy Scaredy
catscats
The jury is still out on whether cats in single- or
multi-cat households are more prone to anxiety.wits’ end with her,” she says. “I sought vets’
opinions and they just shrugged their
shoulders and said, ‘Sometimes kittens
wee outside the litter box.’”
Finally, Jessie found a vet who was
willing to dig a little deeper. After ruling
out any underlying health issues, he
decided to treat Sophie for anxiety. The
suspected diagnosis was confi rmed
when the young cat responded almost
immediately to medication.
Now four, Sophie is a relaxed, happy cat
— and she always pees in the right place.
“I have to admit I didn’t really want to tell
people my cat was on Prozac,” says Jessie.
“Sophie was incredibly dopey for the fi rst
few days of taking medication, but then
that passed and she was great.”Types of feline anxiety
With their penchant for sleeping and lolling in the
sunshine, cats aren’t known for being particularly
highly strung. But feline anxiety is surprisingly
common: research suggests that up to 25 per cent
of cats may suff er from the condition.
Anxiety, by defi nition, is the anticipation of
future dangers from unknown or imagined
origins. According to Dr Leigh Davidson, a
veterinarian and the founder of yourvetonline.
com, there are several distinct types of feline
anxiety. The most common are:- Noise anxiety (fear of the vacuum cleaner,
thunderstorms, fi reworks etc) - Travel anxiety (“Cats are place-orientated,
meaning that if we take them out of their
familiar surroundings we induce fear, anxiety
and stress,” says Dr Leigh.) - Vet anxiety
- Litter box problems
- Separation anxiety
- Crating anxiety
- Grooming anxiety
“It is worth remembering that pain and fear
are often linked in cats. Many of the cats that turn
into monsters inside a veterinary clinic are actually
experiencing and or remembering pain,” Dr Leigh
explains. “Pain superimposed on fear and anxiety
creates a cat that really doesn’t want to be handled.”
But it’s precisely their reputation for being
supremely relaxed at all times that means
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