Feliway Spray or Plug-in? Help! Cat driving human crazy!

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KJ & Alfred

KJ & Alfred

Member Since 2013
My other cat, Clyde, is driving my poor cat sitter crazy. He is keeping her up all night meowing and yowling. I've heard if Feliway, but haven't tried it yet. Any preferences or recommendations from any if you who have used it? What about Rescue Remedy?

If it matters, Clyde also has seizures and is on phenobarbital. I am going to call his vet to see if she has any suggestions. He sometimes meows at home at night but he seems to have really upped his game at my poor friend's house.

HELP!!!
 
Tried it when MC first came here but nothing much came about using the Feliway plug-in. Rescue Remedy seemed to help her much better adjusting to a new home. Clyde just misses home and you.
 
Feliway diffuser couldn't hurt....Maybe also try the RR....

Also 15 minutes in the AM and PM of playtime if this cat likes to play or chase things....if not play then brushing or some special attention....at least twice daily...This was recommended to me from a Vet Behaviorist.

Hope something helps reduce his anxiety.

Tena
 
Thank you guys for your quick responses. I ordered and sent the Feliway plug-in to her and reminded her about the 15 mins of play/attention morning and night. I hope it helps. She is doing so great with Alfred, I hate to make it hard for her with Clyde being such a lil' stinker. I also feel bad for him being so stressed.
 
She could try the food game.

1. Grab lots of freeze dried or other low carb treats.
2. Go and stand in the middle of a room or even better a hallway. Bring the cats.
3. Get them to meet you in the centre .
4. Then throw treats along the hall close to the ground so they roll or slide along the floor. Throw one treat one direction and the other treat the other direction so the cats go either direction and don't chase the same treat.
5. Once they catch and eat the treat they should come back to you and then you throw another treat. You might need to wiggle your hand back and forth a bit first to get them prepped but soon they will get the hang of it, and the longer the hall, the more exercise they get. You will also need to time it a bit so they don't go after the same one.

Wendy
 
If he is a somewhat older cat, he might be experiencing cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and be somewhat disoriented. This can be a reason for night howling and if he is in a new place, any disorientation may be increased.
 
We tried Feliway with our two a couple of years ago when they were getting really stressed with family staying over.
Even if we had no guests, the howling & night-stomping continued & we were getting no sleep.

The feliway diffuser did nothing. We were advised (by the vet & the manufacturers) to keep at it for 3 months. 3 months! It didn't work.

What did work was opening ALL the doors in the house during the night (including the cellar) & increasing their territory size. In the summer, despite them being indoor cats (declawed :cry: ), we leave the back door open. They don't quite understand 'outside' - even after 6 years, but now like to look at the sky, instead of running away from it!

If he's on phenobarbital anyway, which is a sedative as well as anticonvulsant, it might be that the stress of a new environment requires a slight increase in dose?
 
Thanks eveyone for your comments! We don't have too much trouble at our home on a day-to-day basis, but issues arise right after we return from vacation. Our sugar cat, Munchkin, stays with the vet for boarding and the other two kitties hang out at the house while we are away. I'm guessing that when we bring Munchkin home, he smells like the vet's office and the other kitties get territorial with the "stranger" in their space. RIght after they sniff Munchkin is when the hissing and spitting starts. I was about to try the Feliway diffuser but would have hated to spend the $$ for no or very little results.

KJ&Alfred, have you found something that works for your cat sitter?
 
I also appreciate all these replies.

BJM - Clyde is only 3.5 so it seems unlikely to be CDS.

Dr. Schrodinger - sadly, there aren't any options for increasing the territory as both my cat sitter (and I) live in one room cabins. We also live in Alaska, so even if the cats did go outside (they don't) they wouldn't be able to now as it is still far too cold. There are lots of windows to look out and birds to watch, but I don't really know what's causing his discomfort, other than just being in new surroundings.

I have been trying to reach Clyde's vet to ask about increasing the phenobarb dose. When he was displaying a little of this at home (to a MUCH lesser degree), she suggested that he could be having tiny seizures - like smaller than even petit mal and was disoriented. But she didn't suggest at that time that we alter his dosage. But I do hope to talk to her tomorrow, since the behavior has become far worse since being at the cat sitters' house.

rvontrapp - I don't know if my cat sitter has found anything to work yet. I had to have the Feliway sent to her and I think it is due to arrive today. She lives in a remote area with no access to any stores. I'm doubtful that there will be any immediate effect, but I needed to at least try! I did suggest the extra attention/play. She also has switched from giving him the oral meds directly to mixing it in his food, so her only direct interactions with him is loving and not stressful. He doesn't get stressed at all when we pick him up and put the meds right in his mouth, but he was starting to hide from her and fight it a bit.

So, that's where we are on that. I may have gotten better b/c I haven't heard anything about it in the past two days. Either that or my friend is just being really polite to not bring it up anymore. I hope its the former!!
 
That's right, at least you are trying to find something to help. I guess the treat games in the hallway are out of the question in a one-room cabin! That doesn't leave a lot of room to play, or to hide away either (to relax & calm down) when he gets stressed. Its a good idea, putting his meds in his food. It sounds like the less stress right now, the better. Hopefully, then he can do some snuggling and relax without worrying about having to take his meds. I hope the Feliway helps poor Clyde. Or, like you said, maybe the problems just eased up and things have already gotten better!
 
Having taken my kitty to a behavior specialist at UGA before we knew he had diabetes, she confirmed Feliway does nothing. I had previously tried both the diffusers and the collars. Don't waste your money.
 
Girlface - thanks for that perspective. Did the behavior specialist suggest anything else? What were you experiencing with your cat that prompted you to seek out a behavior specialist. If there were such a thing available anywhere near me, I would go in a heartbeat!
 
Vertical space - staggered shelves up a wall or a large cat tree - may help. Cats tend to like perching.

Boxes - cats like to jump into kitty-sized boxes.

And an elevated box/hiding spot combines both features.

Regular play sessions of 15-20 minutes help de-stress.

Puzzle toys with treats in them help reduce boredom.

I had good luck with Feliway when I had a cat dying from cancer. She was peeing everywhere and the other cats were peeing too. Putting the plug-ins in the main hang-out areas cut down considerably on the peeing (turns out her kidneys were invaded by the cancer and eventually failed) One plug-in handles 1 medium sized room. If you don't have enough for the space, or if the air exchange is quite rapid, there will be limited benefit if any.
 
I agree with BJM. The Feliway worked for me, but with better results in a smaller space. When I had it in my B/R which is 19' by about 14' with 9 or 10' ceilings, it lasted a month and calmed Dallas, the resident of the room. And didn't bother me, the one who smells everything. I stopped using 2 and only kept the one on downstairs, but that lasts about 3 weeks because the room/whole downstairs basically is bigger and the ceilings are higher. I just broke one of the defusers trying to clean it, but it has been in nearly constant use since Sept 2011. I can tell Cedric likes it because he sometimes sits right next to it.
 
Is it possile the Feliway is like catnip in that some cats respond to it and for other cats it does nothing? It is encouraging to know some kitties like it. Doombuggy, a 19' x 14' room is a good sized room, and with high ceilings. If it worked there and if my cats are sensitive to it, then it might work for me. And, certainly it could work for KJ&Alfred if they're in a one-room cabin. Right?
 
Right.

Keep in mind air exchange - shelters, for example, may run fresh air in and exhaust stale air out. In that case, diffusers aren't very helpful because the pheromones don't stick around at a high enough concentration to do anything. If the cabin door were opened frequently, or windows opened when spring hits, it would be less effective to use the diffuser. Using the spray on selected targets frequently used for facial marking (corners of steps/furniture) or resting might be better in those situations.
 
This is all very helpful, thank you.

The plug-in just arrived in the mail yesterday and she's plugged it in. It's still chilly enough there to keep the windows shut, so we'll see.... I'll report back with whatever she says as another data point. She did say he has calmed down some already (I suspect he's feeling more settled now that its been over a week) and that she's been giving him attention and playing, so I'm sure all that's helping.
 
Pretty much everything KJ said. We turned our porch into a cat room, built cat trees, play more, use puzzle toys to get treats, added litter boxes and clean them more often. George was urinating outside the litter box up to 5 times a day.
 
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