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SciShow should do a post regarding Gabapentin in regards to supposedly calming cats down for Veterinarian visits. Because that can be more than a bit hit and miss ( or should I say Hiss) as well…. ⚛️☮️🌏
I like to describe Feliway as "it smells like a happy, relaxed cat, so it sends a message that this is a safe place and your cat can feel happy and relaxed too." If it's general stress, or stress from change, it can help to soothe that background anxiety and reassure them as they settle. But if they're stressed because of an actual threat or ongoing problem, well, then the stress is legitimate. It's like how taking anxiety medication can help an anxiety disorder and stress over imagined threats, but it doesn't mean you won't be anxious if, for instance, you lose your job and are financially struggling.
The problem with the scratching post spray one is that they didn't monitor whether scratching in other areas went down, they just noticed an uptick in scratching on the post. That's kind of an important bit of information.
Love the info, we recommended feliway at the vet I worked at, definitely not a cure all, you need to address whatever actual issue there is, but it helps along the way. Though I would argue one point made, the "adult cats are loners" is sort of an old piece of misinformation that won't go away. Yes, they don't enjoy another cat randomly in their space, but cats naturally live in colonies, they enjoy sleeping together and have even been documented helping each other take care of their young. They're more wary than a typical dog is of new creatures but cats have been painted with this antisocial narrative that makes it so people not as familiar with them can't fathom why people would want to own a cat until they get shown that they form bonds
AGREED. So many people say cats are solitary and unfriendly and dismissive. but they aren't! They are VERY attentive, and hypersocial... they just don't really like it when a stranger starts sleeping pantsless on their bed, and to be fair... neither do I. what other domesticated animal chose to hang out with us in large numbers, and not only that but spends enough time studying our social behaviours to know we like vocalizations and eye contact... so they make concessions to their own natural social behaviour to be better social group members with us... on their own without active training or actively breeding that behaviour into them? Cats want to be social, they want to join us, and our other pets and each other in a big ol group sleep pile and share food and shelter. Also Introducing very young cats to much older cats is super easy, cause cats just kinda... wanna adopt babies and care for helpless things. Its just something cats seem to do most of the time. My adult cat was hostile with all other cats, til i brought him a 9 week old baby. It was love at first sight, he didn't want her to be isolated from us, and within 5 days, this healthy happy kitten i got from someone i know who was caring for a pregnant rescue, was his best friend. they are inseparable, they sleep together, eat together, play together, i cant watch tv alone or with one cat, cause both cats want BOTH cats present to watch the movement square as a family.
I'm so glad someone mentioned this! I actually had to adopt a sibling for my "only child" cat that the shelter didn't think would get along with others-- she got so used to bothering my parent's cats (and them) when she visited that she became a NIGHTMARE when we got home 😂 even now the two of them are noticeably clingy-er after the holidays because they loved having more people to be social with! cats need a little more time I think to open up to strangers, but mine at least love it when grandma comes to visit lol
Yeah humans & their stupid stereotypes. Between some of the cats we've had, some where complete loners, but those where back when cats being outside was normal were I live, so they/parents didn't have the skills of socialising much with people, but the ones that became our proper pets, even some of them liked alone time but always still wanted affection & cuddles/pats. One of the two I have now, she clings to me like a child most of the time, so yeah, rainbow of variety to their personalities.
We used feliway when my wife and I were introducing our cats and now when we move. I think our cats just associate feliway with "ok, this is going to be a safe place" now.
I feel like it's common knowledge among cat owners that these products don't work for all cats, but maybe not. I have 4 cats. Feliway doesn't work at all for two of them, it sorta helps one and it works wonders on my youngest. She talks nonstop and when I was moving from one continent to another, I was so worried because the airline's policy was that if they make noise, they go in the overhead compartment (which has killed pets before.) I sprayed some feliway on a cloth and stuffed it in her carrier and she was quiet! After 6 or 8 hours it would start to wear off so I'd take out the cloth, spray again and put back in. It was such a godsend.
@@Uncommoner She's only the youngest by a few months. Three of my four are all within one year of each other. She's now almost 6 and it still works better for her now than it ever did for the other two that are just a bit older than her - because it never worked for them.
Something no one tells you: the defusers can cause extreme headaches and migraines in some people. The number of people who experience this side effect is so low that the companies do not need to disclose this information at all. It took hospitalization for me to find out it was a thing that could happen.
That’s very true, it’s why I put mine on a timer and have it plugged in as far away from my bed, I have it set to turn on for one hour off for 2 all through the night. the male cats facial pheromones cases hives on me but not the female cats. For years I thought it was their fur but over time I stated to take notice of when I would brake out in hives. But for all of that I will not give up me fur babies 😹😹😹
One of those sufferers here. I’ll use a collar or two or a spray if absolutely necessary, but I will never use a plug-in again. Not worth having a migraine that basically lasts all month
I get headaches from the plug-in. Doesn't really matter since it didn't really offer my cat any stress relief. He'd spend a lot of time sitting around looking at the dang thing in confusion as well lol.
we have two cats who aren’t best friends (one is younger and wants to play, and the other is a little old and crotchety). we can ALWAYS tell when the plug-in pheromones run out. they’ll start being much more snippy with each other until we realize.
We've noticed that the Feliway plug-ins help our two cats adjust to new spaces better when we move. But it's only one of many tools we have used during our international move to help them feel more secure.
I've used Feliway Diffusers for a number of uses. What worked: (note, these are different households/cats) --- It kept Cuddles from wanting to murder the other cats in the house. Cuddles was a previously-abused cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, so she is unable to 'hold her punches,' drawing blood any time she so much as takes a practice swipe. When the pheromone was in use, she no longer stalked the only male cat in the house; she was previously used by the abuser to breed/sell kittens, so she may loathe male cats instinctively. She also doesn't have the coordination to leave her facial pheromones, as her head wobbles too much for her to rub, leaving her in a house that, otherwise, doesn't seem safe to her. --- Moxie would 'play' with Luna a bit too aggressively, but when the pheromone was on, Moxie was more happy to just get love and maybe just pounce Luna, without claws. Being 3x the size of Luna, this was very important. What did not work: --- Max had a urination problem...and once the diffuser was used, decided to pee directly next to it. On the floor. Which is what we were trying to prevent in the first place. (problem ended up requiring a mix of anxiety medication, and monitoring UTIs and crystals; he has phimosis as well, it was recently discovered) --- Moxie was urinating every day for a year on my towel. The diffuser had no effect. (issue turned out to be severe urinary crystals which did not respond to treatment/medication/food) I worked at a pet store, I recommended these for cats getting used to new environments and new people. Sometimes cats stress-urinate, so SOMETIMES the diffuser can work for it, but ONLY if the cat is marking to try and make an area feel safe from an intruder. It can only help, it'll never make things worse. But, it will not get rid of anxiety if it's an underlying condition.
I recently got a new cat (~6 months ago) who has serious anxiety and would be extremely aggressive out of nowhere; it was basically a 50-50 if she was coming up to you to say "hi" or to bite and scratch the crap out of your leg, so it led to everyone just wanting to avoid her for their own safety. My friend recommended one of these wall-plugs and after a few days my cat had calmed down basically completely. A month later she was significantly more affectionate and social, but some of the old behavior started to come back after the pheromone ran out, so we replaced it and she's comfortable again. It definitely needs more research and likely doesn't work quite as well for every cat, but I'm at least decently impressed and glad that I can help my cat be more relaxed without a serious prescription or something.
This is great to read :) The plug ins can work really well for some cats. Glad to hear your cat is more settled now. Did you ever find out what the root cause of her behaviour changes was?
@@naturallycats Unfortunately not; all I have is anecdotal evidence. We know she's a rescue, but not anything more about what exactly that means for her situation, so it's possible she has some kind of personal trauma.
@@BryceDixonDev that’s heartbreaking to hear 😢 have you supported her with any emotional or energetic work? I’ve got a video about how to help anxious cats that may help you: th-cam.com/video/qrsGHgnqRDg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=qz1RYbXZqm5mdZik
@@BryceDixonDev I’ve got a video with 10 ways to help anxious cats over on my channel. Perhaps some of the tips may help her 🤞🏻🐾 th-cam.com/play/PLX_UNyNRlCJPYbgGA1lnmL03lyPXLUY7Z.html&si=THIGuqONe-O66cgW
The original formula Feliway didn't work for us, but the friendship one certainly reduced the number of fights in our house. It hasn't stopped them, but it's made things a lot more managable.
Fab to read! The plug ins ( because they are synthetic pheromones) only work for some cats. Have you tried putting down some dried herbs to support the emotional state of your cats? Catnip, chamomile and valerian root are good options to start with :)
@@naturallycats unfortunately the issue is we have a lot of rescues, so there are a number of furry bodies in the house. It's mostly harmonious but stokes sometimes they get upset
@@Tarotb great to hear you help so many cats! Having a herb garden down can really help. Some dried herbs and flowers will support the cats with changes in the home and the emotions that come up from that
My experience with the feliway plug-in diffuser was really bad. Both of my cats have pretty severe anxiety, and the diffuser I got was supposed to calm that anxiety. Instead, it made my cats ultra aggressive. Before the diffuser, my cats were basically best friends that did everything together. Within hours of plugging in the diffuser they were suddenly attacking each other, hissing, growling, all behaviours they had never exhibited before.
I used Feliway to help a group of new foster kittens get along with each other. I have a senior cat of my own. She's been around Feliway before with no ill effects. When I went to plug a new batch, she suddenly stopped eating and lost weight. When I realized it must be the Feliway, I unplugged it and turned my air purifier on high, and she felt better within 2 days. We went to the vet and did xrays and bloodwork, all normal and vet was stumped. We still suspect it's the Feliway.
The collars that contain the pheromones are my favorite tool for when we add a new kitten to our household. They absolutely help make the transition smoother. They don't make everything perfect, but definitely better
my vet prescribed a feline appeasing hormone diffuser since my cat had urethritis that was most likely caused by anxiety. he improved very quickly and remained recovered after his course of medications was complete, and remains recovered to this day :)
Earlier today someone told me about the existence of these pheromone things since her 2 cats constantly fight. It didn't seem to do anything for her and I was also very sceptical. But it's good to know that it isn't actually a pure scam :D
It probably would have worked a bit better if it was used BEFORE the cats started living together. After the hostile relationship is established it can't do much.
They're not a panacea, but for specific use cases and environments they're great. We have a cat with anxiety issues that always injured himself due to excessive scratching. We consulted with multiple vets, tried a variety of activities and drugs, nothing worked. The cat lived stressed both as a single cat or with others. A vet recommended a specific pheromone diffuse (M2B, the brand over here is Serenex), and the cat did a 180, a month later he was chill as a cucumber. We fully put his recovery on the pheromone treatment, in fact a few times where they run out before we could find a replacement, he started scratching again. It's not perfect though, we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, on a larger house it doesn't work as well unless you have multiple of them, as they get dissipated on the air. Plus this video is the first time I hear of them as a way to avoid scratching the furniture, to me that's just brands advertising stuff that they think will make people buy it. Our cats never stopped scratching furniture and we don't care about that, they're cats lol As an aside, we're currently fostering an injured, FIV+ stray. We have him locked in the bathroom as we can't risk contact with the other cats, and are actively looking a forever home for him. He was known to be aggressive and mark his territory, so we bought a second diffuser and placed it on the bathroom 24/7. The stray never peed anywhere where he wasn't supposed to, and never attacked while we cleaned his bandages, pheromones really help in that sort of situations.
Yeah whether or not it helps with behavioral stuff is likely going to depend on the underlying cause. If they are stress/anxiety related like your cat’s scratching was then seeing secondary behavioral improvements is much more likely. Where if the scratching or litter issues are because of boredom or an illness symptom then general calming pheromones probably aren’t going to do as much as the companies want to say they do.
These worked well when merging cat households and introducing kittens. As mentioned, not a night and day difference but did help to ease the transition while adjusting routine. now don't need them as the cats have acclimated to each other.
I have used these to helping one of my furry sons who had a bladder ulcer borne by stress. It wasn't the silver bullet to the issue, but it made him feel a bit better, long enough for the medicine to work.
We used the Feliway MultiCat formula during the long (looooong) process of introducing our second cat, and while it didn't perform any major miracles getting them past the big hurdles, I think it helped quite a bit in the awkward touch-and-go period once they tolerated being in the same room but were both on hair triggers to retaliate against ANY perceived aggression. We noticed that when the plug-in ran out, their play-fights got more confrontational and more likely to end in hisses, but within a couple days of plugging in the refill, they'd get perceptibly less aggressive and less likely to interpret each other's behavior in the worst possible light. We noticed that same pattern a couple different times, about two months apart, before they start reliably remembering that they liked each other even without the mama cat pheromones in the air. Now we just keep a backup on hand in case they ever develop new behavioral problems or need to be reintroduced after an extended vet stay or something.
Introducing new adult cats is a long and scary process for you and especially your cat. Some cats are naturally more careful and afraid, Don't give your cat unnecessary chemicals without a vet instruction. If you moved with a roommate you don't know, would you like someone to sedate you with corporation made unregulated drugs so you get used to him easily?
3:11 there's a correction that should be made. Housecats are NOT solitary. When outside they form colonies, at home they tend to do better with other feline companions (although this will take time for them to accept each other) Just like we don't say lions are solitary, housecats are also not a solitary species! It is bad to keep spreading this misinformation because companionship can improve a cat's life significantly. The Wikipedia article has some references you can start with on this topic. It mentions they are solitary hunters, but communal/ social creatures. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
It's not enough sometimes, if there's fireworks, new environment, new cat etc "Feliway" plug and calming cat treats and calming sprays for visits to the Vet really does help!
No pheromone is going to address root causes of unwanted behavior; all these products can do is create space for the cat to adapt to the situation. The best way to affect cat behavior is to learn what motivates it and adapting to its needs. Cats will still refuse to use a filthy litterbox, mark their territory by scratching furniture if there's nothing acceptable for them to scratch, and wake us up at 3 am if we have ignored their social needs. That being said, a few squirts of Feliway in a cat carrier can cut back on fear that they're going to be eaten for dinner (after all, they are a prey species), and can help out while you're socializing a new cat.
I've used Feliway diffusers for years due to local strays stressing the hell out of my cats through the windows. I've moved and will try phasing them out now that they're settled. My cats don't seem to like the Feliway spray, but the Feliway soaked towels at my vet's office do wonders.
we started using feliway for our bad tempered cat, she is very noticeably less stressed and more relaxed, she even likes sitting next to the diffuser. i'm skeptical of claims of solving behaviour problems, but it surely can make cats more comfortable. it also seems the effect varies greatly between individuals, so it might not work for all cats
I had good luck with the feliway collar years ago. My old cat went from peeing on everything and randomly hissing at the new puppy back to his normal napping 90% of the day as long as the puppy left him be. It also helped keep his stress lvls low enough to get his bladder crystals back under control. That being said he was laid back with a catnip problem. It took a beagle pup deciding that he was was her new best friend to get him stressed. I wish I knew about the dog version with the last new puppy, my older bonded pair of dogs were not happy with the new pup.
FWIW I've found the diffusers to be effective at reducing stress levels overall, but not a magic spell that stops a bored cat from clawing furniture etc. Like Savannah said, it's a handy tool for the kit but won't replace figuring out what is causing the stress behaviour and alleviating the causes. Most times it'll be something down to the individual cat and chances are it'll mean changing your behaviour to accommodate the cat rather than the other way around. Things will also be very different if you get an "older" cat from a shelter rather than a couple of kittens. I've found them most useful when introducing a new (adult) cat to the household.
Co formation bias maybe, but I swear by this stuff. I brought a 3 year old male cat in to my home with two senior 10+ year old female cats…so it was a stressful transition and I swear this helped when I started using it after a few weeks.
My sister and I had to pick up 3 cats from the airport many years ago. We sprayed the heck out of the car interior first with Comfort Zone for cats. The cats in their carriers were placed into the car, complaining mightily. Within 15 minutes, silence. It worked for us!
Interesting to learn about the other pheromones; I knew about the face ones but not the toes! As others have noted, these compounds also may work better for some cats than others, just as it's true that not all cats actually like catnip...and not all of them respond to it the same once they get into it, either. Biochemistry sure is complicated -.- The thing about solitary adult cats - so, we do know that cats will live in colonies but even when they do, they OFTEN have scuffles, maintaining some sort of pecking order it seems. And I can assure you that even when your cats are related they'll still fuss and fight sometimes, and most frequently it's when they both want to sleep on the same sunbeam, windowsill, pillow... Plus, all those behaviors that they CAN have, to be more social and tolerant, erode badly when they're stressed. I feel like the study on shelter cats and stress levels REALLY says a lot for the potential effectiveness of the synthetic pheromones. If something as relatively simple as a scented plug-in could make that much difference for cats in a situation like THAT? Yeah that would be big news. I can hope though that more and better research takes place, and that we grow our knowledge of our feline friends. They are wonderful little gremlins and I for one would like to be able to have more ways to help them be happier in my house. Annnnnd maybe stop peeing on the closet door >.
My cats are colony cats - all three from the same hoarders colony. There is no hissing or spiting though there is wrestling swatting and a minor nip or two. Mostly they get along really well - the feliway is for impending vet visits….
I’ve always wondered about the robustness of the science on these! (Working with behavior needs works for me, every time, but I grok that frequently people just need to be able to purchase a tool and expect it to help!)
back when i still had 2 boys, pheromones did seem to help them fight less. but we also moved to a much smaller home and one of the cats started declining in health, so definitely a lot of confounding variables.
We had feliway for my cat when we first brought her home as a senior rescue, and it had the opposite effect on her. Feliway apparently has that effect on a small portion of cats
Bought some plug-ins for my cat since she has had sitter issues. Think it helped, but she wasn't friendly. She's still pretty young though (2 this May!)
Anyone who thinks that essential oil alone is going to “fix” their cat needs to learn more about cat psychology & behavior. You also need to take into account all the variables that are specific to your cat & their environment, & eliminate or address any stress factors. For example, a bunch of stressed-out cats in a shelter are probably not going to find much comfort in a synthesized generic version of their body chemical being wafted into the air. Cats are territorial, & getting thrust into a strange room with a bunch of strange cats is always going to be anxiety-inducing. Nothing smells like them, & that’s really stressful for a cat. If the synthetic pheromones being used don’t smell like their own version, then it’s not going to help with that issue.
cats don't scratch their scratchypost bc they are stressed or bad, they do it bc it's a natural need for grooming and exercise. get them more scratchyposts and put them near where they scratch things they shouldn't, and get posts that are as long as their entire body when they stretch out fully, paws fully extended.
Feliway! The Veterinarian I work with worked on the original formula and works to improve it to this day! He is also a licensed and certified animal behaviourist (and has a lot to say about breeders) - The home plug in works, not entirely night and day, but it "softens" their behaviour. We use the spray form in the clinic (one for cats, one for dogs) and I can attest that it Works, 70% of the time, it works 100% of the time.
very happy to see this video! my mom recently got one of these plug-ins to decrease aggression between two of our cats- they're sisters, but they do not get along, and we're introducing a kitten to boot. she said she noticed a lowered level of aggression, but i was wondering if there's actually been any solid research about it.
@@irradiatedsnakes No you haven't yet but I'm js to be aware that confirmation bias can result in the product temporarily seeming to "work" simply because you want it to work which can also be known as a placebo.
Two of my roommates have one and two cats respectively, and I didn’t notice a major difference with the plug in diffusers, just a sort of random variation of their aggressive behavior towards each other. Honestly, it probably has more to do with personality than anything else (just like w people)
I guess I've been lucky so far in cat temperament. My strategy with my last cat companion was to use the cardboard scratchers, replace as necessary, and use a small amount of the catnip bag that came with the scratcher to sprinkled on the scratcher - then manually move the cat's paws on the scratcher to demonstrate the behavior I would prefer from them. Granted, I don't own much in the way of expensive plush furniture that I want to protect. One of my friends had a scratcher built on a wooden post and was lazy about replacing the scratching material - I think it was carpet. His cat started scratching the wood on the post, and then transferred that behavior to anything within reach in the house that was wooden - paneled walls, trim, picture frames, etc. 😮
I've tried these (Feliway) more than once, and even recently! I just ran out, in fact...and there was no change at all. My cats still fight one another, still bully the smallest, etc - no change whatsoever. I sincerely wish my cats were responsive to this, because it's miserable, they've lived together for YEARS and still can't get along. And if your cat is scratching furniture, that's your fault! Put a scratcher near that piece of furniture - my furniture scratcher loves the couch...it's her space! She loves to hang out with us on it! So she'd scratch it. As soon as we put a scratcher near the spot she liked to scratch? She no longer used the couch. It's not hard to redirect furniture scratching. However, it's impossible to stop my 15 year old from bullying my tiny 10 year old...
I'm still trying to find a scratching surface my new girl prefers over my couches. I keep putting different ones (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) next to the places she sxratches and she's completely uninterested. Probably going to have to get some sticky paws to redirect her to them
Cats are actually very social. Humans are the ones who decided it was a good idea to separate kittens from their litter mates, & then raise them in an unnatural, single-cat environment with no socialization. And then because cats are territorial, it doesn’t go well when we try to introduce a new adult cat into the established territory of another adult cat. So we ignorantly claim that cats are anti-social. We did this, not cats. Cats are supposed to grow up with their family & cat community, which normally creates strong social bonds.
My family has a diffuser to help our cat with her anxiety. Unfortunately, it smells awful and has possibly contributed to a few migraines. It gets used only when she's in one of her "im too scared/anxious to cat" episodes and is soon unplugged once she's left the area of the diffuser and is back to her usual self.
@@Nirrrina unfortunately the little lady acts like we've mortally wounded her with most collars we've tried, I blame a hilarious but unfortunate incident where she got a handle of a brown paper bag around her neck and was "chased" by the bag part. It's fairly infrequent to when she gets too anxious, maybe once every month or three. She's on a medicated food for her day-to-day anxiety.
Are you using Feliway? That one doesn't smell (at least we can't smell it in our clinic). We had another one that had catnip in it and that one had a horrible smell.
We need a scent for doggos to pick up on that says "unfriendly" of our three cats, it is the petite eight pound lady that is the most explosive in her retaliation.
I should not have watched this while my cat was in the room. She got ideas! As soon as you mentioned scratching furniture, she walked to the sofa and did just that! Thankfully, my dog won't allow this. He jumped off my lap, chased her off, and is now on guard duty 😂 I wish that there was something that actually works at calming cats down. Last year, I stupidly offered to cat sit for a friend who had a business trip abroad. My cat took one look at his cat, hissed, then attacked me! 5 surgeries and 12 days in hospital were the result. I do not have full use of my hand, and I am going to have to sell my car, which I can no longer drive. Oh well! I still love her, except when she scratches the sofa...
*Bottom line:* Just like with humans, you can’t medicate away behavioral problems. Unless it’s a legitimate medical issue that requires a chemical fix, you always need to address the root cause or it will continue to be an issue.
my cat has FHS and her symptoms are primarily caused by stress and overstimulation. i've noticed that a feliway diffuser reduces her symptoms significantly, whenever it runs out i notice very quickly because she gets extra twitchy and the usual strategies for calming her down (petting her slowly and firmly, holding her close and looking out the window, getting her to eat or playing with her) don't work as well.
We use a diffuser and it is a godsend for my cat especially for new year celebrations. She is much more chill with noise and strangers when we have it on (it takes a few days to work when plugged in). She used to hide for a few hours after hearing fireworks and basically the entire night and day after new year when we use feliway she is just a bit more clingy than on a normal day and has zoomies a few times over the time it is loud. I at first thought it was a nonsense waste of money and I probably would've continued thinking it if it wouldnt work so well on our cat. Those transport and no scratching sprays dont do anything on her though. Btw cats who excessively yell when in the transport box are in my experience often more calm if you dont talk directly to them and keep their box covered with a towel which preferably smells like the owner
I don't know if These sprays and stuff can alter a cat's bad behaviour, but I do know one thing. When I first got Lilly, she was a nervous wreck. I won't go into the full story here: suffice to say she was three years old when I got her, she had just endured a four hour drive from her former home, and promptly headed for the smallest, darkest space she could squeeze into on being let loose in the house. I didn't actually see her for two weeks, just plenty of evidence she was here in the form of food eaten and litter tray used properly. After this time, I decided to use a well known brand of plug-in in an attempt to reduce her anxiety, and encourage her to venture out whilst I was about. Sure enough, after activating the plug-in and waiting a week, she started coming out and looking around. She soon learned that I was not only primary food server, I also kept a nice range of treats and toys, and that my bed, set up against the radiator in my bedroom, is perhaps the warmest and comfiest place in the house. I have had Lilly for six years now, and there are some behavioural traits of hers that make me think she might have come from a feral colony, or suffered severe mistreatment at some point in her juvenile days. She doesn't like being picked up or handled, is terrified of stranger people, and just about tolerates my Dad, whom we live with. She also has a terror of bags and boxes, which is perhaps more unusual. I no longer have a plug-in going, and I keep a spray for her carrying box for when she has to visit the vet. She spends quite a bit of her time with me now, and she clearly sees me as a pleasing presence in her life. So, the pheromone plug-in may not have changed her behaviour a lot, but it did help her recover from the trauma of her arrival here.
yeah cats are like humans in that respect... what works for one doesnt work on another. I use silvervine because my cat isnt affected by catnip either. The silvervine is cat crack and you dont mess with him and his crack.
We got one of these a couple months ago when we got our third cat. The results were amazing! All three cats got along perfectly. Zero aggression. Our shyest cat whome rarely leave a bathroom can be seen all around the house and even plays with the youngest. The two we already had calmed down a lot and the new one accepted them as family. Infact, the new kitten accepts everyone as family...dogs, guinea pigs, lizards, us. This little plug in really worked like magic for us, and we won't stop using it.
I moved out into "God's Country" about five years ago. There are feral cats everywhere here. Over the first year and a half of living here I decided at different times to bring four of them into my home. A female and male adult and two female kittens. Each had its own challenges but after beginning to use the pheromone plug-ins it all came together. I continued to use the plug-ins for six months after taking in the last kitten. Now they are a happy little family.
As my cats don’t even react to cat nip I sometimes wonder if it’s just a makeup thing. I have fresh catnip in the garden but they stay well away from it🤔🤔🤔 I have used the plug in for the nursing mother in one room and they would all sleep on my bed very happy, when I ran out but could not afford to buy a replacement at the time, they sort of got territorial as the pheromones started wearing off in my room. When I finally bought a new one things settled down again in my room and they were all back on my bed again lol. The pheromones for a nursing cat I find works well but it’s so blooming expensive $70+ AUD for the refill plug in. I had to place the plug-in on a timer so that it would be on for an hour off for 2 during the nights and off during the day as they all go under the house during the summer months and during the winter one would climb onto the house roof and sleep next to the water tower in the full sun, two would snuggle together on the garage roof all day and 2 would sleep in the workshop during the day.
The smells can effect amygdala and hypocampus directly bypassing thalamus which filters our other senses.This can cause some strong smells to evoke emotional feelings. Also, some smells can effect Gaba(Main inhibitory neurotransmitter. It helps your brain not to get too stimulated and makes you relaxed) such as lavender incense which activates Gaba receptors so it lowers the anxiety levels. Why am I talking about this? Mainly because those pheromones are not magic, they have certain mechanisms that affect certain parts and receptors. If the main reason has nothing to do with that part of the brain, it wont work or have limited effect. Sometimes it may even be bad, so we seriously need more research on things.
Once my mother bought an odor spray to teach our new female dog to pee outside the house. But I found it was an unbearable smell and I can't stay home without felling nauseated. In the end the dog didn't care about the smell and continued to pee inside the house, but I stayed all the time outside home. Even my bedroom was filled with the smell and I almost sleept with my head in the window.
3:05 misinformation… cats are not solitary creatures at all. That behavior is a result of insecurities and requires proper socialization and enrichment to address the problem. Very rarely is a cat unable to be with other cats. People are not aware of how to socialize cats or provide environmental enrichment that address the problems causing the aggression. Additionally, people are not playing with their cats in a way that emulates hunting behaviors for them.
Used the feliway plug-in defused and spray for 12 months for one of our cats with aggression and other unwanted behaviors. Feliway advertised that their products could address our cat issues. We had the defusers in every room in your home. Large rooms had 2 or 3 defusers. ZERO BENEFIT, ZERO CHANGE. These products were expensive! The vet put the cat on Prozac. By the 3rd day on the medication, we saw significant change. He was relaxed, at peace with himself and his housemates. His unwanted behaviors are gone. If a study is not randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, it is almost worthless. And there needs to be a large enough study group not funded by those who profit from their product. I do not recommend feliway products.
It is just about the pathology, there are lots of mechanisms in the body that can cause depression and anxiety. The part of brain that is problematic probably a part that pheromones do not have effect on, so thats why it wasnt the one fixing the issue and a ssri worked better doesnt mean they do not work. It is like using painkiller for your headache caused by your hypertension and claim painkillers doesn't work no you need different drugs for that.
I've heard of cats it helps and cats it doesn't. It didn't help one of mine but gabapentin did - he wasn't on it permanently, just before his vet trips or they wouldn't see him. I assume if there's a larger underlying issue like an anxiety disorder or ptsd (i suspect my boy Orpheus had one of those two) pheromone won't significantly help.
Worked for me getting my poor boys swollen bladder down after a big move. He’s much calmer now so we stopped using them. Vet tech recommended after medication proved ineffective.
1. Not "pet owner", Cat parents! 2. How exactly is a study that uses a placebo to compare a device is going to work on a cat? The cat is going to assume you're giving him something special & change his behavior? I think they should just do studies with the device versus other device versus nothing.
Speaking from experience: I have 17 in my house. If I let all of the dispensers go empty, I know within days. The house turns into a feral cat colony with shrieking, light fighting, and growling. Within hours, it calms back down if I refill them.
I used those diffusers once. All of my cats began developing eye infections, irritations, and sneezing. It went away after we stopped using the diffusers. I've a lot of cats. It's not that they necessarily don't get along, but every once in a while a chase breaks out. But the thousands of dollars in vet bills to battle and fight a "strange eye irritant and non-uri-uri" was enough to make me throw the f-n things out.
May be promising research, but there are actually more reliable, safer and kinder ways to correct two of the listed problem behaviors in the meantime. (1) Spraying: Get your boy neutered. That actually curtails a couple male cat headaches. (2) Clawing furniture: Step 1: Provide a variety of allowed scratching posts (more than one if you have more than one cat. Like with litter boxes.) Step 2: Get a clean spray bottle from the dollar store and fill it with spring or distilled water (I don't recommend tap water for safety reasons.) If your cat goes to claw the sofa or whatnot, stand out of their line of sight and give them a good spray with the water. The trick is for you to NOT let the cat see you are the source of the spray. The idea is to convince them that it is their behavior that gets them the shower. One of my cats was murder on my pricey new mattress, but it only took three shots of the water spray to curtail that problem. Occasionally annoint their scratching posts with some catnip and they will soon prefer them to your furniture.
I tend to double check new pheromone products with my vet and anecdotes from my other cat friends. I'll say I've personally had good results but I can't swear it's the pheromones and not something else. Am I less worried and that's the biggest difference? Might be. I also don't just plug in a diffuser and hope for the best, I'm trying my best to make my cats' lives happier at the same time. Might be a combination of factors, might be just one. The thing that makes me suspicious that it's all in my head is how small these tests are. There are cat people all over who would happily volunteer to test out a possible solution to making their cats happier. I mean just look at the sales of the products, we're willing to pay to see if they'd work. After the number of dumb things I've bought over the years just in case it might make a cat happy I know I'd sign up if asked. So why are these studies so small?
Used Feliway when i moved in with my boyfriend who also had a cat but idk... i thought it made my cats act a little oddly, not relaxed, and i stopped using it after about 4 days. Also, I thought it had a weird smell but i dont actually know if humans can smell this product. Either way, its a no from me and girls. As a cat owner I know i will have destroyed furniture and clothing. Thats just part of being a cat owner and im okay with it.
If you have a problem cat, you've got to at least try these. I have a very anxious cat who pukes when he's stressed (not a fur ball, full on food vomit; don't worry, he has seen the vet for it is and fine). When I got one of these, he went from puking every day to once a week and now is about once a month. They're pricey, but so worth it for no puke and happier cat.
Anecdotally it helps but not equally. Some are slower to anger and others are less likely to break decorum. Worth the cost? Probably not for most but multi-cat home it helps some and a marginal expense compared to the overall cost of their care.
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SciShow should do a post regarding Gabapentin in regards to supposedly calming cats down for Veterinarian visits. Because that can be more than a bit hit and miss ( or should I say Hiss) as well…. ⚛️☮️🌏
I like to describe Feliway as "it smells like a happy, relaxed cat, so it sends a message that this is a safe place and your cat can feel happy and relaxed too."
If it's general stress, or stress from change, it can help to soothe that background anxiety and reassure them as they settle. But if they're stressed because of an actual threat or ongoing problem, well, then the stress is legitimate. It's like how taking anxiety medication can help an anxiety disorder and stress over imagined threats, but it doesn't mean you won't be anxious if, for instance, you lose your job and are financially struggling.
That's very well explained, thank you, and "Exactly! 100% THIS!" re your last point. Spot on.
"Cats are like cuddly soft pillows...that are...full of...knives."
Best intro ever? 😂💖👏😻
Love you, SciShow🤓
The problem with the scratching post spray one is that they didn't monitor whether scratching in other areas went down, they just noticed an uptick in scratching on the post. That's kind of an important bit of information.
th-cam.com/video/LKo5fdi8vn0/w-d-xo.html
Love the info, we recommended feliway at the vet I worked at, definitely not a cure all, you need to address whatever actual issue there is, but it helps along the way. Though I would argue one point made, the "adult cats are loners" is sort of an old piece of misinformation that won't go away. Yes, they don't enjoy another cat randomly in their space, but cats naturally live in colonies, they enjoy sleeping together and have even been documented helping each other take care of their young. They're more wary than a typical dog is of new creatures but cats have been painted with this antisocial narrative that makes it so people not as familiar with them can't fathom why people would want to own a cat until they get shown that they form bonds
AGREED. So many people say cats are solitary and unfriendly and dismissive. but they aren't! They are VERY attentive, and hypersocial... they just don't really like it when a stranger starts sleeping pantsless on their bed, and to be fair... neither do I.
what other domesticated animal chose to hang out with us in large numbers, and not only that but spends enough time studying our social behaviours to know we like vocalizations and eye contact... so they make concessions to their own natural social behaviour to be better social group members with us... on their own without active training or actively breeding that behaviour into them? Cats want to be social, they want to join us, and our other pets and each other in a big ol group sleep pile and share food and shelter.
Also Introducing very young cats to much older cats is super easy, cause cats just kinda... wanna adopt babies and care for helpless things. Its just something cats seem to do most of the time.
My adult cat was hostile with all other cats, til i brought him a 9 week old baby. It was love at first sight, he didn't want her to be isolated from us, and within 5 days, this healthy happy kitten i got from someone i know who was caring for a pregnant rescue, was his best friend. they are inseparable, they sleep together, eat together, play together, i cant watch tv alone or with one cat, cause both cats want BOTH cats present to watch the movement square as a family.
Cat colonies are like people. Most the time they get along but sometimes squabble.
I'm so glad someone mentioned this! I actually had to adopt a sibling for my "only child" cat that the shelter didn't think would get along with others-- she got so used to bothering my parent's cats (and them) when she visited that she became a NIGHTMARE when we got home 😂
even now the two of them are noticeably clingy-er after the holidays because they loved having more people to be social with! cats need a little more time I think to open up to strangers, but mine at least love it when grandma comes to visit lol
Yeah humans & their stupid stereotypes. Between some of the cats we've had, some where complete loners, but those where back when cats being outside was normal were I live, so they/parents didn't have the skills of socialising much with people, but the ones that became our proper pets, even some of them liked alone time but always still wanted affection & cuddles/pats. One of the two I have now, she clings to me like a child most of the time, so yeah, rainbow of variety to their personalities.
We used feliway when my wife and I were introducing our cats and now when we move.
I think our cats just associate feliway with "ok, this is going to be a safe place" now.
I feel like it's common knowledge among cat owners that these products don't work for all cats, but maybe not. I have 4 cats. Feliway doesn't work at all for two of them, it sorta helps one and it works wonders on my youngest. She talks nonstop and when I was moving from one continent to another, I was so worried because the airline's policy was that if they make noise, they go in the overhead compartment (which has killed pets before.) I sprayed some feliway on a cloth and stuffed it in her carrier and she was quiet! After 6 or 8 hours it would start to wear off so I'd take out the cloth, spray again and put back in. It was such a godsend.
I can't believe they put noisy cats in the overhead compartment. How cruel.
Diffusers may be dependent on age, the younger the cat the more profound the effect
@@Uncommoner She's only the youngest by a few months. Three of my four are all within one year of each other. She's now almost 6 and it still works better for her now than it ever did for the other two that are just a bit older than her - because it never worked for them.
Something no one tells you: the defusers can cause extreme headaches and migraines in some people. The number of people who experience this side effect is so low that the companies do not need to disclose this information at all. It took hospitalization for me to find out it was a thing that could happen.
That’s very true, it’s why I put mine on a timer and have it plugged in as far away from my bed, I have it set to turn on for one hour off for 2 all through the night.
the male cats facial pheromones cases hives on me but not the female cats. For years I thought it was their fur but over time I stated to take notice of when I would brake out in hives.
But for all of that I will not give up me fur babies 😹😹😹
Also they STINK.
One of those sufferers here. I’ll use a collar or two or a spray if absolutely necessary, but I will never use a plug-in again. Not worth having a migraine that basically lasts all month
I get headaches from the plug-in. Doesn't really matter since it didn't really offer my cat any stress relief. He'd spend a lot of time sitting around looking at the dang thing in confusion as well lol.
we have two cats who aren’t best friends (one is younger and wants to play, and the other is a little old and crotchety). we can ALWAYS tell when the plug-in pheromones run out. they’ll start being much more snippy with each other until we realize.
We've noticed that the Feliway plug-ins help our two cats adjust to new spaces better when we move. But it's only one of many tools we have used during our international move to help them feel more secure.
I've used Feliway Diffusers for a number of uses.
What worked: (note, these are different households/cats)
--- It kept Cuddles from wanting to murder the other cats in the house. Cuddles was a previously-abused cat with cerebellar hypoplasia, so she is unable to 'hold her punches,' drawing blood any time she so much as takes a practice swipe. When the pheromone was in use, she no longer stalked the only male cat in the house; she was previously used by the abuser to breed/sell kittens, so she may loathe male cats instinctively. She also doesn't have the coordination to leave her facial pheromones, as her head wobbles too much for her to rub, leaving her in a house that, otherwise, doesn't seem safe to her.
--- Moxie would 'play' with Luna a bit too aggressively, but when the pheromone was on, Moxie was more happy to just get love and maybe just pounce Luna, without claws. Being 3x the size of Luna, this was very important.
What did not work:
--- Max had a urination problem...and once the diffuser was used, decided to pee directly next to it. On the floor. Which is what we were trying to prevent in the first place. (problem ended up requiring a mix of anxiety medication, and monitoring UTIs and crystals; he has phimosis as well, it was recently discovered)
--- Moxie was urinating every day for a year on my towel. The diffuser had no effect. (issue turned out to be severe urinary crystals which did not respond to treatment/medication/food)
I worked at a pet store, I recommended these for cats getting used to new environments and new people. Sometimes cats stress-urinate, so SOMETIMES the diffuser can work for it, but ONLY if the cat is marking to try and make an area feel safe from an intruder.
It can only help, it'll never make things worse. But, it will not get rid of anxiety if it's an underlying condition.
I recently got a new cat (~6 months ago) who has serious anxiety and would be extremely aggressive out of nowhere; it was basically a 50-50 if she was coming up to you to say "hi" or to bite and scratch the crap out of your leg, so it led to everyone just wanting to avoid her for their own safety.
My friend recommended one of these wall-plugs and after a few days my cat had calmed down basically completely. A month later she was significantly more affectionate and social, but some of the old behavior started to come back after the pheromone ran out, so we replaced it and she's comfortable again.
It definitely needs more research and likely doesn't work quite as well for every cat, but I'm at least decently impressed and glad that I can help my cat be more relaxed without a serious prescription or something.
This is great to read :) The plug ins can work really well for some cats. Glad to hear your cat is more settled now. Did you ever find out what the root cause of her behaviour changes was?
@@naturallycats Unfortunately not; all I have is anecdotal evidence. We know she's a rescue, but not anything more about what exactly that means for her situation, so it's possible she has some kind of personal trauma.
@@BryceDixonDev that’s heartbreaking to hear 😢 have you supported her with any emotional or energetic work? I’ve got a video about how to help anxious cats that may help you:
th-cam.com/video/qrsGHgnqRDg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=qz1RYbXZqm5mdZik
@@BryceDixonDev I’ve got a video with 10 ways to help anxious cats over on my channel. Perhaps some of the tips may help her 🤞🏻🐾 th-cam.com/play/PLX_UNyNRlCJPYbgGA1lnmL03lyPXLUY7Z.html&si=THIGuqONe-O66cgW
The original formula Feliway didn't work for us, but the friendship one certainly reduced the number of fights in our house. It hasn't stopped them, but it's made things a lot more managable.
Fab to read! The plug ins ( because they are synthetic pheromones) only work for some cats. Have you tried putting down some dried herbs to support the emotional state of your cats? Catnip, chamomile and valerian root are good options to start with :)
@@naturallycats unfortunately the issue is we have a lot of rescues, so there are a number of furry bodies in the house. It's mostly harmonious but stokes sometimes they get upset
@@Tarotb great to hear you help so many cats! Having a herb garden down can really help. Some dried herbs and flowers will support the cats with changes in the home and the emotions that come up from that
@@naturallycats thanks. We're not very good with growing things but we're getting some silver vine which always seems to work.
@@Tarotb you can get all dried! You don’t have to grow it
My experience with the feliway plug-in diffuser was really bad. Both of my cats have pretty severe anxiety, and the diffuser I got was supposed to calm that anxiety. Instead, it made my cats ultra aggressive. Before the diffuser, my cats were basically best friends that did everything together. Within hours of plugging in the diffuser they were suddenly attacking each other, hissing, growling, all behaviours they had never exhibited before.
I'm so sorry to read this. Have things settled back down for them? Have you tried any other options to support their emotional state?
I used Feliway to help a group of new foster kittens get along with each other. I have a senior cat of my own. She's been around Feliway before with no ill effects. When I went to plug a new batch, she suddenly stopped eating and lost weight. When I realized it must be the Feliway, I unplugged it and turned my air purifier on high, and she felt better within 2 days. We went to the vet and did xrays and bloodwork, all normal and vet was stumped. We still suspect it's the Feliway.
The collars that contain the pheromones are my favorite tool for when we add a new kitten to our household. They absolutely help make the transition smoother. They don't make everything perfect, but definitely better
my vet prescribed a feline appeasing hormone diffuser since my cat had urethritis that was most likely caused by anxiety. he improved very quickly and remained recovered after his course of medications was complete, and remains recovered to this day :)
Earlier today someone told me about the existence of these pheromone things since her 2 cats constantly fight. It didn't seem to do anything for her and I was also very sceptical. But it's good to know that it isn't actually a pure scam :D
It didn’t help my cats neither
It helps our cats a bit. It really just hit or miss amongst who it affects.
Every us based product is at least 70% scam
It probably would have worked a bit better if it was used BEFORE the cats started living together. After the hostile relationship is established it can't do much.
They're not a panacea, but for specific use cases and environments they're great. We have a cat with anxiety issues that always injured himself due to excessive scratching. We consulted with multiple vets, tried a variety of activities and drugs, nothing worked. The cat lived stressed both as a single cat or with others. A vet recommended a specific pheromone diffuse (M2B, the brand over here is Serenex), and the cat did a 180, a month later he was chill as a cucumber. We fully put his recovery on the pheromone treatment, in fact a few times where they run out before we could find a replacement, he started scratching again.
It's not perfect though, we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, on a larger house it doesn't work as well unless you have multiple of them, as they get dissipated on the air. Plus this video is the first time I hear of them as a way to avoid scratching the furniture, to me that's just brands advertising stuff that they think will make people buy it. Our cats never stopped scratching furniture and we don't care about that, they're cats lol
As an aside, we're currently fostering an injured, FIV+ stray. We have him locked in the bathroom as we can't risk contact with the other cats, and are actively looking a forever home for him. He was known to be aggressive and mark his territory, so we bought a second diffuser and placed it on the bathroom 24/7. The stray never peed anywhere where he wasn't supposed to, and never attacked while we cleaned his bandages, pheromones really help in that sort of situations.
Yeah whether or not it helps with behavioral stuff is likely going to depend on the underlying cause. If they are stress/anxiety related like your cat’s scratching was then seeing secondary behavioral improvements is much more likely. Where if the scratching or litter issues are because of boredom or an illness symptom then general calming pheromones probably aren’t going to do as much as the companies want to say they do.
Have you checked for allergies?
Idk about cats but for dogs anxiety and pain kratom works well. It's addictive though and dogs need very careful dosing
These worked well when merging cat households and introducing kittens.
As mentioned, not a night and day difference but did help to ease the transition while adjusting routine. now don't need them as the cats have acclimated to each other.
I have used these to helping one of my furry sons who had a bladder ulcer borne by stress. It wasn't the silver bullet to the issue, but it made him feel a bit better, long enough for the medicine to work.
We used the Feliway MultiCat formula during the long (looooong) process of introducing our second cat, and while it didn't perform any major miracles getting them past the big hurdles, I think it helped quite a bit in the awkward touch-and-go period once they tolerated being in the same room but were both on hair triggers to retaliate against ANY perceived aggression. We noticed that when the plug-in ran out, their play-fights got more confrontational and more likely to end in hisses, but within a couple days of plugging in the refill, they'd get perceptibly less aggressive and less likely to interpret each other's behavior in the worst possible light.
We noticed that same pattern a couple different times, about two months apart, before they start reliably remembering that they liked each other even without the mama cat pheromones in the air. Now we just keep a backup on hand in case they ever develop new behavioral problems or need to be reintroduced after an extended vet stay or something.
Introducing new adult cats is a long and scary process for you and especially your cat.
Some cats are naturally more careful and afraid,
Don't give your cat unnecessary chemicals without a vet instruction.
If you moved with a roommate you don't know, would you like someone to sedate you with corporation made unregulated drugs so you get used to him easily?
3:11 there's a correction that should be made. Housecats are NOT solitary. When outside they form colonies, at home they tend to do better with other feline companions (although this will take time for them to accept each other)
Just like we don't say lions are solitary, housecats are also not a solitary species! It is bad to keep spreading this misinformation because companionship can improve a cat's life significantly. The Wikipedia article has some references you can start with on this topic. It mentions they are solitary hunters, but communal/ social creatures. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
It's also not said for some reason, but cats can be easily trained as kittens to allow you to clip their nails
A+++ for amazing cadence and delivery in this video! Savannah always does an amazing job!
Agreed! They are my favorite host :)
scratching post solved everything for us
Definitely helps
It's not enough sometimes, if there's fireworks, new environment, new cat etc "Feliway" plug and calming cat treats and calming sprays for visits to the Vet really does help!
No pheromone is going to address root causes of unwanted behavior; all these products can do is create space for the cat to adapt to the situation. The best way to affect cat behavior is to learn what motivates it and adapting to its needs. Cats will still refuse to use a filthy litterbox, mark their territory by scratching furniture if there's nothing acceptable for them to scratch, and wake us up at 3 am if we have ignored their social needs. That being said, a few squirts of Feliway in a cat carrier can cut back on fear that they're going to be eaten for dinner (after all, they are a prey species), and can help out while you're socializing a new cat.
I've used Feliway diffusers for years due to local strays stressing the hell out of my cats through the windows. I've moved and will try phasing them out now that they're settled. My cats don't seem to like the Feliway spray, but the Feliway soaked towels at my vet's office do wonders.
Cats aren’t a “prey species”, they can be both predators and prey
we started using feliway for our bad tempered cat, she is very noticeably less stressed and more relaxed, she even likes sitting next to the diffuser. i'm skeptical of claims of solving behaviour problems, but it surely can make cats more comfortable. it also seems the effect varies greatly between individuals, so it might not work for all cats
Cats are magical creatures! I love them! I need them! I will never truly understand them! Great video.
I had good luck with the feliway collar years ago. My old cat went from peeing on everything and randomly hissing at the new puppy back to his normal napping 90% of the day as long as the puppy left him be. It also helped keep his stress lvls low enough to get his bladder crystals back under control. That being said he was laid back with a catnip problem. It took a beagle pup deciding that he was was her new best friend to get him stressed. I wish I knew about the dog version with the last new puppy, my older bonded pair of dogs were not happy with the new pup.
"Cats are like cuddly soft pillows, that are full of... knives." 😂
FWIW I've found the diffusers to be effective at reducing stress levels overall, but not a magic spell that stops a bored cat from clawing furniture etc.
Like Savannah said, it's a handy tool for the kit but won't replace figuring out what is causing the stress behaviour and alleviating the causes. Most times it'll be something down to the individual cat and chances are it'll mean changing your behaviour to accommodate the cat rather than the other way around.
Things will also be very different if you get an "older" cat from a shelter rather than a couple of kittens. I've found them most useful when introducing a new (adult) cat to the household.
Co formation bias maybe, but I swear by this stuff. I brought a 3 year old male cat in to my home with two senior 10+ year old female cats…so it was a stressful transition and I swear this helped when I started using it after a few weeks.
My sister and I had to pick up 3 cats from the airport many years ago. We sprayed the heck out of the car interior first with Comfort Zone for cats. The cats in their carriers were placed into the car, complaining mightily. Within 15 minutes, silence. It worked for us!
Cat's are actually quite social creatures, even as adults.
totally agree
We have the feliway one to help kitties get along. It really helps with our four babies. When it runs out we can tell after a few days
Interesting to learn about the other pheromones; I knew about the face ones but not the toes!
As others have noted, these compounds also may work better for some cats than others, just as it's true that not all cats actually like catnip...and not all of them respond to it the same once they get into it, either. Biochemistry sure is complicated -.-
The thing about solitary adult cats - so, we do know that cats will live in colonies but even when they do, they OFTEN have scuffles, maintaining some sort of pecking order it seems. And I can assure you that even when your cats are related they'll still fuss and fight sometimes, and most frequently it's when they both want to sleep on the same sunbeam, windowsill, pillow... Plus, all those behaviors that they CAN have, to be more social and tolerant, erode badly when they're stressed. I feel like the study on shelter cats and stress levels REALLY says a lot for the potential effectiveness of the synthetic pheromones. If something as relatively simple as a scented plug-in could make that much difference for cats in a situation like THAT? Yeah that would be big news.
I can hope though that more and better research takes place, and that we grow our knowledge of our feline friends. They are wonderful little gremlins and I for one would like to be able to have more ways to help them be happier in my house. Annnnnd maybe stop peeing on the closet door >.
My cats are colony cats - all three from the same hoarders colony. There is no hissing or spiting though there is wrestling swatting and a minor nip or two. Mostly they get along really well - the feliway is for impending vet visits….
Now I want to know how to keep them away from shitting all over the backyard. I don’t even have pets and yet my house always stinks.
We got the feliway multicat when we brought a new cat into our previously single cat home. I have no control group but they are buddies now.
I’ve always wondered about the robustness of the science on these! (Working with behavior needs works for me, every time, but I grok that frequently people just need to be able to purchase a tool and expect it to help!)
I got these for 6 months and haven’t noticed a difference in our 2 cats butting heads.
I had the same experience. Didnt notice any improvement.
back when i still had 2 boys, pheromones did seem to help them fight less. but we also moved to a much smaller home and one of the cats started declining in health, so definitely a lot of confounding variables.
We had feliway for my cat when we first brought her home as a senior rescue, and it had the opposite effect on her. Feliway apparently has that effect on a small portion of cats
Bought some plug-ins for my cat since she has had sitter issues. Think it helped, but she wasn't friendly. She's still pretty young though (2 this May!)
Anyone who thinks that essential oil alone is going to “fix” their cat needs to learn more about cat psychology & behavior.
You also need to take into account all the variables that are specific to your cat & their environment, & eliminate or address any stress factors.
For example, a bunch of stressed-out cats in a shelter are probably not going to find much comfort in a synthesized generic version of their body chemical being wafted into the air.
Cats are territorial, & getting thrust into a strange room with a bunch of strange cats is always going to be anxiety-inducing. Nothing smells like them, & that’s really stressful for a cat.
If the synthetic pheromones being used don’t smell like their own version, then it’s not going to help with that issue.
cats don't scratch their scratchypost bc they are stressed or bad, they do it bc it's a natural need for grooming and exercise. get them more scratchyposts and put them near where they scratch things they shouldn't, and get posts that are as long as their entire body when they stretch out fully, paws fully extended.
Feliway made my cat incredibly violent with every living thing in her range. We had to discontinue it and throw it away outside within hours.
Feliway! The Veterinarian I work with worked on the original formula and works to improve it to this day! He is also a licensed and certified animal behaviourist (and has a lot to say about breeders) - The home plug in works, not entirely night and day, but it "softens" their behaviour. We use the spray form in the clinic (one for cats, one for dogs) and I can attest that it Works, 70% of the time, it works 100% of the time.
very happy to see this video! my mom recently got one of these plug-ins to decrease aggression between two of our cats- they're sisters, but they do not get along, and we're introducing a kitten to boot. she said she noticed a lowered level of aggression, but i was wondering if there's actually been any solid research about it.
Are you aware of your confirmation bias?
@@radfoo72 in what sense? i said nothing about my own conclusions or opinions on the product here.
@@irradiatedsnakes
No you haven't yet but I'm js to be aware that confirmation bias can result in the product temporarily seeming to "work" simply because you want it to work which can also be known as a placebo.
@@radfoo72 yes, i know. i said that that was happening with my mom, and i wanted to look into it more.
@@irradiatedsnakes 👍🏼
Two of my roommates have one and two cats respectively, and I didn’t notice a major difference with the plug in diffusers, just a sort of random variation of their aggressive behavior towards each other. Honestly, it probably has more to do with personality than anything else (just like w people)
I guess I've been lucky so far in cat temperament.
My strategy with my last cat companion was to use the cardboard scratchers, replace as necessary, and use a small amount of the catnip bag that came with the scratcher to sprinkled on the scratcher - then manually move the cat's paws on the scratcher to demonstrate the behavior I would prefer from them.
Granted, I don't own much in the way of expensive plush furniture that I want to protect.
One of my friends had a scratcher built on a wooden post and was lazy about replacing the scratching material - I think it was carpet.
His cat started scratching the wood on the post, and then transferred that behavior to anything within reach in the house that was wooden - paneled walls, trim, picture frames, etc. 😮
I've tried these (Feliway) more than once, and even recently! I just ran out, in fact...and there was no change at all. My cats still fight one another, still bully the smallest, etc - no change whatsoever. I sincerely wish my cats were responsive to this, because it's miserable, they've lived together for YEARS and still can't get along. And if your cat is scratching furniture, that's your fault! Put a scratcher near that piece of furniture - my furniture scratcher loves the couch...it's her space! She loves to hang out with us on it! So she'd scratch it. As soon as we put a scratcher near the spot she liked to scratch? She no longer used the couch. It's not hard to redirect furniture scratching. However, it's impossible to stop my 15 year old from bullying my tiny 10 year old...
I'm still trying to find a scratching surface my new girl prefers over my couches. I keep putting different ones (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) next to the places she sxratches and she's completely uninterested. Probably going to have to get some sticky paws to redirect her to them
Cats are actually very social.
Humans are the ones who decided it was a good idea to separate kittens from their litter mates, & then raise them in an unnatural, single-cat environment with no socialization.
And then because cats are territorial, it doesn’t go well when we try to introduce a new adult cat into the established territory of another adult cat. So we ignorantly claim that cats are anti-social.
We did this, not cats. Cats are supposed to grow up with their family & cat community, which normally creates strong social bonds.
My family has a diffuser to help our cat with her anxiety. Unfortunately, it smells awful and has possibly contributed to a few migraines. It gets used only when she's in one of her "im too scared/anxious to cat" episodes and is soon unplugged once she's left the area of the diffuser and is back to her usual self.
There's a collar version that might be better for you.
@@Nirrrina unfortunately the little lady acts like we've mortally wounded her with most collars we've tried, I blame a hilarious but unfortunate incident where she got a handle of a brown paper bag around her neck and was "chased" by the bag part. It's fairly infrequent to when she gets too anxious, maybe once every month or three. She's on a medicated food for her day-to-day anxiety.
Are you using Feliway? That one doesn't smell (at least we can't smell it in our clinic). We had another one that had catnip in it and that one had a horrible smell.
I literally just bought one of these days ago.
Savannah has definitely lived with a cat before
We need a scent for doggos to pick up on that says "unfriendly"
of our three cats, it is the petite eight pound lady that is the most explosive in her retaliation.
Claw my couch in to pieces, this is my cats new fort.
Fluffication, no breeding. Don't give a bath, or my body is bleeding.
I should not have watched this while my cat was in the room. She got ideas! As soon as you mentioned scratching furniture, she walked to the sofa and did just that!
Thankfully, my dog won't allow this. He jumped off my lap, chased her off, and is now on guard duty 😂
I wish that there was something that actually works at calming cats down. Last year, I stupidly offered to cat sit for a friend who had a business trip abroad. My cat took one look at his cat, hissed, then attacked me! 5 surgeries and 12 days in hospital were the result. I do not have full use of my hand, and I am going to have to sell my car, which I can no longer drive. Oh well! I still love her, except when she scratches the sofa...
*Bottom line:* Just like with humans, you can’t medicate away behavioral problems.
Unless it’s a legitimate medical issue that requires a chemical fix, you always need to address the root cause or it will continue to be an issue.
my cat has FHS and her symptoms are primarily caused by stress and overstimulation. i've noticed that a feliway diffuser reduces her symptoms significantly, whenever it runs out i notice very quickly because she gets extra twitchy and the usual strategies for calming her down (petting her slowly and firmly, holding her close and looking out the window, getting her to eat or playing with her) don't work as well.
This episode NOT free of Cats (2019)
We use a diffuser and it is a godsend for my cat especially for new year celebrations. She is much more chill with noise and strangers when we have it on (it takes a few days to work when plugged in). She used to hide for a few hours after hearing fireworks and basically the entire night and day after new year when we use feliway she is just a bit more clingy than on a normal day and has zoomies a few times over the time it is loud. I at first thought it was a nonsense waste of money and I probably would've continued thinking it if it wouldnt work so well on our cat. Those transport and no scratching sprays dont do anything on her though. Btw cats who excessively yell when in the transport box are in my experience often more calm if you dont talk directly to them and keep their box covered with a towel which preferably smells like the owner
I don't know if These sprays and stuff can alter a cat's bad behaviour, but I do know one thing. When I first got Lilly, she was a nervous wreck. I won't go into the full story here: suffice to say she was three years old when I got her, she had just endured a four hour drive from her former home, and promptly headed for the smallest, darkest space she could squeeze into on being let loose in the house. I didn't actually see her for two weeks, just plenty of evidence she was here in the form of food eaten and litter tray used properly.
After this time, I decided to use a well known brand of plug-in in an attempt to reduce her anxiety, and encourage her to venture out whilst I was about. Sure enough, after activating the plug-in and waiting a week, she started coming out and looking around. She soon learned that I was not only primary food server, I also kept a nice range of treats and toys, and that my bed, set up against the radiator in my bedroom, is perhaps the warmest and comfiest place in the house.
I have had Lilly for six years now, and there are some behavioural traits of hers that make me think she might have come from a feral colony, or suffered severe mistreatment at some point in her juvenile days. She doesn't like being picked up or handled, is terrified of stranger people, and just about tolerates my Dad, whom we live with. She also has a terror of bags and boxes, which is perhaps more unusual.
I no longer have a plug-in going, and I keep a spray for her carrying box for when she has to visit the vet. She spends quite a bit of her time with me now, and she clearly sees me as a pleasing presence in her life. So, the pheromone plug-in may not have changed her behaviour a lot, but it did help her recover from the trauma of her arrival here.
What is in these things that causes itching and dry eyes? The cat doesn't care yet I am peeling.
you might be allergic to something in the mixture
The thumbnail clickbaited me into thinking a smart cat was hosting.
Our cat went mad for valerian , she’d roll in it drooling then curl up and purr really loudly. Didn’t like catnip though
yeah cats are like humans in that respect... what works for one doesnt work on another. I use silvervine because my cat isnt affected by catnip either. The silvervine is cat crack and you dont mess with him and his crack.
Get them a nepetalactone vape. Or maybe that belongs with the band in The Aristocats.
🤣🤣🤣
We got one of these a couple months ago when we got our third cat. The results were amazing! All three cats got along perfectly. Zero aggression. Our shyest cat whome rarely leave a bathroom can be seen all around the house and even plays with the youngest. The two we already had calmed down a lot and the new one accepted them as family. Infact, the new kitten accepts everyone as family...dogs, guinea pigs, lizards, us. This little plug in really worked like magic for us, and we won't stop using it.
I moved out into "God's Country" about five years ago. There are feral cats everywhere here. Over the first year and a half of living here I decided at different times to bring four of them into my home. A female and male adult and two female kittens. Each had its own challenges but after beginning to use the pheromone plug-ins it all came together. I continued to use the plug-ins for six months after taking in the last kitten. Now they are a happy little family.
As my cats don’t even react to cat nip I sometimes wonder if it’s just a makeup thing. I have fresh catnip in the garden but they stay well away from it🤔🤔🤔
I have used the plug in for the nursing mother in one room and they would all sleep on my bed very happy, when I ran out but could not afford to buy a replacement at the time, they sort of got territorial as the pheromones started wearing off in my room. When I finally bought a new one things settled down again in my room and they were all back on my bed again lol. The pheromones for a nursing cat I find works well but it’s so blooming expensive $70+ AUD for the refill plug in. I had to place the plug-in on a timer so that it would be on for an hour off for 2 during the nights and off during the day as they all go under the house during the summer months and during the winter one would climb onto the house roof and sleep next to the water tower in the full sun, two would snuggle together on the garage roof all day and 2 would sleep in the workshop during the day.
try silver vine or valerian or a triple mix. When one plant doesnt work another will. My cat is a silver vine cat.
The smells can effect amygdala and hypocampus directly bypassing thalamus which filters our other senses.This can cause some strong smells to evoke emotional feelings. Also, some smells can effect Gaba(Main inhibitory neurotransmitter. It helps your brain not to get too stimulated and makes you relaxed) such as lavender incense which activates Gaba receptors so it lowers the anxiety levels. Why am I talking about this? Mainly because those pheromones are not magic, they have certain mechanisms that affect certain parts and receptors. If the main reason has nothing to do with that part of the brain, it wont work or have limited effect. Sometimes it may even be bad, so we seriously need more research on things.
I always thought it was the limbic system?
@@pheart2381 Amygdala and hypocampus is part of limbic system along with many parts of the brain including thalamus.
Not once did they ask permission to talk to touch the cats and THEYRE THE A HOLES
Once my mother bought an odor spray to teach our new female dog to pee outside the house. But I found it was an unbearable smell and I can't stay home without felling nauseated. In the end the dog didn't care about the smell and continued to pee inside the house, but I stayed all the time outside home. Even my bedroom was filled with the smell and I almost sleept with my head in the window.
3:05 misinformation… cats are not solitary creatures at all. That behavior is a result of insecurities and requires proper socialization and enrichment to address the problem. Very rarely is a cat unable to be with other cats. People are not aware of how to socialize cats or provide environmental enrichment that address the problems causing the aggression. Additionally, people are not playing with their cats in a way that emulates hunting behaviors for them.
I like the wheel! It's a fun idea. I'd love to to know the stories of some of the animals
I found this video very relatable, especially since I have a cat myself
Especially all of those jokes you made about them, so true
Used the feliway plug-in defused and spray for 12 months for one of our cats with aggression and other unwanted behaviors. Feliway advertised that their products could address our cat issues. We had the defusers in every room in your home. Large rooms had 2 or 3 defusers. ZERO BENEFIT, ZERO CHANGE. These products were expensive! The vet put the cat on Prozac. By the 3rd day on the medication, we saw significant change. He was relaxed, at peace with himself and his housemates. His unwanted behaviors are gone. If a study is not randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, it is almost worthless. And there needs to be a large enough study group not funded by those who profit from their product. I do not recommend feliway products.
Like any medicine tho it doesn’t help every single animal or human taking them. We have 1 cat Feliway doesn’t seem to help and 3 others it does.
It is just about the pathology, there are lots of mechanisms in the body that can cause depression and anxiety. The part of brain that is problematic probably a part that pheromones do not have effect on, so thats why it wasnt the one fixing the issue and a ssri worked better doesnt mean they do not work. It is like using painkiller for your headache caused by your hypertension and claim painkillers doesn't work no you need different drugs for that.
I've heard of cats it helps and cats it doesn't. It didn't help one of mine but gabapentin did - he wasn't on it permanently, just before his vet trips or they wouldn't see him. I assume if there's a larger underlying issue like an anxiety disorder or ptsd (i suspect my boy Orpheus had one of those two) pheromone won't significantly help.
Agreed
Worked for me getting my poor boys swollen bladder down after a big move. He’s much calmer now so we stopped using them. Vet tech recommended after medication proved ineffective.
I love the shades. I have a similar pair that helps my photo sensitivity and migraines. ❤
1. Not "pet owner", Cat parents!
2. How exactly is a study that uses a placebo to compare a device is going to work on a cat? The cat is going to assume you're giving him something special & change his behavior?
I think they should just do studies with the device versus other device versus nothing.
Speaking from experience: I have 17 in my house. If I let all of the dispensers go empty, I know within days. The house turns into a feral cat colony with shrieking, light fighting, and growling. Within hours, it calms back down if I refill them.
Shouldn't the territory marking pheromones be different for each cat? Otherwise, how do they know if it's theirs or someone else's?
I used those diffusers once. All of my cats began developing eye infections, irritations, and sneezing. It went away after we stopped using the diffusers. I've a lot of cats. It's not that they necessarily don't get along, but every once in a while a chase breaks out. But the thousands of dollars in vet bills to battle and fight a "strange eye irritant and non-uri-uri" was enough to make me throw the f-n things out.
May be promising research, but there are actually more reliable, safer and kinder ways to correct two of the listed problem behaviors in the meantime. (1) Spraying: Get your boy neutered. That actually curtails a couple male cat headaches. (2) Clawing furniture: Step 1: Provide a variety of allowed scratching posts (more than one if you have more than one cat. Like with litter boxes.) Step 2: Get a clean spray bottle from the dollar store and fill it with spring or distilled water (I don't recommend tap water for safety reasons.) If your cat goes to claw the sofa or whatnot, stand out of their line of sight and give them a good spray with the water. The trick is for you to NOT let the cat see you are the source of the spray. The idea is to convince them that it is their behavior that gets them the shower. One of my cats was murder on my pricey new mattress, but it only took three shots of the water spray to curtail that problem. Occasionally annoint their scratching posts with some catnip and they will soon prefer them to your furniture.
Hi Savannah!
Great photography!
It doesnt work at all with my cat. On the contrary, he learned that smell means vet visit, so he becomes more and more agitated when I use it.
I tend to double check new pheromone products with my vet and anecdotes from my other cat friends. I'll say I've personally had good results but I can't swear it's the pheromones and not something else. Am I less worried and that's the biggest difference? Might be. I also don't just plug in a diffuser and hope for the best, I'm trying my best to make my cats' lives happier at the same time. Might be a combination of factors, might be just one.
The thing that makes me suspicious that it's all in my head is how small these tests are. There are cat people all over who would happily volunteer to test out a possible solution to making their cats happier. I mean just look at the sales of the products, we're willing to pay to see if they'd work. After the number of dumb things I've bought over the years just in case it might make a cat happy I know I'd sign up if asked. So why are these studies so small?
Good question! I feel the same way. ✌️😸🍀
Thank you 🙏
I saw the diffuser footage was credited to Savannah. So my question is...... Savannah what's your cat(s) name(s)
Seems like an under-tested waste of money, but it can’t hurt to try if you have the income to spare and reeeeally tried every other option.
I've used the name brands and off brands of these products and they do absolutely nothing for our five cats. I think they're a waste of money.
I tried the plugins and they dont smell much of anything and I didnt see any behavior change.
6:29 How do we really know that we know what we know ??
I love the name. Mr Mestopheles. 😂
Used Feliway when i moved in with my boyfriend who also had a cat but idk... i thought it made my cats act a little oddly, not relaxed, and i stopped using it after about 4 days. Also, I thought it had a weird smell but i dont actually know if humans can smell this product. Either way, its a no from me and girls. As a cat owner I know i will have destroyed furniture and clothing. Thats just part of being a cat owner and im okay with it.
If you have a problem cat, you've got to at least try these. I have a very anxious cat who pukes when he's stressed (not a fur ball, full on food vomit; don't worry, he has seen the vet for it is and fine). When I got one of these, he went from puking every day to once a week and now is about once a month. They're pricey, but so worth it for no puke and happier cat.
Instructions unclear: Currently on the run for at least temporarily blinding investigators, with light.. revved up like a Deuce..!
I thought "plug in" was meant to refer to battery vehicles. I was confused for a while
Plug in air freshener isn’t unusual! :)
The US has a room scenting refillable device that is called "plug-in". Add the scent bottle and just plug into the wall. 😄
"Plug it in plug it in" jingle ofc. I expected some association with third-hand gasoline exposure on cats' well-being.
Anecdotally it helps but not equally. Some are slower to anger and others are less likely to break decorum. Worth the cost? Probably not for most but multi-cat home it helps some and a marginal expense compared to the overall cost of their care.
I literally just plugged my new pheromone thing in 😂 Can't wait to hear if it actually helps