Stress in cats is not unusual, with separation anxiety being a common stressor. Some cats are cool and independent; others hate to be left alone and become very unhappy. Separation anxiety can potentially impact your cat’s health and may cause behavioural problems such as destructiveness. It’s hardly a surprise, therefore, that various products are on the market that can (or claim to be able to) address this in various ways. In this article, we’ll take a look at Feliway and other pheromone-based sprays as a means to reduce your furry friend’s separation anxiety
Does Feliway help with separation anxiety? Pheromone-based preparations such as Feliway reportedly help your cat to feel calmer and reduce anxiety, including separation anxiety. This is known as pheromone therapy or pheromone therapy. Scientific evidence provides limited support for manufacturer claims regarding the effectiveness of these products, although there is anecdotal support. Other brands are available.
What is separation anxiety in cats? What is Feliway and how does it work? Are products like this effective? How do you use them safely? As a caring cat owner hoping to address these and other questions, you’ve come to the right page. Read on to get answers about treating your pet’s anxiety from a fellow cat lover.
Pheromone products, anxiety and your cat
Does Feliway help with separation anxiety? First, let’s talk about what Feliway is. This is the brand name given to a particular type of pheromone-based preparation for cats. The name “Feliway” has fallen into use as an umbrella term for all kinds of similar calming sprays, just like “Hoover” for vacuum cleaners in the UK or “Xerox” for photocopiers in the US.
“Feliway” is also used by some people for calming spray products which are not pheromone based, such as those using herbal ingredients or diluted essential oils. In this article, we’ll be talking specifically about products that use a pheromone-based formula to soothe feline anxiety rather than those that use other approaches. Opinion is divided over how effective such preparation may be. Feliway and similar preparations are intended to modify problem behaviour and also improve mood in cats, reducing destructive urges and helping the cat to feel more relaxed. There have been numerous scientific studies, using various sample sizes and methodologies, with rather variable results.
Some show an effect, others do not. I have met cat owners and vets who swore by their pheromone sprays and diffusers, while others have told me the products they tried had absolutely no effect. I would say that pheromone products may work in some cats but are unlikely to be a universal solution to separation anxiety or other emotional upsets that are affecting your cat. In my personal experience, feline separation anxiety is a complex issue and doesn’t really lend itself to simple solutions. As much as I’d like to promise a complete resolution with a spritz of artificial pheromone, that’s probably an unrealistic scenario. If you do decide to try Feliway or a similar product, it should be deployed as part of a comprehensive range of interventions to help your cat.
What are pheromones?
Cats are highly sensitive to smells and deploy scent marking quite liberally. You will probably have noticed how your cat rubs her head against your legs, as well as rubbing her cheeks on various items around the home. If you have more than one cat, you may notice that they sometimes rub their faces against each other. Why? Well, that’s because cats have pheromone glands near their mouths that exude these aromatic compounds.
Domestic cats also have pheromone-producing organs in their flanks, between their toes and elsewhere on their bodies; these produce different types of pheromone for different purposes. With our weaker senses of smell, we can’t detect any scent but cats certainly can. They use scent marking to indicate that a particular individual is part of their colony group — that’s what they’re doing when they rub their faces on you or wind around your legs. (Some people mistakenly assume that a cat is marking you as their territory or their personal property when they rub up against you to apply their pheromones; in fact, they’re marking you as a friend and ally.)
This scent marking performs a number of functions and is a natural part of feline behaviour. The substance produced by the glands in a cat’s face is called Feline Facial Marking Pheromone (FFMP); there are various constituents in FFMP, called “fractions”. The F3 and F4 fractions are chiefly the ones used in the products we’ll be discussing in this article.
What do pheromone products contain?
It is possible to obtain small amounts of natural pheromone from cats themselves and some versions of pheromone therapy do use natural feline pheromones. It would be costly and impractical to create commercial pheromone therapy products in this way, however. For this reason, products such as Feliway use synthetic pheromones designed to be analogous to the F3 and F4 fractions of FFMP.
These synthetic compounds are mixed with a small amt of a neutral carrier, such as water and denatured alcohol, so they can be turned into drops and sprays, used in a diffuser or painted onto surfaces. The exact ingredients will vary between different brands and formulae. Any preparation marketed for use around pets needs to comply with regulatory requirements, which means they should be quite safe if used in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions.
The synthetic pheromones used in such products are typically odourless (at least, they don’t smell of anything if you’re not a cat) and are usually formulated such that they won’t stain or damage furnishings, fixtures etc. That said, if the product is to be applied directly to furnishings, you should test it in a discreet area to make sure it won’t affect the appearance of the surface you’re treating.
How do I use Feliway and other pheromone therapy products?
Some products come as a spray and are intended to be spritzed onto surfaces around the home, as well as into cat carriers or vehicles where the cat will be riding. For feline separation anxiety, a spray might be applied to the cat’s bed or favourite sleeping spots; this is intended to help the cat feel relaxed when she settles down to rest. Other products that are designed to be dropped or painted onto surfaces may be useful in addressing the secondary effects of anxiety. Some cats engage in problem scratching when anxious and there are pheromonal products developed to help deal with this, including ones to discourage scratching or transfer scratching behaviours to a more appropriate target.
For separation anxiety, however, you’re more likely to be using a diffuser. A diffuser allows the pheromone to permeate the whole of your space, thus hopefully allowing the cat to benefit from it while roaming the house. Diffusers may be passive and rely on a wick that takes up a pheromone-containing fluid and allows it to evaporate into the air; more usually they need electricity to work and are plugged into a domestic power outlet.
Be advised that some cats are apt to spray diffusers; manufacturers advise keeping cats away from the diffuser until they’ve become used to the pheromones or they may decide to add some pheromones of their own. It may be necessary to locate the diffuser somewhere the cats can’t find it.
Anxiety and problem cat behaviours
Separation anxiety tends to come with a raft of attendant issues (we’ll discuss these more fully in the upcoming sections). Your cat may be displaying some or none of these issues, as anxiety manifests differently in different individuals; some cats demonstrate anxiety in more passive ways, such as crying when left alone, obsessively searching for the absent owner or refusing to leave the doorway. More active signs of anxiety include scratching, aggression and territorial activity such as spraying and inappropriate urination or defecation (especially in male cats). A cat without anxiety may also display these problem behaviours — they’re all part of the feline repertoire.