Cats Stress: Reasons and Coping Strategies Explained
Just like humans get goosebumps when startled, stress is actually a normal physiological response that usually subsides quickly. However, the severity of stress in cats can be much more harmful than in humans, even posing a risk to their lives.
Why Do Cats Experience Stress?
This is the main issue I want to discuss with cat owners today.
Many people think cats are incredibly timid, and the outside world seems so beautiful and exciting to us, with nothing to fear. How could they possibly be startled and stressed out?
This is where humans tend to be overly confident. While it's true that cats are naturally sensitive and cautious, their perception of the world is vastly different from ours due to their unique physical makeup.
In the eyes of a cat, the world is a grey blur, with distant objects appearing as mere shadows. However, their hearing is four times more sensitive than ours, and any faint sound is as loud as a thunderclap to them. Their sense of smell is five to ten times stronger than ours, allowing them to detect scents diluted to one part in eight million of musk.
At home, they feel secure because everything is familiar, filled with objects and scents that they are accustomed to, and they have sovereignty over their territory.
But the outside world is completely alien and twisted! It's filled with unpleasant smells, loud noises, and terrifying twolegged monsters wandering around. They make strange sounds and even reach out to "attack" them, which is terrifying!
Visiting the vet is even scarier: the unfamiliar刺激性 smells, the bright lights, and being placed on a cold, impersonal table with nowhere to hide, as the twolegged monsters "torture" them.
Home is the entire world to a cat. While we go out for a breath of fresh air, to them, it's like an adventure in outer space!
Experiencing such things would certainly cause me to be stressed out. So, if cats don't have the courage of astronauts, cat owners shouldn't force them to go out!
The Dangers of Cat Stress
After discussing the causes of stress, let's talk about its dangers.
Mild stress, such as dilated pupils and puffedup fur, are normal reactions when cats are anxious and scared. For example, puffedup fur can make a cat appear larger and scare off intruders.
When we ride a roller coaster, our adrenaline spikes, our heart races, and our breathing becomes rapid. But if someone has a heart condition, riding a roller coaster can be very dangerous.
Forcing cats to experience severe stress by intentionally scaring them or forcing them to go out can indeed lead to sudden death!
Forcing a cat to go out when it doesn't want to is no different from pushing a heart patient onto a roller coaster.
Even if the cat isn't scared to death, it may still get sick. When cats are stressed, their immune system weakens, making it easier for bacteria and viruses to invade, leading to various diseases. Diseases that have been proven to be related to stress include:
1. Feline Panleukopenia: Data shows that many cats experienced stress before developing the disease.
2. Upper respiratory diseases: such as feline rhinotracheitis.
3. Fatty liver: Cats that are scared and don't eat or drink can easily develop fatty liver.
4. Urinary tract diseases: such as cystitis, urethral obstruction, urinary tract stones, and hematuria.
5. Gastrointestinal diseases: such as vomiting, diarrhea, and bloody stools.
It can be said that most cat diseases may be related to stress!
What to Do After Cat Stress?
If a cat is just scared and shows symptoms like puffedup fur and hiding, the owner should do is to restore its sense of security. When a cat hides out of fear, don't force it to come out. For example, when guests come to the house and the cat hides, don't force it to come out, as this will make it even more fearful and shy.
The correct approach is to gently comfort the cat, let it stay alone, and offer some treats to soothe it.
When you notice that a cat, after going out, shows symptoms like listlessness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, hematuria, and other symptoms that persist for several days without improvement, it may be experiencing severe stress.
Attention! At this point, don't rush to take the cat to the vet, as going out again may worsen the cat's stress. First, consult a veterinarian for advice on what to do, and then take action based on the doctor's guidance.
How to Prevent Cat Stress?
What behaviors can cause cat stress? Cat owners who enjoy playing tricks on their pets, please don't add to your own enjoyment at the expense of your cat's fear! Avoid rubber band games, tape games, cucumber games, and don't follow trends blindly.
If a cat doesn't want to go out, don't force it to go out for a walk. Rest assured, it won't be suffocated, and it's much more comfortable staying at home.
If you need to take the cat to the vet, don't use transparent pet carriers; choose opaque airline bags. Those cute cats with tongues sticking out in transparent bags may look adorable, but they are actually uncomfortable and scared.
When guests come to the house and the cat is scared and hides, don't force it out to let people pet it. Strangers are terrifying to them; they only trust you. If you need to go out, try to keep the cat at home, rather than sending it to a boarding house or shipping it through rough transport. Treat your cat like a socially anxious "fat otaku" and let it stay in a familiar environment, where it will feel secure.
