How to calm a stressed cat?

You may be quite familiar with the predicament and may even be wondering what to do with a cat with a ballooned tail and ghostwide pupils with a strange low growl. I can imagine no one enjoys the hell that is a stressed cat. First of all, don’t chase. I am sure you’ve also pointlessly attempted to scoop your cat and force a cuddle, believing that you will help. This is fuelling the fire, Lady. Let them retreat and hide. I am sure you have a bed or a nice closet they can tuck into. Let them ride it out.

Then, there is the energy or the “vibe” that you carry. If your voice is sharp or you find yourself stomping, they will be even more shocked and nervous. Sometimes I do talk to them like I am telling them some covert information. Silly soft talk. Doesn’t help to talk. It makes more sense to behave.

With toys, their effectiveness varies. During periods of extreme panic, a feather stick will also engage them as though someone is poking them. You will have to wait until some calmness has been achieved and then you can engage in a more productive approach. At some point, they will engage in calm and ‘pacing’ like methodologies. There is another technique that is also effective in this regard, and that is music. This must repeat over and over until I can hear them saying ‘stop with all this crap blasting your workout playlist’ while they engage in low intensity and gentle rest periods with some ambient and classic covers of their workout playlist. Some musicians create magic and some will receive magic in their own little way, thus a dynamic approach is needed. Food works not as effective as it used to, though it still works just fine. They slowly come back to their regular state by gathering in a relaxed manner to scoop some crunchy and scattered token left around strategically. One argument does not overdo the point to explain that however it is more accurate that when mine is restless after the attention of a few more relaxed people in the room, this does calm down.

To be truthful, it largely requires patience to work out ways to calm a stressed cat. Let them conceal themselves and try to observe what pushes their buttons. Try and try. Yes, it’s is very hard work. Most times, success is far from guaranteed. Yet, as nervous as they might be, they are sensitive also. When you figure out what works, that ensuing purr feels like pure sorcery.