Homeopathic Stress Relief

In a recent trip to the local pet store, I stumbled upon a product that was identified and labeled as Stress Control for cats. It purports itself to be FDA regulated, all-natural homeopathic pharmaceuticals.
Our small, 9-y.o. cat has always been anxious/nervous. We thought she would outgrow it, but clearly she never has. She could be resting comfortably one moment, and all it takes is a sneeze to set her running and hiding.

Has anyone tried and/or had experience with such products? Are they safe? Do they work? We would like her to be a little more relaxed and less whiny. She has been terrible (and getting worse) recently crying about a LOT of stuff. Our other cat is one year older and a behavioral opposite of her - he is as mellow as they come unless there are storms; then he just slinks away.

Thanks for any help or insights!

Discuss this with your vet.. NOTE : even my nutrition and herb trained vets will not recommend any of these outside me bringing a specific formula for them to look up and say yes or no too..

have I used them yes ... MAINLY on Me .... yes periodically on on of the animals but normally there are better options

I do think it's best to discuss with your vet, but I also know several people that have used these with good success. I don't know the brand or ingredients though.

I never saw Stress Control For Cats. I don't know if it would work for your cat. You could call and ask your vet if that would be something you could use for her. I've used a product called Feliway. I used the spray form of it. It did help Lynxx . It's worked for Luna. It didn't have any affect on Midnight though. Feliway might help your cat. You could ask your vet about that as well. My vet sells Feliway.

I didn't post a link previously because I didn't want it to seem as if I was indirectly promoting a specific product.

Here's a link to the product we saw on the shelves...

Stress Control for Felines

I don't know if the info will clarify anything. I spoke to the vet's office, but not the vet directly. The woman I spoke with said she had never heard of if, but if it was natural, she didn't think it could do any harm.
At $20/bottle, I'm a little hesitant to try without some assurance of it working.

I know nothing about this product. And if it is homeopathic, is is probably harmless at worst. But I will always caution people about getting advice directly from their vet, and not from their office staff.

Here's a digression. In 1968 I followed the advice of our vet's office staff to put flea powder (!) on kittens. The mother cat nearly died. The vet himself was totally horrified when he found out. The mother cat was very sick and saving her was a big bill. I had to feed the kittens with a dropper every few hours for days while the mother was at the vet's. My wonderful high school administrators (I was a senior) thought that staying home to save the kittens' lives was not a good reason to be absent from school. So I was "unexcused." My mistake was to tell my mother to tell the truth on my excuse note. Hence I learned what jackasses authority figures can be. Wasn't much of a stretch for me anyway. It was the '60's! Anyway, the mother cat lived another 17 years, about. She was a 6 month old kitten when she had these kittens. The father was her litter mate.

The moral of the story is to talk to the vet directly!

Robin

Please talk to the Vet directly ... or a tech with decades of experience...

Remember cyanide , strychnine , arsenic and many other poisons are all natural... Yet very few would recommend using them...

I cannot comment on their safety or lack thereof, but I do know this: nobody I know who has used this has known it to work very well.

If you have a nervous kitty, I'd recommend trying Feliway plug-in things. Not only do I know a lot of people who've used it and loved it, I've used it as well and I love the heck out of it. It helped my senile, paranoid, brain-damaged 20-year-old live comfortably and calmly with fewer anxiety episodes...and it has helped cats who have marking problems, too. I now find it extremely useful in helping to keep the peace in a multi-cat household where one of the cats is a raging moronic kitten who is both huge and hasn't got any manners. XD

They can be found at any PetSMART but they're a LOT cheaper (like, half the cost!) when bought online: http://www.amazon.com/Feliway-Plug--...4892696&sr=8-1

TOTALLY worth it, I have yet to meet anyone who didn't like the Feliway thing.

There is a product called Bach's Rescue Remedy. I believe it can be used for dogs and cats but I would still, like the others said, bring it to your vet. Many herbs and essential oils are toxic to a cat as compared to a dog. I think with Rescue Remedy, you give a drop only.

Originally Posted by billchamb

In a recent trip to the local pet store, I stumbled upon a product that was identified and labeled as Stress Control for cats. It purports itself to be FDA regulated, all-natural homeopathic pharmaceuticals.
Our small, 9-y.o. cat has always been anxious/nervous. We thought she would outgrow it, but clearly she never has. She could be resting comfortably one moment, and all it takes is a sneeze to set her running and hiding.

Has anyone tried and/or had experience with such products? Are they safe? Do they work? We would like her to be a little more relaxed and less whiny. She has been terrible (and getting worse) recently crying about a LOT of stuff. Our other cat is one year older and a behavioral opposite of her - he is as mellow as they come unless there are storms; then he just slinks away.

Thanks for any help or insights!

Click to expand...

I agree that Feliway plug in diffusers and Rescue Remedy are good products to help reduce stress in cats, as one poster mentioned. However the bolded part of your post is what caught my eye.

Excess crying can be an indication of certain health issues such as High Blood Pressure or Hyperthyroid disease. Both are controllable with medication (hyperthyroid also can be cured with radio active iodine therapy but it involves a hospital stay for the cat), both can cause serious problems for kitty, including stroke, if not controlled.

Deafness also can be indicated by nervousness and crying.

I do urge you to make an appointment at the vet for her and get some blood work done (a senior panel, and specifically ask for the t-4 thyroid test) and have her blood pressure, ears and teeth checked. A urinalysis really should be done too.

Let us know how she's doing.

We have opted to try a small bottle of Bach's. It should arrive by the end of the week.
Our current vet, some time ago, when I tried to explain what I thought the how's and why's of her behaviors were, told me cats weren't that analytical. It would take a bunch of time and space to relate her quirks, but suffice to say in the simplest terms, she's a total diva.
Thanks for the recommendations and help!

What do you mean cats aren't analytical, I don't understand the relevance?

Really, your kitty should have a check up and blood work. If she is sick no amount of palliative treatments are going to help her for long.