Feliway diffuser? Something else?

Now that Grace is recovered from her spay surgery, I want to start working harder on some of the interpersonal issues that exist among my little herd of four.  They aren't violent with each other, but a couple of them are a bit prickly with each other.  I'm looking to get the three that got along great until a year ago (when two of the three developed problems after a vet visit) back to getting along, and also to get one of these three older ones comfortable with Grace (Grace is fine with the other two). 

I know a lot of people swear by Feliway and/or Comfort Zone diffusers.  Does anyone know if there is any meaningful difference between the ones being sold as just "Feliway" and the ones being sold as "Comfort Zone with Feliway"? 

Some reviews say it takes up to five weeks to become really effective.  Is that accurate? 

I was hoping to place one diffuser in one particular room and work with the cats for a good period of time each day in that room.  Is that appropriate or do they really need up to five weeks of constant (i.e. every room) exposure to the pheromones?  (If being exposed for a period of time each day in one room isn't going to do it, the diffuser won't work for me as I have a pretty big house and I'd need something like four or six units to cover the whole house.)

If my plan doesn't seem feasible, or if you have had better results with one or more different products for issues between cats, I'd love to know what product or products you would recommend (collars, sprays, treats, etc.).

Thanks!

Glad that Gracie has recovered from her spay.
Ritz is a stressed out cat; she is easily startled in part because of her background (she and her litter mates + mother cat were abandoned when they were around four to six months old).
I don't think there is any difference between Feliway and Comfort Zone diffusers; I've used both. I would buy as many as you can afford and put them in the rooms where you cats spend the most time.
I'm also sprinkling l-theanine in Ritz' food (I feed raw) and when Ritz seems particularly stressed, I also put some Rescue Remedy.
I have read good reviews about Jackson Galaxy's spirit essences; you might want to check them out.
I haven't tried Composure type treats, and no way would Ritz allow me to put a collar on her.
Good luck.

Thanks much for the reply!

I'm going to go ahead and get the diffusers, and/or find the one I got years ago for my dog's separation anxiety and refill it with Feliway (it was from the same company, but for dogs).  I'm also going to pick up one or two kinds of calming treats (which IIRC primarily rely on l-theanine).  I'd normally get l-theanine powder, but I'm already sprinkling two different powders on my herpes boy's food and I think I'd lose my mind if I had yet another powder that had to go to all four! ;-)   I'll continue to consider the collars, maybe pick them up if the Feliway and treats don't seem to do the trick.  All but one of mine wears a collar...the other one has never met a collar she couldn't get off!

I have tried I think three of Jackson Galaxy's spirit essences.  I got them some time ago when two of my kitties were having some "fraidy cat" type issues, so I got the ones that were recommended for that.  I absolutely love Jackson Galaxy, but the spirit essences didn't really seem to do anything for my kitties, unless perhaps they had a very very delayed reaction because they did eventually improve, some time after the essences were used up.

Thanks again!

I use Feliway/Comfort Zone interchangeably and do not notice a difference between the two.  I do notice a difference after a few days when one of them runs dry.  I have 2 plugged in right now, but have had as many as 4 running at once.  They work well, but need a week or two to work.  I have also used the spray for "hot spot" areas.
 

I am a huge fan of Composure.  I have used the treats and the Composure liquid Max.  I like the treats for my dog, but my cats can get finicky and not like the feline Composure treats.  The liquid is very easy to just mix into the wet food.  I have a territorial aggressive former feral male who I brought into the house last year.  He would go after my resident cat repeatedly.  Once I started him on the Composure he really calmed himself.  When I first started I dosed both of the cats, but after a few weeks, I stopped it on the resident cat.  It is a staple in my house.  My feral boy gets it daily.  I tried to stop giving it to him and his impulsive behavior started creeping back in. 

I have used Spirit Essences too as well as some essences from a company called Green Hope Farms.  Green Hope Farms produces wonderful wonderful essences.  They have an Animal Collection.  They run their company very differently than most and some people are turned off by their approach. They do not take credit cards and send you the essences having full faith that you will mail them a check once you have received your order.  They talk alot about working with the angels.  Yet, their essences are top notch.  I have used them for myself as well. 

I can't recommend the Stress Stopper spirit essence highly enough! 

It's been amazing. My cat is aggressive with me when I am lying in bed or on the phone (seems to be his triggers). I put a few drops in his breakfast and dinner, and now I have been putting them on the top of his head when he tries to be aggressive with me. He'll scoot away because he doesn't like feeling wet, but a few moments later he'll come back, tail no longer swishing, and lay down with me. 

The Stress Stopper seemed to be the best formula for our needs because I have an irregular schedule and I know cats don't like that. 

I wouldn't know how this formula would have a placebo effect, so I am a full believer! 

meandthegov said:

 
I can't recommend the Stress Stopper spirit essence highly enough! 

It's been amazing. My cat is aggressive with me when I am lying in bed or on the phone (seems to be his triggers). I put a few drops in his breakfast and dinner, and now I have been putting them on the top of his head when he tries to be aggressive with me. He'll scoot away because he doesn't like feeling wet, but a few moments later he'll come back, tail no longer swishing, and lay down with me. 

The Stress Stopper seemed to be the best formula for our needs because I have an irregular schedule and I know cats don't like that. 

I wouldn't know how this formula would have a placebo effect, so I am a full believer! 

Click to expand...

I have the Stress Stopper too and just pulled it out the other day for my dog.  We were having major major thunderstorms and she was a mess.  I sprayed one spray on the top of one paw and another spray on the underside.  Within 30 minutes, she was so calm and sleeping as the storms were still going on. 

I love Spirit Essences!!!

beckbjj said:

 
Now that Grace is recovered from her spay surgery, I want to start working harder on some of the interpersonal issues that exist among my little herd of four.  They aren't violent with each other, but a couple of them are a bit prickly with each other.  I'm looking to get the three that got along great until a year ago (when two of the three developed problems after a vet visit) back to getting along, and also to get one of these three older ones comfortable with Grace (Grace is fine with the other two). 

I know a lot of people swear by Feliway and/or Comfort Zone diffusers.  Does anyone know if there is any meaningful difference between the ones being sold as just "Feliway" and the ones being sold as "Comfort Zone with Feliway"? 

Some reviews say it takes up to five weeks to become really effective.  Is that accurate? 

I was hoping to place one diffuser in one particular room and work with the cats for a good period of time each day in that room.  Is that appropriate or do they really need up to five weeks of constant (i.e. every room) exposure to the pheromones?  (If being exposed for a period of time each day in one room isn't going to do it, the diffuser won't work for me as I have a pretty big house and I'd need something like four or six units to cover the whole house.)

If my plan doesn't seem feasible, or if you have had better results with one or more different products for issues between cats, I'd love to know what product or products you would recommend (collars, sprays, treats, etc.).

Thanks!

Click to expand...

i wondered the same thing about feliway vs comfort zone with feliway recently. i was buying some refills for my two diffusers and there was a significant ($10., buying in the 6-pack of refills quantity) difference in price between the two. i was told by the online retailer (i called them and asked) that the difference is only in name. they're the exact same product only marketed under different names, and the feliway is priced higher at the online retailer/stores because ceva animal health sells it for a higher price than the comfort zone with feliway.

i've used feliway diffusers for 4+ years now. i keep it running constantly, two diffusers. it took about one week for me to start seeing some positive results for my cats (they had been stressed at our new apartment, all the new noisy neighbors).

i'm pretty sure that to get the best results, your cats will need a consistent exposure to feliway's synthetic pheremones.

One thing I noticed when I was placing my order, in addition to the price difference between the ones labeled Comfort Zone versus the ones labeled Feliway, there is some very strange pricing shenanigans going on.  I noticed this both at Wag.com and Amazon.com (I had to use one or the other because I had procrastinated even though I needed it by this Friday...I needed the free 2 day shipping).

I'll use the example of Amazon here, but IIRC (I was pretty tired last night when I was shopping) Wag.com was similar.  The single refill of Feliway (just the liquid with no diffuser) is currently $11.19.  The 6 pack of Feliway refills is $68.99.  See the trick here?  At $67.14, six single refills are cheaper than the 6 pack of Feliway refills.  Comfort Zone isn't available on Amazon as a single refill, but the 6 pack is only $59.99 so that pricing is more in line with what people expect from a multipack.  It's even crazier with the 3 packs and 2 packs of refills...$32.61 for a CZ 2 pack (whereas two singles would be $22.38) or $43.56 for a Feliway 3 pack (whereas three singles would be $33.57).  And it's not that they're being sold by different vendors.  The seller on all of these is Amazon itself.  And I'm sure taking into account the prices of the marketplace vendors would make it even more convoluted, but I didn't check. 

Anyway, I just thought it was very strange.  But the moral of the story is be sure to carefully check all the prices before placing your order!