My cat has not been herself lately and I think it might be related to stress.
She used to always be up for playing, but doesn't seem interested anymore. Even her favorite toys. I bought her new toys and she just stares at them (except, I recently introduced the laser pointer and she does chase that). She's been going under the bed more.
She also has asthma and has been sitting in her cat tree with her head extended like she was going to have a coughing fit, but did not cough and doesn't appear to be trying to get more air. She does squint her eyes when she does this, though.
So I took her to the vet and after x-rays and blood work, everything looked fine. The diagnosis was that her asthma was getting worse. Since she has a mild case of asthma (no open mouth breathing or wheezing ::knock on wood:: ) I'm skeptical of the diagnosis that her asthma is getting worse. I'm not sure about the reasoning behind her extending her head, but I think her behavior might be linked to stress.
We moved less than 2 months ago and we still aren't "settled." The space is bigger and different and it's taking me a while to figure it out. I had to get, and now put together, new furniture. I don't have anyone to help me so moving my apartment around and building things is going to take a while.
So I'm wondering if this is the case, are there long-term effects? Am I permanently damaging her b/c i can't get this place together? I just keep reading about how stress affects cats and we are supposed to keep the place as stress free as possible, and i feel like I'm not doing that and don't know how to fix it. Everything I read makes me feel like a horrible person.
I don't know how to make this place as stress free as possible and get settled at the same time. I have Feliway plugs, I bought a cave bed for her to hide in if she wants. I have a tunnel for her and I bought a new "tent" which she explored for a little but hasn't gone in it since. I have been keeping a normal routine, leaving for work at the same time and coming home at the same time, feeding at the same time, attempting to play at the same time.
This is stressing me out, which I know is not good for her also. Do I just try to live normally instead of trying to make everything as "stress free" as possible? What if she gets more stressed? Will she eventually come out of it?
She used to always be up for playing, but doesn't seem interested anymore. Even her favorite toys. I bought her new toys and she just stares at them (except, I recently introduced the laser pointer and she does chase that). She's been going under the bed more.
She also has asthma and has been sitting in her cat tree with her head extended like she was going to have a coughing fit, but did not cough and doesn't appear to be trying to get more air. She does squint her eyes when she does this, though.
So I took her to the vet and after x-rays and blood work, everything looked fine. The diagnosis was that her asthma was getting worse. Since she has a mild case of asthma (no open mouth breathing or wheezing ::knock on wood:: ) I'm skeptical of the diagnosis that her asthma is getting worse. I'm not sure about the reasoning behind her extending her head, but I think her behavior might be linked to stress.
We moved less than 2 months ago and we still aren't "settled." The space is bigger and different and it's taking me a while to figure it out. I had to get, and now put together, new furniture. I don't have anyone to help me so moving my apartment around and building things is going to take a while.
So I'm wondering if this is the case, are there long-term effects? Am I permanently damaging her b/c i can't get this place together? I just keep reading about how stress affects cats and we are supposed to keep the place as stress free as possible, and i feel like I'm not doing that and don't know how to fix it. Everything I read makes me feel like a horrible person.
I don't know how to make this place as stress free as possible and get settled at the same time. I have Feliway plugs, I bought a cave bed for her to hide in if she wants. I have a tunnel for her and I bought a new "tent" which she explored for a little but hasn't gone in it since. I have been keeping a normal routine, leaving for work at the same time and coming home at the same time, feeding at the same time, attempting to play at the same time.
This is stressing me out, which I know is not good for her also. Do I just try to live normally instead of trying to make everything as "stress free" as possible? What if she gets more stressed? Will she eventually come out of it?