It is important to take a moment to make sure your feline friends are set up for success this holiday season. It is very common for us humans to get lost in the holiday spirit.
We decorate our homes with beautiful ornaments and make space for our friends and family members who come to visit. This sometimes means having to temporarily rearrange things around the house. To us, the changes may seem harmless and simple but to a feline companion CHANGE of any kind is scary!
Think about the stress you must deal with this time of year and prepare not only for yourself but for your kitty.
The goal is always to help keep your cat feel safe. Here are some ways to make the holidays less stressful for your felines:
- Providing them with perching options such as cat trees is a purrfect way to give them a high spot to observe what’s going on around them.
- Supply your cat with ground-level hiding spots like dome beds or cardboard hides.
- Don’t force your cat to interact with your guests. If they want to come down and hang out with your guests, great, but if not, let them be. It could increase their stress and anxiety and potentially lead to fear triggered aggression.
- Spend one on one time with your cat. Two daily 15-minute interactive wand toy play sessions are a great way to relieve stress and anxiety for felines.
- Catnip is a fun and cheap natural stress relief option for cats. You can invest in Feliway collars, spray and wall diffusers that mimic the pheromones that the mother cat produces to calm and reassure her kittens. Cats recognize the pheromone throughout their life and it helps them cope with new/fearful situations.
- During high traffic times, it is best to separate your cat by putting them in their own small space for the day. It can be any small, secure room. Be sure to provide them with food, water, toys, and a litter box.
Happy holidays from all of us at the shelter!