Anxiety Cat Food

[Krienze]

I've been having a situation with Mia since December and it's honestly just been getting worse. We want to take her to the vet, but it stresses her out so much that we've been trying home fixes to try and see if we can calm her anxiety at home before going the medication route. So far we have tried diffusers, calming spray, & calming treats. None of which seem to work or have any affect on Mia.

Someone suggested Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Calm Dry Cat Food to me but I've always been concerned about Royal canin as a brand.

So I figured I'd ask here, does anyone have any experience with this brand?
Or if not,do you have a calming cat food brand you'd suggest?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - Rather than trying a food (can you check the ingredients and the reviews online and see whether these work? I've not seen much mention of them here on TCS), I personally would talk to the vet and see if they can provide you with a calming product such as gabapentin so that you can get her in - also be sure and schedule with them when you call, in case they're one of the clinics that's really busy,

 

[lisahe]

What calming treats have you tried? Composure seems to work really well for our cats but I think one has a sensitivity to the ingredients so I stopped using it. Feliway Optimum works great but we have an asthmatic cat and it seems to make her cough!

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic option that does seem to help.

Personally, I'd stay away from that Royal Canin dry food with its ingredients like corn, wheat, and peas. According to Chewy, the carbs are 35% dry matter, which is just crazy high. The L-tryptophan is apparently the key active ingredient: you might want to check the ingredients of the treats you've already tried. If they didn't work in those, they wouldn't work in the Royal Canin food anyway.

 

[iPappy]

Something about "calming cat food" sounds gimmicky to me...
Is she anxious all the time, or just about the process of going to the vet?

 

[Krienze]

Hi - Rather than trying a food (can you check the ingredients and the reviews online and see whether these work? I've not seen much mention of them here on TCS), I personally would talk to the vet and see if they can provide you with a calming product such as gabapentin so that you can get her in - also be sure and schedule with them when you call, in case they're one of the clinics that's really busy,

Yeah, the plan has been to take her to the vet. We've been putting it off because of money (inflation issues) but that's kind of eased up for us, weather and the fact that she's VERY nervous about car rides and I've been afraid to make it worse. But the plan is to hopefully take her tomorrow or saturday, if weather allows.

What calming treats have you tried? Composure seems to work really well for our cats but I think one has a sensitivity to the ingredients so I stopped using it. Feliway Optimum works great but we have an asthmatic cat and it seems to make her cough!

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic option that does seem to help.

Personally, I'd stay away from that Royal Canin dry food with its ingredients like corn, wheat, and peas. According to Chewy, the carbs are 35% dry matter, which is just crazy high. The L-tryptophan is apparently the key active ingredient: you might want to check the ingredients of the treats you've already tried. If they didn't work in those, they wouldn't work in the Royal Canin food anyway.

I tried the zesty paws, but she won't eat them.
So I tried the Pet Honesty Calming treats and she LOVES them, so do most of my other cats. But I don't see a difference in any of their behaviors.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the ingredients in RC either which is why I was kind of like 'emmmmm, lemme ask the catsite on this one.' because I've just NEVER liked them. Our cats are also pretty fickle, it took us a long time to find solidgold as a dry that they will eat, and now they've been throwing that up so we switched to wellness core which they seem okay on. I'm pretty hesitant to try new foods =( but will for her if it helps.

Something about "calming cat food" sounds gimmicky to me...
Is she anxious all the time, or just about the process of going to the vet?

So this is a hard question to answer. I want to say no? She sits/sleeps very comfortable on the kitchen chair and seems very relaxed. Every so often she'll come out and lay with me in the living room. But she becomes incredibly irritated and starts to hiss whenever she see's any other cat (this is NEW behavior, she's always been in a multi-cat home and she's always gotten along okay with them.)

The other cats react to her hissing by trying to play (three of them are VERY playful and I don't -think- it's bullying as I've watched them and their movements seem more play driven than aggression.) They also react TO her most of the time. If one even TOUCHES her via booping, she yowls and screeches like a cat fight is occurring. But then we look and she's barely even being touched.

She's not sore, I handle her all the time - I have to carry her back and forth to the bathroom because she WON'T walk to the catroom anymore because of this. She'll see them, hiss, they chase her back. If she'd stop hissing, I think they'd flat out leave her alone. But she won't just bypass them, she freaks out.

She'll sometimes sit on her chair and just growl at them if they walk past.

But then................ If I put food down (they have various bowls for dry food and one giant crawfish plate that I put their wet food in) she'll jump up and EAT WITH THEM! It's like all anxiety goes out the window and she's perfectly happy to munch next to the same cats she was snarling at five minutes ago - which is REALLY confusing because I thought that cats won't eat with other cats if they're stressed/don't like them?

 

[lisahe]

But then................ If I put food down (they have various bowls for dry food and one giant crawfish plate that I put their wet food in) she'll jump up and EAT WITH THEM! It's like all anxiety goes out the window and she's perfectly happy to munch next to the same cats she was snarling at five minutes ago - which is REALLY confusing because I thought that cats won't eat with other cats if they're stressed/don't like them?

Yes, this is the opposite of what happens with our cats! They sometimes eat near each other without problems but at other times -- like today -- having the "other" cat near a dish can cause problems like regurgitation, particularly if there's other things (like noise) going on that cause stress.

It sounds like you're not having a nonrecognition syndrome problem, right? Neither cat went to see the vet without the other? We've had that happen; they had to be separated for two weeks. We've also had one cat absolutely freak out and attack her sister when she saw the neighbor cat through a glass door: it was like she was telling her sister to stay away from the neighbor cat. There was nasty hissing and batting. A bit of fur flew but we managed to separate them before there was a major fight.

 

[Krienze]

Yes, this is the opposite of what happens with our cats! They sometimes eat near each other without problems but at other times -- like today -- having the "other" cat near a dish can cause problems like regurgitation, particularly if there's other things (like noise) going on that cause stress.

It sounds like you're not having a nonrecognition syndrome problem, right? Neither cat went to see the vet without the other? We've had that happen; they had to be separated for two weeks. We've also had one cat absolutely freak out and attack her sister when she saw the neighbor cat through a glass door: it was like she was telling her sister to stay away from the neighbor cat. There was nasty hissing and batting. A bit of fur flew but we managed to separate them before there was a major fight.

Nope!
They haven't been separate since Gracie's initial vet visit which was a year ago. They are all due for their check ups and shots, but haven't gone yet. So this isn't nonrecgonition syndrome, I don't think. Plus there are times when Mia sniffs them when they are sitting on the counter. Honestly the issue happens because she hisses/runs. When she stays calm they ignore her

 

[Lulu&Finn]

My cats are like that too so this past time I had BetterVet come to the house. They were each seen in a bathroom. They didn't love it, but they bounced back fast and I'd definitely go that route again.

 

[lisahe]

My cats are like that too so this past time I had BetterVet come to the house. They were each seen in a bathroom. They didn't love it, but they bounced back fast and I'd definitely go that route again.

Having them seen in bathrooms sounds like a great option! We had our vet come to us a couple times but it seemed to stress our cars even more the second time because they seemed to act like their territory had been invaded. I'd kind of like to try it again though they're older now and need more tests and things so the office is probably best.

 

[jclark]

I've been having a situation with Mia since December and it's honestly just been getting worse. We want to take her to the vet, but it stresses her out so much that we've been trying home fixes to try and see if we can calm her anxiety at home before going the medication route. So far we have tried diffusers, calming spray, & calming treats. None of which seem to work or have any affect on Mia.

Someone suggested Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Calm Dry Cat Food to me but I've always been concerned about Royal canin as a brand.

So I figured I'd ask here, does anyone have any experience with this brand?
Or if not,do you have a calming cat food brand you'd suggest?

Calming foods typically contain L-tryptophan.
This RC food does and so does Hills c/d Stress.

I'm trying to get one of my cats off of Hills c/d Stress onto Wysong Uretic w/calming treat which contains L-tryptophqn.

 

[Krienze]

Calming foods typically contain L-tryptophan.
This RC food does and so does Hills c/d Stress.

I'm trying to get one of my cats off of Hills c/d Stress onto Wysong Uretic w/calming treat which contains L-tryptophqn.

Is there something bad about l-trptophan?

 

[jclark]

Is there something bad about l-trptophan?

Nope. It's an amino acid that has a calming effect on cats and humans btw.

Humans convert it into serotonin, B6 and melatonin. I imagine it's the same in cats.

 

[Astragal14]

Furballsmom has great advice on using gabapentin to help get her to the vet. And once you're at the vet, you can discuss in detail how/why this happened and some non-prescription options to try at home.

One of my cats doesn't handle stress very well, and it takes him a while to relax after a stressful event. Here are some things we use at home. Be sure to ask your vet before starting any of these to make sure they're appropriate for Mia.

Purina Calming Care probiotic
This is a single strain probiotic that helps cats cope with anxiety. It's a powder that is easily mixed into their food. It states 4-6 weeks for the full effect but we saw results within one week. It's not inexpensive, $30 for 30 daily packets, but Chewy occasionally has "buy 2 get 1 free" offers. Plus, you can experiment with using less than one packet (we still use one packet daily but we have A LOT going on right now).

Zylkene calming capsules
This is another powder that is easily mixed into food. It's mild overall in comparison to other calming agents but it is stronger than Purina Calming Care. We only use this during specific stressful events, but it's generally okay to be used for longer lengths of time. They offer various strengths so be sure to get the 75 mg strength and dosing recommendations are between 1/2 to a full capsule - your vet can give you a dosing amount appropriate for Mia.

David Teie's Music for Cats
My anxious cat loves this music! (my calm kitty doesn't react to it) We use it in the car when we travel and it helps them calm down sooner.

Creating a Group Scent
I've done this with some of our foster cats. All it entails is brushing your cats with the same brush - the idea is that it fosters a group mentality. With our foster cats, I would go in a specific order based on who had the biggest problems with whom. For example, if the worst relationship was that Annie hated Bella, I would brush Annie first and Bella second so that Bella would smell more like Annie (thereby helping Annie become more accepting of Bella). But you can also rotate or go in random order, whatever you feel works best for your household. This first article is very complimentary towards group scent, the second article offers some critical counterpoints you should keep in mind. You need to monitor them to make sure they're okay with smelling like each other.

SOCIAL GLUE: Do Your Cats Have a Group Scent? - Modern Cat
Cat Behavior | How Cats Create a Group-Scent

Don't give up on the diffusers just yet. Try experimenting with different combinations of supplements, music, diffusers, etc and you may find a recipe that Mia really responds to, and hopefully avoid using medications or prescriptions. We use diffusers at home and plug them into WeMo timers to save money (diffuser refills are expensive!). We have them set to turn on a few times a day, scheduled around wake up/nap times and meal times.

 

[lisahe]

Purina Calming Care probiotic
This is a single strain probiotic that helps cats cope with anxiety. It's a powder that is easily mixed into their food. It states 4-6 weeks for the full effect but we saw results within one week. It's not inexpensive, $30 for 30 daily packets, but Chewy occasionally has "buy 2 get 1 free" offers. Plus, you can experiment with using less than one packet (we still use one packet daily but we have A LOT going on right now).

This is interesting, Astragal14 ! I'm glad to see that the same strain that it's in Calming Care is in the Feline Gut Soothe herbal/probiotic from Adored Beast that I'm just starting Edwina on. She's our cat with the problem stomach... and I'm convinced that a lot of her problem is connected to food insecurity, which has been stressing her out her whole life. Rescue Remedy does seem to help!

I ran across another anti-stress product with a probiotic yesterday: this one, from fera, also has herbs. This one's not good for what the OP is looking for, though, since it's intended for long-time use.

 

[tyleete]

CBD for Cats: Health Benefits, Safety & Usage

Discover the potential benefits of CBD for cats, from stress relief to improved mobility. Consult a veterinarian for safe usage. Find recommended CBD oils your cat will love.

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Also, I have 2 cats that have HIGH anxiety in the car. I set up a large dog kennel in the back of my suv complete with matt and litter box. If I don't, it's a disaster cause they will throw up, pee, and have diahrea.
But in day to day, cbd cam be a game changer. I had a senior cat I started giving it to, and she suddenly started coming out of her 'room' (she had a bed, box, and food & water in the laundry room for her) and hanging out with her family. Began jumping up on the couch, playing more. She even got aroundwith more ease. I didn't know it before, but apparently she was suffering from anxiety. She was a whole new kitty after cbd.

 

[Astragal14]

This is interesting, Astragal14 ! I'm glad to see that the same strain that it's in Calming Care is in the Feline Gut Soothe herbal/probiotic from Adored Beast that I'm just starting Edwina on. She's our cat with the problem stomach... and I'm convinced that a lot of her problem is connected to food insecurity, which has been stressing her out her whole life. Rescue Remedy does seem to help!

I ran across another anti-stress product with a probiotic yesterday: this one, from fera, also has herbs. This one's not good for what the OP is looking for, though, since it's intended for long-time use.

A note of caution about the Fera Calming Support - it contains valerian, which our nutritionist informed us has the potential to increase anxiety when used long term. It doesn't happen in every case, but it is something to keep in mind. If you see your cat's anxiety increasing after using valerian for a while, it may be caused by the valerian itself rather than caused by a change in her anxiety.

I just love Adored Beast! We've been using their turkey tail for a while now, we added their Felix's Flora this week and the next probiotic we use (since we rotate) will be either Love Bugs or the Gut Soothe you're using. Our plan is to use Felix's Flora long term in addition to our rotation of probiotics because it's literally the only feline-specific probiotic we've found. Our nutritionist used to complain about the lack of a feline probiotic that focused on a meat-based diet; most feline probiotics are based off dog or human strains, both of which eat much more plants and carbs than cats should eat.

 

[lisahe]

But in day to day, cbd cam be a game changer. I had a senior cat I started giving it to, and she suddenly started coming out of her 'room' (she had a bed, box, and food & water in the laundry room for her) and hanging out with her family. Began jumping up on the couch, playing more. She even got aroundwith more ease. I didn't know it before, but apparently she was suffering from anxiety. She was a whole new kitty after cbd.

What CBD product are you using, tyleete ?

A note of caution about the Fera Calming Support - it contains valerian, which our nutritionist informed us has the potential to increase anxiety when used long term. It doesn't happen in every case, but it is something to keep in mind. If you see your cat's anxiety increasing after using valerian for a while, it may be caused by the valerian itself rather than caused by a change in her anxiety.

I just love Adored Beast! We've been using their turkey tail for a while now, we added their Felix's Flora this week and the next probiotic we use (since we rotate) will be either Love Bugs or the Gut Soothe you're using. Our plan is to use Felix's Flora long term in addition to our rotation of probiotics because it's literally the only feline-specific probiotic we've found. Our nutritionist used to complain about the lack of a feline probiotic that focused on a meat-based diet; most feline probiotics are based off dog or human strains, both of which eat much more plants and carbs than cats should eat.

Thank you for the warning on valerian, Astragal14 , that's very good to know. I'm hoping not to have to use Fera Calming Support but you never know!

I am so crossing my fingers that Feline Gut Soothe will work for Edwina! I've started her on it very slowly (four pinches at the beginning of the week, six today) after she vomited from 1/32 of a teaspoon the first time I gave it to her, a few weeks ago. To be fair, her gut was in a bit of a rough patch then -- pretty much anything could have caused the vomiting -- and I probably shouldn't have even considered giving her Gut Soothe.

Krienze , how is Mia doing? Did you change her food? Going back to your first posts and some of the information about her -- particularly that she'll eat with your other cats -- I wonder if part of her anxiety might be related to food, maybe even a mildly upset stomach, which can stress cats out. Also, is Mia a rescue cat? Some cats who were underfed at some point in their lives never quite get over their food insecurity. (Edwina still has some food anxiety almost ten years after we adopted her.)

 

[Kwik]

Hi - Rather than trying a food (can you check the ingredients and the reviews online and see whether these work? I've not seen much mention of them here on TCS), I personally would talk to the vet and see if they can provide you with a calming product such as gabapentin so that you can get her in - also be sure and schedule with them when you call, in case they're one of the clinics that's really busy,

I was thinking the same after I read about Mia...
Krienze the Vet is the first priority,I know you already said she's not in pain but cats don't have to be in pain when something is medically wrong,right? Look at our own bodies,we can feel nausea's,upset stomach,racing heart,all kinds of difficulties that cause discomfort or just don't feel quite right and we react irritably- so that is number one,rule out any medical issues ...
It just doesn't sound territorial,definitely not unrecognifion and this is not sudden but recent, correct?And worsening with time?
Well,my suggestion is this,it's what I'd do,call your Vet & have him prescribe low dosagd gabapentin,give her a dose the night before your Vdts appt & about 3 hrs prior to the actual appt (f course get an okay from your Vet and ask his opinion)....then that'll help tremendously with the office visit.....
I do like the use of gabapentin but not really for long term ,they do build a tolerance and you'd have to read up on all the pros & cons yourself and decide which outweighs which. I'd like to know what triggered this behavior in the first place but I wouldn't even begin to give you any advice without the process of elimination,Vet first
I do hope you stay positive and don't put the cart before the horse,it could be something you never even imagined and a simple fix by assessing the environment,house dynamic etc BUT gotta get an all clear from the Vet or you're just guessing and adding & omitting too many things to really get to the brass tacks
My opinion and 2 dollars will get you on the bus,lol but I would not waste my money on trying everything under the sun with hopes that something will work,that's like prescribing meds to address a symptom,overlooking the cause( eg" Antivert for dizzyness--okay,but why am I dizzy Doc?lol)
I'm praying you get a clean billbof hearth and if so,back to the drawing board

 

[tyleete]

What CBD product are you using, tyleete ?
I've used a few. There's Ellevet which is the best in my opinion. But outrageously expensive and it tastes so bad, the company is well aware that many cats over salivate in an effort to rid them if the taste after. Think rabies look.
They have empty capsules to use, but I heard that's quite messy so I stopped using it.
If your cat's got no fish allergies and likes the flavor, Lazarus Naturals is a great one. The salmon flavored oil works great, and a fraction of the price.
Then there's what I'm stuck with. I say stuck because theyhad some serious supply problems recently that was a pain. But! It works best for my house. It's by Cbdmd and is catnip flavored. I have picky cats, and 1 that can even smell medicine in tuna!:/ She doesn't notice if this goes on her food though. I tried a drop to see about the flavor before giving it to her and there's barely anything at all. The tiniest bit that gives a hint almost of mint? But it's so subtle you can't quite place it. I have 3 on this that can take it on their food and are clueless. But I do just squirt it down my Cancer baby's mouth to make sure she's getting what she needs nowadays.
If you use the 300mg/30ml bottle of catnip one by Cbdmd, it works out to 0.1ml=1mg
The amount is so small. And I only increased 0.02ml at a time. Give it at least 3 or 4 days to watch and if I still think my baby needs more, add another 0.02ml to it.
My first cancer kitty started it and it took approx 2 weeks to see the full effects. And oh my gosh. What a complete change for her. She used to just essentially live in our laundry room. It was her 'safe' spot. She had a cat pole she never climbed, 2 cushy beds, giant litter box, food, water, and some toys. I thought it was because we had 2 youngsters she didn't want to be bothered by.
Now looking back I know she suffered from a anxiety. After about 2weeks, she started venturing out every day. In fact, she only was in there when I'd put her away at night so the young ones wouldn't bother her. She was 15 at the time. She began jumping up on the couch to sit by me. Played a lot more, moved easier with every step. She better and I was able to take her completely off her steroids. She took 2.5mg nightly to stop from throwing up. She still had to take her chemo once weekly to keep the scl at bay. But I took her off it and she didn't throw up anymore. It was wonderful! I wish I'd known sooner.
catnip 300mg cbdmd

 

[Krienze]

I was thinking the same after I read about Mia...
Krienze the Vet is the first priority,I know you already said she's not in pain but cats don't have to be in pain when something is medically wrong,right? Look at our own bodies,we can feel nausea's,upset stomach,racing heart,all kinds of difficulties that cause discomfort or just don't feel quite right and we react irritably- so that is number one,rule out any medical issues ...
It just doesn't sound territorial,definitely not unrecognifion and this is not sudden but recent, correct?And worsening with time?
Well,my suggestion is this,it's what I'd do,call your Vet & have him prescribe low dosagd gabapentin,give her a dose the night before your Vdts appt & about 3 hrs prior to the actual appt (f course get an okay from your Vet and ask his opinion)....then that'll help tremendously with the office visit.....
I do like the use of gabapentin but not really for long term ,they do build a tolerance and you'd have to read up on all the pros & cons yourself and decide which outweighs which. I'd like to know what triggered this behavior in the first place but I wouldn't even begin to give you any advice without the process of elimination,Vet first
I do hope you stay positive and don't put the cart before the horse,it could be something you never even imagined and a simple fix by assessing the environment,house dynamic etc BUT gotta get an all clear from the Vet or you're just guessing and adding & omitting too many things to really get to the brass tacks
My opinion and 2 dollars will get you on the bus,lol but I would not waste my money on trying everything under the sun with hopes that something will work,that's like prescribing meds to address a symptom,overlooking the cause( eg" Antivert for dizzyness--okay,but why am I dizzy Doc?lol)
I'm praying you get a clean billbof hearth and if so,back to the drawing board

We'll be taking her to the vet this week.
Honestly between her being nervous, the weather in our area and my mother and I both having pain issues we haven't been able to drive. But we decided to find a vet closer specifically to take her in so crossing fingers. Hoping to take her in tomorrow.

Part of me is thinking that I need to put a litter box in the foyer or something but I don't know if that would help. She seems to hate leaving her chair.

I bought a lazer toy that turns on every 30 minutes and since buying that, the other cats don't really bug her as much. They still bother her from time to time. Charlie is really bad about getting up and smacking down at her, and Gracie seems to like to try and sniff at her when she's in the litter box. I try not to let any of them harass her, of course. But sometimes they sneak by me.

Another concern with putting a litter box out in the house is A) That our dog Sergio (lab, pain in the butt with getting into things x.x)will try to eat out of it and B) That the other cats will just use it instead of going into the back x.x

like honestly I'm so confused,I've set up a great cat paradise through out the house, we shouldn't be having issues at all =( and it happened so suddenly like, Mia and Gracie used to be friends.