My cat is easily scared

[catmum22]

I have read posts of other cats who startle easily my cat trinity is one of them the wind blows and she freaks out even sometimes if I walk towards while she's asleep I'm not to worried but is there any techniques to help her, so she's not such a jumpy cat, of course I try reassuring her when I'm home and she freaks out but any other ideas it is hard cause I do live in a block of units with Dvs and I'm a very anxious person but is there anyway I can help her or do I just have to accept and keep in mind she's a very skittish cat

 

[k-niner47]

Hi.You could try to be more relaxed,as i,ve heard that pets mimic our behaviour,and feelings,so try to be more calm assertive.

 Maybe there is also something that will give the cat comfort like a toy,or cat bed or anything.We found that by petting our former cat Ginger more than usual,helped calm her down,as her previous owner often referred to her as a "Scaredy Cat"

Catnip can also help .Good Luck !

By the way how old is your cat ?

Bye.

 

[catmum22]

She is about 2 yrs old and unfortunately I can't control my anxiety besides taking my meds regularly, she has catnip and everything around, and when she does get scared I try to reassure her that she's safe and pat her

 

[k-niner47]

Have you tried consulting a vet?

Sometimes i call a vet for friendly advice because they know money may be an issue for everyone,or my local pet stores cashier.You may be surprised how much they know.

good luck.

 

[vball91]

You could try running a Feliway diffuser or use calming treats or since you're in Australia, Australia Bush Flower Essences for anxiety. But I do agree that cats pick up on our emotions so trying to be calm around her is important as well.

 

[catmum22]

Yer I will try asking a vet and I will look into the cost feliway diffuser, but what esactly does that do I don't want to make her so calm she comes lazier

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Feliway mimics their natural pheromones and just helps them feel less anxious. 

Do you have any kind of places she can hide?  We had a few cube shaped things for our girls.  2 were made of a nylon material and collapsible.  The other was a foam cat bed.  That one got more use in the winter time.  When we moved houses the girls spent a lot of time in those the first few days.  Even a cat kennel with a towel over it so it's like a dark little cave can be a good place for them to go if they feel the need to be secluded.  My skittish cat growing up had a spot on a shelf amongst some stuffed animals even!  The funny part was that the shelf was metal (she had a towel in her spot) so if I shocked her at all while petting her any of the musical stuffed animals would start to play!  I'm sure she didn't appreciate that so much!

 

[catmum22]

She has the cat scratching post which has 2 little toys I use to have boxes around but she stopped using them and I think it being 2 floors to my unit helps cause they can get away from eachother, I will look into the cost of feliway diffuser for them

 

[mani]

catmum22, I've just seen you here.. Welcome to the site! 

I get my diffusers at a place that is up the back of the Gold Coast, but they sell online. I'll PM you the link.  They are definitely the cheapest I've found anywhere.  Once you've paid for the piece that plugs into the wall it's just a case of buying the refills. But keep in mind that it is an expensive product and there are probably other ways around it.