Reactions to Feliway

fefe76

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
93
Purraise
1
Location
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Hi all
i have posted on this issue before
its been 4 months since we moved with our 3 fur babies from the middle east to Australia
while in quarantine the female cleo was in a different cage to the 2 boys who are bothers as quarantine couldnt have 3 cats in one cage together

anyway since coming out and being together cleo and tigger just dont get along, he chases her and attacks her, but on occasion he chases and jumps on Sparky as well but not so often

the other day he chased and attacked cleo to the point it looked like a pillow had exploded on the floor and she peed herself


even though he attacks her she only ends up with some scratches or lil chunks of hair missing, nothing too terrible has happened.....yet

anyway i cannot separate them as i am in a loft style house and have no doors so cannot shut them away from each other

i have one feliway diffuser at the mo as have order the spray and another one online

i dont know if its working as one diffuser in a very open house prob isnt doing much but so far it hasnt done squat, Tiggy is still having his moments though is a tad more sooky with me

however Cleo is twitching and growling and grrring and jumping about and i am wondering if it is a reaction to the diffuser as she sleeps closest to it whereas the boys dont hang around its general area

i will see how it goes and if the diffusers and sprays dont work i think i will have to get her on some anti anxiety meds as i think she is not a very happy bunny at all and will hide all day under a chair in fear of Tiggy, unless i am home

as for him i will have to see what the vet can do, i am baffled as he is a loving and total pathetic cat apart from these issues ...maybe some cat prozac or valium i dont know

every morn i go to work and when i get back i am paranoid i am gonna come back to something dreadful, however seems they dont fight at all during the day as there is never any hair around .... and when they fight there is hair everywhere

i just dont know why she is all twitchy etc , has anyones cats had negative reactions to the feliway

only other time she has been like this is when she has had her shots and had bad reactions to them
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
Originally Posted by fefe76

has anyones cats had negative reactions to the feliway
I've never used it or seen any bad reactions, but it was banned (the spray) from our show halls for that reason - some cats do react badly.

Have you got cat trees so they can get away from each other? Or perhaps keep one in the bathroom for a while, even though small it would give them a break.

Has Cleo seen a vet? Sometimes cats will attack the sick ones.
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,491
Location
Texas
Does she have a safe place to retreat to when she's feeling threatened? After a vet visit to make sure there's not any medical conditions, I'd separate them. Put her in the bathroom while you're gone. Leave her with a litter box, something to snuggle on, food and some toys.

Sounds like you need to do some reintroducing of them.
 

howtoholdacat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
1,248
Purraise
22
Location
Georgia, USA
You could try bathing them all with the same shampoo so they'd smell alike. Sometimes animals act funny after being in quarantine/vet's offices, etc. because they smell different.
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
The stress of moving and quarantine could have made any of your 3 cats ill. Just because 1 is attacking the other doesn't mean that the attackee would be the ill one.

If it were me, I would take all 3 cats in for a full health screening, including a complete blood work up. When I moved to my current house, Stumpy got ill and his primary response at first was to become aggressive to other cats. I also lost a cat to FIP shortly after another move - the stress of the move caused his condition to surface. Don't underestimate stress on cat's health, and what makes it worse is that they are so good at hiding their problems.

I also suggest that you read thru the Introduction an old cat to a new cat thread and use some of the techniques there to slowly reintroduce your cats. Those suggestions are not just for a new arrival, but also work very well when there is conflict in your house.

I've seen cases where Feliway works great and others where it failed miserably. The studies that my vet shared with me has it at about 65-70% effectiveness. It's always worth trying and if you have a fully open house, you would need more than 1 diffuser.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

fefe76

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
93
Purraise
1
Location
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
i was going to leave tiggy in the loo yesterday but the bathrooms so poorly ventilated and small i felt it would be more cruel to do this

i dont think i can even get cleo in the bathroom as she is acting really feral

growling and hissing and licking and twitching, she keeps trying to get under the covers but then growls and acts so weird i am scared in case she attacks my legs or somethings

i gave her a box to be in to hide away but she went in it and had a feral episode n came out

she keeps just licking herself in one spot so i am thinking maybe something has bitten her cos she was fine yesterday and suddenly this behaviour came out of nowhere
Australia is full of creepy crawlies so maybe its something

anyway i will try get her to a vet, how i will get her in her cage i have no idea

hubby is away and its so hard dealing with all of this alone, its making me stressed ... i have to sleep with one eye open and ears open in case something happens and constantly have cleo in and out of the bed

i think the only thing i can do is somehow get her 2 a vet and she needs some meds cos this is nuts now and i cannot deal with it, esp since we want to have a baby ...i cant have a highly unpredictable cat around

thanks for all your replies

xxxx
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

fefe76

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
93
Purraise
1
Location
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
came home from work and Cleo had licked herself sore and was going nuts

anyway took her to the all night emergency vets, they will sedate her and see what she was licking and sort it out

:eek:(

poor baby

anyway have an hour before i call 2 find out if i can go get her, if its infected they will have to knock her out to clean it out etc

i will make an appointment with the normal vet after Xmas and take her n Tiggy and get this issue sorted, i think they will need meds, the emergency vet said it sounded like it too
 

threecatowner

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
794
Purraise
59
Location
West Virginia
To answer your question re: Feliway - yes, I believe my cat had a not-so-nice reaction. I brought in an AGGRESSIVE feral female, spayed her, introduced her, and she wreaked havoc on the neutered males in the house.

I read about Feliway, and thought, how wonderful! 85% success! I'll try it. I will swear to the end of my days that the day I plugged it in was the first day Dusty sprayed - about three feet away from the diffuser. He continues to have issues to this day, but not as badly, as the feral has calmed down considerably.

So, it didn't work here...
 

nicolefrank117

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 20, 2014
Messages
145
Purraise
3
Anyone have a cat throw up or get sick after spraying your house with Feliway? 
 

catnana

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
4
Purraise
1
When I brought Melanie Mom Cat home from the vet, her daughter Pegasus who had only just stopped nursing, acted like she didn’t recognize her own mother. Poor Melly, how sharper than a serpent’s tooth is an ungrateful child. I don’t know about the shampoo though. That would make me the enemy.
 

nicki13

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
1
Purraise
3
I used Feliway a few months ago to help calm one of my cats.  It almost worked too well.

Coincidentally, he became sick at the same time as when we put the diffuser in.  I missed the signs as he became docile and quiet when once he was so vibrant and vocal.  I thought it was the Feliway so I did not pay much heed to it.  That was a big mistake on my part and I feel so much guilt because of it.

He then began to lose weight suddenly and the vet found a mass in his abdomen that indicated an aggressive form of cancer.  I was devestated.  Had it not been for the diffuser being there, I would have known earlier that my cat was not acting right.  I feel sick to my stomach about this.  By the time we tried to help him, it was too late and we had to make the painful decision to let him go. :(  He went from a vibrant and healthy cat to one so sick.

Just a word of caution as this could happen to others.  Pay close attention to your cats change in behaviour.  It should be subtle not a big change like it was with our cats.
 

kanncat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 12, 2015
Messages
1
Purraise
2
I used the pump aerosol of Feliway. Both of my cats came over to see what I was doing, ran away after smelling the Feliway, and then made a hairball throwing up sound. My throat began to burn, closed up, and felt scratchy. I couldn't breath. The area smelled of toxic chemicals. I immediately opened the window and turned on the fans. The cats avoided the sprayed area, that was alright. But I also wanted to avoid that area, not good it was in my bedroom. I will not use any Feliway products again.
 

jmarkitell

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
217
Purraise
86
I recently tried Felway as I had one or more of four cats that would relieve themselves on the side of the couch or similar spots...not often but often enough! After reading some positive results, I bought a Felway diffuser and plugged it in near the spot that had been the cat's target. I didn't notice much difference at all other than the cat's not seeming to like the stuff (they tend to avoid the area) and the increase in my youngest male's clothing fetish...he gets my wife and daughter's intimates and carrys them around while crying/calling incessantly during the night. This was my experience and I can't speak for others, but I didn't have much success with Felway, but it didn't seem to cause any new problems either. FWIW

Jim
 

thesewingcat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 25, 2016
Messages
3
Purraise
2
Yes. I don't know if it was a sad coincidence but my cat just threw up after I used a Feliway wipe today. I am gonna bring him to the vet.

Did you have the same experience?
 

mrsty

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
105
Purraise
28
I've used Feliway diffusers in my house with all female cats. Never had any reaction like those mentioned. One of my cats used to sleep right under the diffuser as if she really liked it. I've used the spray to squirt a towel which I then drape over the carrier to bring them to the vet and it seems to keep them much quieter on the ride. I don't know what the wipes are - I wouldn't want to wipe my cat with anything because then they can't get away from it and you know they're going to lick it off and it may not be safe.

My other recommendation for feline upsetment issues might be Bach Rescue Remedy for Pets.

And there is a newer item out called "Treatibles". Meant for dogs but the company swears they are safe for cats. Just give small doses till you find the right amount and beware of diarrhea until they are used to it. The website is Treatibles.com. My cat wouldn't eat them so I crushed them up in her food, but honestly didn't see any difference in her.

None of these things are going to cure your cat it if it sick.
 

thesewingcat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Oct 25, 2016
Messages
3
Purraise
2
The wipes have the same pheromone as the diffuser, but they are not meant to wipe the cat, it's like the spray you mentioned. It needs to be applied to the places where the cat goes, a carrier or a cat bed, for example. I wiped his bed and part of wall close to his bed, he smelled the areas and after a while he vomited. I am not sure if it is related or not. I bought also the diffuser, but now I am afraid to use it and have another reaction.

Maybe my cat has a different behaviour, he also doesn't react to catnip.
 

mrsty

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
105
Purraise
28
I've often wondered if you can overdo it with the spray. I wonder if it's the same with the wipes, where maybe at some point it's just too much. I use the diffuser and of course that's only going to let off so much at a time. But, you're right, every cat could react differently. Especially to something new.
 
Top