The most common consequences of picture stress in cats are diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, crystal formation, dermatitis or hair loss, among others.
If your cat is acting weird, she most likely is. Stress in cats can manifest itself in many ways, including behavioral changes, digestive disorders, aggression and general health problems. Knowing how to treat a stressed cat is important to improve its quality of life and prevent future health problems.
But what signs should I observe? Specialist and veterinarian from Gabrica (somosgabricacl), Susana Salas, affirms that “in general, cats, due to their species, are more sensitive to stress, generating various signals, such as laziness, showing a messy mess and dirty hair; they lick outside the litter box; they show excessive boldness ; they change their habits; they stop eating or eat less; they constantly meow; they can hide or look for new nests, among other things.”
Other symptoms include skin, bladder and gastrointestinal problems. Also, when they squeak or hiss excessively, they exhibit cautious movements, reject contact, or clean themselves obsessively. Some cats have even been known to lick themselves to the point of causing serious damage to their skin due to stress.
Given this, Gabrica the veterinarian advises that in the first steps “if possible, it is necessary to identify the cause of the stress in order to eliminate it”. It may be due to the entry of a new member, house changes, trips, etc. Another way to relieve stress is a nutraceutical supplement formulated (such as OHM) to relieve anxiety, from products such as tryptophan and thiamine, amino acids that modulate the neuronal response to the release of serotonin, that is, this neurotransmitter causes stress reduction; because it generates a state of well-being, also reducing cortisol (the stress hormone)”.
Some of the causes that can cause stress in a cat are:
- Genetic factor: some cats from birth are more prone to high levels of stress and more likely to show anxiety. A feline’s temperament depends on environmental influences and its hereditary genes. In other words, if one cat is more timid than another, it may have higher levels than a social cat.
- Learning: Kittens have a learning period of socialization with peers and with humans, which is around the second to eighth week, where they learn what normal situations are. Any negative stimulus at that age could make their behavior even more prone to violence and anxiety.
- Environment: negative situations such as a bad relationship with the owner, a disturbance in routine, the absence of a pet parent, the arrival of a new puppy, another animal or person, arguments at home, a house with many cats, access to the poor. water and food are all predisposing factors that predispose the cat to stress.
In this way, cats are animals that easily bring to light, the artist from Gabrica indicates that “cats in general are the species of mammals that are more suitable for stress, because they are the only domestic animals that maintain the behavior of hunting, for which they are. must be prepared and watch for this action , since this image will be different from each animal, its history from birth until it is adopted by man.
In addition, the veterinarian adds “generally there is no age in which stress is more common in cats, whenever there is an exciting factor, the animal releases cortisol, which generates in high concentration the symptoms with this process; but in fact the responses to the aforementioned stimuli are physiological mechanisms of survival, where animals to fight or they are fit to answer the flight.
Effects of stress
The most common consequences that long-term stress can cause are long-term degenerative diseases such as diabetes, gastrointestinal problems such as belching, gastroesophageal reflux, vomiting, diarrhea, urinary tract problems such as cystitis, crystal formation, and skin problems such as dermatitis. loss, etc.
When the cat is stressed, the areas most affected by these conditions are their skin, because when they stress a lot, two things can happen: the groom is superfluous and this causes damage, or they groom less often or stop. doing that will make the hair tangled, dull, and shaggy. In both cases the damage to the skin and skin is significant.
But as he labors in pleasures, so does the master. “A stressed cat can generate such behavior changes that bother the owner too much, activities such as urinating or defecating outside the litter box, scratching furniture, hyperactivity at night, being irritable with other family members or other animals in the house, etc. All these unwanted behaviors for pet parents also cause anxiety , they cause anxiety and violence so they don’t know how to solve this situation,” says the artist.
With regard to the deadlines, the veterinarian estimates that “the stress can last as long as the current stimulus is generating, so it must be attentive to the environment to be able to identify it and thus remove it in time as the effect. as soon as it is reversed.
In this way, the force can be prevented by knowing the cause or causes that generate it and thus avoiding the appearance of such pictures. Finally, the vet from Gabrica advises Susana Salas, “to avoid any change in the pet’s daily routines, and if the vet must travel or visit, try to reduce the stimuli as much as possible with the care of natural modulators, ideally five days in advance so that, when the day arrives, the event’s stressful response it doesn’t generate, like being irritable or unmanageable to handle it”.
