My Cat is Stressed! What You Can Do!

[Music] hey everybody jackson galaxy your cat  daddy here today to talk about a really serious   subject and that is stress what does it look  like when our cats are stressed how do they   manifest it that's what we're here to talk about  today cats are almost programmed to hide their   pain to be very stoic whether that is physical  pain or whether that's emotional or mental pain   and believe it or not you know just as well as i  do a lot of times when your cat is stressed only   because you notice they're doing something they  haven't done before they're doing something that's   just a little off a little different because  you spend so much time with your cats at home   now before i start anything i want you to  remember the one golden rule if your cat   is doing something they have never done before go  to the vet have them run tests and just make sure   that your cat isn't acting out because they're in  pain that can always cause the kind of behaviors   that we we're going to be talking about there  are three surefire angles to take a look at when   trying to identify stress in your cat starting  with the aforementioned the physical manifestation   now this can go in two different ways it can be  my body hurts something's going on in my body and   i'm acting out the other way around is something's  happening in my home and i'm acting out and it's   manifesting physically because that does happen  many times in cats so for instance if your cat   has lived peacefully without ever over grooming  in their life and suddenly it's like a freshly   manicured lawn on their belly between their  legs anywhere that lets you know that something   is going on now that can be allergies but it  can be stress as well so look out for that but   other things like excessive vomiting or diarrhea  these are things that also can be exacerbated at   the least from stress in your home i have seen  stress play a part in feline lower urinary tract   disorders problems like irritable bowel syndrome  which has become sort of a catch-all when when   something is happening digestively to a cat that  we can't explain but a lot of times stress plays   a part in that as well it's important for me to  keep nailing this point that your cat can have   intestinal problems because they have worms or  because they god forbid have cancer but it can be   that they've always had a sensitive tummy and in  times of stress boom things happen and again that   can be seen in excessive vomiting or diarrhea  or the avoidance of food suddenly your cat's   not eating or on the opposite they're eating too  much eating too fast and then throwing up what i   call the snarfin barf snarfing and barfing if your  cat has never done it before and suddenly they're   doing it then clearly they're feeling threatened  somehow they're feeling like i gotta do this   really quick and then they just throw up these are  your beginnings this is something that when you   see it you go huh better go to the vet and then  the second thing is what's going on around here   another physical manifestation of stress is what's  called a displacement behavior the best way i can   describe displacement behavior is the equivalent  of nail-biting for humans you get stressed   and that physical displacement is a go like  this and i'm just i'm gnawing at my all right   you know people talk about stress eating that's  a displacement behavior you know where i'm going   right now okay you chain smokers out there it's  that kind of a behavior in cats what you might   see is your cat is walking across the floor and  suddenly they just stop what they're doing and   they just start grooming they just you know dump  it right i just stop what i'm doing and i start   over grooming and maybe i'll do that a number of  times if it happens once or twice that's not a   thing that could be a little speck of dust that  landed on your cat's butt but if it happens on   a regular basis all of a sudden you're noticing  that your cat is walking and then suddenly over   grooming or their grooming takes on a much more  determined vibe to it in reality i mean grooming   should be and we witness it to be a very  languid behavior in cats so when you think   of a displacement it's i'm grooming because i  want to get to that place not because i am in   that place and that's a displacement behavior so  again this is about your eagle eyes this is about   your detectivism to notice these physical signs  uh that your cat is stressed out the second pillar   that holds up the house of cat's stress would be  territorial stress now whether that is stressed   because of something that is happening in the home  or something that is happening outside the home   feral cats outside who are feeding near your home  and making life miserable for your indoor cats or   whether it's something that's happening inside the  home changes specifically that that happen inside   the home that's our territorial stress i feel  good when i feel like i own everything and i feel   threatened and stressed when i feel like my  territory is under fire what are some of the   symptoms of this territorial stress that you might  see well start looking at the most territorially   significant areas when it comes to fear of  something that's happening outside the house   the most common thing that i will see is what we  call perimeter marking so that's peeing underneath   windows on doors under doors any doorway  whatsoever any place where they could be   saying all right there are the barbarians at the  gate they're coming this is the alamo and so i   have to pee around the perimeter of the alamo to  keep those guys away to let them know in the most   desperate way possible this belongs to me this  is not yours get off my lawn for the 20th time   some cats are what i call napoleon cats they are  prone to sort of over owning things and so they   will do that on and off in their life but for  a cat that has never shown this kind of stress   before the first place that you guys ought to be  looking is outside your window outside your doors   i've seen these kind of behaviors kick up in the  springtime when it's kitten season so that means   there's more intact toms and intact queens outside  they're putting off those pheromones they're   peeing all over the place they're caterwalling  let's see if i can do a cat or wall here making all kinds of fighting noises and your cats  know that it's happening i've also seen it happen   because of raccoons because of skunks because  of all kinds of wildlife but really at the end   of the day it's about getting those cats or  whatever other critters there are away from   that barrier away from that territorial  wall so that your cats can breathe again   for instance if you're feeding feral cats all  the power to you as long as you are doing tnr   trap new to return as long as you are feeding your  ferals just move that feeding line far away from   your home take that feeding station and move it  as long as your cats can smell those other cats   they have a very high chance of being stressed  out by them likewise we might see cats start   hiding because of the stress of what's going on  outside the house not all cats are going to take   that step and mark the perimeter they may just  hide under the bed they may just avoid the windows   your cat who is just always watching cat tv  out the window watching the birds suddenly   is not suddenly under the bed in the closet that  can be a manifestation of a threat that they feel   unable and unequipped to handle so they're just  going to hide and ride the storm out wherever   is nice and quiet suddenly you walk up to your  cat sitting in the window and you go to pet them   and they're like what the and they turn around  they bite you and they turn around they run away   and you're sitting there going why did my cat  bite me why did this happen why do you hate me   and your cat was just totally freaked out because  what they're thinking is i'm on duty right now   i am scanning the horizon with my little cat  telescope looking at all of the threats that are   facing us outside in the world and suddenly out of  nowhere somebody comes up to you and goes hey guy   what are you gonna do you know so just  one little takeaway from that also   please don't take it personally please remember  that whatever they're doing is reflecting   stress or anxiety usually the third thing to  think about is also avoidance of those areas   any place where there's a window where there's a  door just imagine that that is your cat at their   most exposed and of course the biggest territorial  manifestation of stress that you're going to see   is when the territory changes when you move  moving is an incredibly stressful event in humans   moving is the second most stressful thing  that we go through second only to a death   in the family yikes but in cats because they  define their sanctity their safety their mojo   by the ownership of their territory when we move  that territory they are going to stress one way   or another unless your cat is the biggest mojito  cat on the planet they're going to stress about   moving from one place to the next so check out  this video right here about establishing base camp   and that is the best way to get your cat all mojo5  as they hit that new territory another thing that   you might see is an over ownership of space that  is territorially really important uh when it comes   to the other people or animals in the house so for  instance in good times a cat will come up to us   an area and maybe they will scratch a little bit  on it maybe they will rub against it maybe they   will headbutt it they'll put their scent on those  areas like the arm of a couch or a chair just to   say hey you and me we own this together we're  compadres we are the co-owners of this home but   when they start going crazy about it because  in this case they feel a threat from without   then they're going to start over scratching  all of a sudden your couch is shredded and   you may find that they're peeing on the cushion  of the couch on your bed itself this is a red flag   your cat is reacting to what's going on outside  the house with such fervor that they forget all   sort of etiquette and they just go to what they  are sure will work right in terms of claiming that   space so the final pillar here in the house  that cats stress built would be what i call   the relational manifestation again we talked about  physical we talked about the territory itself   changes in the territory threats from without and  the threat of the change of the territory itself   this one is about well relations so a good example  of sort of a relational dynamic that is causing   your cat stress is separation anxiety uh and  this is a perfect time to be talking about this   you guys because we have spent more time at home  in 2020 than we have spent at home before i think   we can all testify to that one way or another but  there comes a point for a lot of us when we start   to go back to work hopefully for all you guys  and when we start to go back to work our cats   start acting out wait a minute i was used to you  being around i was actually gleaning confidence   from your constant presence in this house and from  the fact that we had this rhythm and this rhythm   went on every day the way i knew it would  i was predictable and suddenly you're gone   we have seen cats act out in ways like peeing and  pooping on a bed because again this is that place   for us this is that holy place and i want to make  sure that my scent is as strong here as humanly   or animalistically possible because i don't know  when you're coming back you know long hours alone   when when they weren't used to it that's a real  prime suspect here when it comes stressing cats   from a relational perspective another thing to  look at is if you've added in a new animal or   human family member over the last couple of months  and now you're noticing any of these symptoms that   i've talked about before let's say that you've  just introduced a new cat family member and   suddenly your cat is getting aggressive or they're  not using their litter box or they're vomiting   or they have diarrhea snarfing and barking all of  the things that i have talked about before there's   your there's your suspect right there and that's  the newcomer it tells you you need to back up   do the introduction the right way take a look at  this video right here about introducing cat to cat   but what we sometimes don't think about is when  suddenly there's a new boyfriend or girlfriend   or a husband or a wife or a partner or whatever  all of a sudden there's a new grown-up human in   the picture that human takes up territory and your  cat if they're feeling insecure about that that's   how they'll manifest their stress suddenly  must i say it again peeing pooping vomiting   eating not much overeating over grooming all of  the things that i have discussed already again   you gotta look at the genesis if your cat didn't  do it all the time now they're doing it now we   know why so humans coming into the picture the  birth of babies man let me just testify right now   if you don't prepare your cat for the arrival  of a child this is how things roll downhill   right we have a new arrival in the home that new  arrival comes with unfamiliar cries and smells and   sounds and as we go to explore and we get a little  scared of it because we've never seen it before   maybe we'll do something like we'll have a mistake  in the nursery now we're being shut out of the   mystery now our territory is getting smaller and  that thing that thing that makes that sound and   those smells is a bad thing do yourselves a favor  whether it is a cat a dog a baby a grown-up a   ferret uh you know i don't know a pot belly pig i  don't care what it is that comes into your home do   the introduction right prepare your cat let them  know that this is about sharing space and good   things happen from sharing space not bad things  another thing to look out for is especially again   in a multi-cad household if you're not providing  your cats enough in terms of territorial resources   and that's catification bedding and cat trees  vertical stations around the home cats super   highways if you're not giving them enough  places to go then you might start seeing that   that they're going to start stressing about their  ownership of that territory and start fighting   with the other cats that's why you always heard  me say on my show all these years build shelves   vertical world get them up you know because that's  the first place i'm gonna go to disperse that sort   of stress is to just give them more places in the  world to get to when it comes to cats and dogs one   surefire way to stress out a cat is to let your  dog just go because let me tell you something and   being a guy who has seven cats and three dogs i've  seen plenty of this a lot of dogs just love to get   into a litter box and a lot of times they invade  that space where a cat's still in there or when a   cat's just getting out of there and the dog rushes  in that's going to cause stress believe me you   know one of those things that cats need to do is  be able to go and use the litter box without the   threat of being either attacked or in this case  you know having a dog nose in there next to you   dogs that are not trained whatsoever around cats  is a constant problem it's just incumbent upon you   as a dog guardian to make sure that your cats  can walk across the room and not be chased by   a dog and of course there is the sanctity of the  litter box so just again if you want to forestall   relationship problems and the stress that  it induces in cats make sure if you say stop   they stop and make sure they know also that  they shouldn't start in the first place   those are the three pillars of the house that cat  stress built we have the physical manifestations   the territorial manifestations and the relational  manifestations of course all of these things are   kind of fluid right one feeds into the other feeds  into the other like i said before a cat can feel   sick and then they express things like hiding or  aggression because they don't feel well likewise   they could be feeling something territorially  threatening to them and then they will attack   or pee or throw up or get sick all of these  things can happen because they're stressed by   a relation or the territory you see what i'm  saying what is the common thread in terms of your   diagnosis is your ability to step away the thing  that i can bring to your home that oftentimes you   can't bring to your own home is that i don't have  the attachment to the story itself i don't have   that emotional reaction to what's happening  your cat pees on your bed you're gonna get   mad i'm gonna look at it as a clue so the best  thing that you can do is just try and i know   it's not easy you guys but if you're seeing  something in your cat that they've never done   before and that could be what you perceive to be  destructive behavior that's your moment to step   back out of that storyline and remember one thing  this is a manifestation of my cat's stress this is   a manifestation of my cat not feeling well of my  cat to some degree or another suffering and that's   where we gotta come at it from put yourself in  there pause for a second and remember that you are   there as their guardian and guys i'm saying this  loudly because i know it's a tough task i know   that you see your cat as a family member and as a  friend and when your friend pees in your bed or in   your gym shoes it's hard to back up and take that  step but i'm asking you for the good of not just   your relationship but your cat's well-being try to  take that step if it's something that makes you go   huh what was that that's your clue that something  is happening outside of your cat to make your cat   feel like something is not safe so that's you know  when you start to take action and finally you guys   again i've talked about this a million times as  well play with your cat play is not just about   having fun which of course it is but it's also  about releasing energy out of their system in   another example another video that i made about  life during the coveted quarantines i talked about   the fact that we are now inhabiting our home all  of us at all the same time so now the cats are   not the only ones that are home now everyone's  home the kids are home from school you're home   from work everyone's home and your cats start  manifesting those stress behaviors suddenly   i don't know why but my cat just peed uh in the  middle of the room all of these humans and all   these cats are putting out energy bouncing off  the walls energy energy energy your cat's like   oh i'm it's just a balloon i'm just filling full  of this energy that's what cats do and that energy   has to come out and you don't want the balloon to  pop because the balloon a lot of times has pee in   it or aggression in it so how do we bring that  balloon back down we play with our cats and we   do it on a really structured basis so your cat's  body knows that i arc up but the play brings me   back down again i arc up and it brings me back  down again another sort of cure for this is making   sure that you're adhering to what i call the three  r's and three r's are routine ritual rhythm the   more we repeat uh activities every day day in and  day out and that a lot of times is about play and   it's about feeding and it's about when we leave  the house and when we come back and what we do   with each other and with our cats we create  rhythm routine and then we repeat that routine   it becomes a ritual we're invested in it and  then that becomes the rhythm of our life and   cats are slaves to the rhythm as we all are nobody  likes anarchy but for cats territorial sanctity   is really about that rhythm i want today to  look like yesterday and i want yesterday to   look like tomorrow all right you guys those  are the three ways to look at cats stress   and what i ask you to do is look at it look at it  as an observer try to look at it as me coming into   your home like i said before i know that's not  easy but think about the alternative and that's   a stressed out cat who's going to do damage to  you to your home to the other cats to you know   your aunt edna who comes and visits everybody so  let's not let that happen all right you guys thank   you for watching this video because this means  you care enough about your cat family members to   do something about their stress so thank you for  that on behalf of all the cats don't forget to   subscribe don't forget to make sure you get these  little belly notifications here because then the   next time i have a video like this that is for the  good of your cat you will get that alert all right   you guys until next time let me know what other  kind of videos you want to see in the comments   and we will talk again that's a promise all  light and all love and i'll mojo to you [Music]   meow

Channel: Jackson Galaxy

Views: 957,146

Keywords: my cat stressed, jackson galaxy, cats, cat daddy, my cat from hell, cat whisperer, cat guy, cat guy animal planet, cat expert, cat advice, cat health, cat behavior, cat issues, cat care, cat training, cat psychology, animal planet, jackson galaxy videos, my cat is stressed what can i do, relax my stressed cat, my cat is stressed waht can i do

Id: s5IJ6W7rt2s

Length: 19min 24sec (1164 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 05 2020