Is your cat acting out of the ordinary? Do they seem to be getting more aggressive to you, members of family, or other pet friends in your home? Do they seem afraid of things they weren't afraid of previously? Or are they afraid for no reason at all? For any of these or any other strange behaviors it is crucial that you find out what is causing them so they can be stopped.

One common cause of a sudden change in a cat's temperament which many owners are unaware of is stress. So could your cat be suffering from stress and if so, how can you help?

Understanding Cats Under Stress

Cats just like many other beings are vulnerable to stressful situations. Any event that comes on suddenly changing your cats environment or someone new joining the household can cause serious stress to your cat. Some cats take on the change with little or no behaviorial issues at all, however most cats do not react this way. Most cats feel threatened and display these insecurities by being aggressive, or withdrawn. No matter how minor the change could be, most likely your cat is going to feel stressed out and react to it. Some of the changes that stress out your cat include: Moving, and not only moving to a different house, but also just moving furniture around in your home. (Especially if its their cat stuff you're moving.) Another stressful event is when a new member joins the family whether it be a new person moving in or a new pet.

However, it may not always be a change in your cat's environment that brings out stress related problems. It could be that your cat has an illness that you are unaware of. It is always worth visiting your vet if its behavior does change and there have been no obvious changes in or around your home that could be the cause.

Now that you have identified the reasoning for your cats behavior, you are now ready to deal with it.

How to Deal with Feline Stress

Depending on what the stressor is, going to directly influence the action you will be taking. However, no matter what the stressor is, patience will be the key to overcoming it. Let's say you've just moved homes. The action here would be to give your cat it's own 'room'. Their 'room' is going to be their safe place. You will only expose them to their room at first. After, you will gradually be introducing the rest of the house. You will have to leave their room available for them, so when they get overwhelmed or scared at any point they can run back and destress in their room, and if they know this is their safe place, they will be doing this automatically.

However, sometimes patience alone will not help. In these cases, it might be a good idea to purchase commercial products to help. Rescue Remedies can help to calm your cat and one particularly good one includes Bach Flower Essence. Helpful in both animals and humans, you should place 2-3 drops of the remedy into your cat's drinking water. This should provide quick relief for your pet once it has drank it. However, not all cats will drink water with the remedy in it because the alcohol content can be too much. If this is the case, then you can always place the remedy behind the cat's ears.

Overall, stress can be a contributing factor to your cat's bad behavior. So if you notice that your cat has started to act strangely and if it has started to spray around the home or act more aggressive than usual then you should think about any changes that may have occurred in and around your home recently. Relieving your cat's stress should eliminate sudden bad behavior problems. If all else fails then you should take your cat to the vet.

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