Animal behaviour expert Karen Wild talks about stress among pet cats in her latest column
In her latest column, animal expert Karen Wild talks about feline stress:
Do you seek out your cat for comfort when you’re feeling a bit stressed?
It seems like we are constantly dealing with a changing lifestyle at the moment. Places are opening, masks are new to many of us, work may be starting back and we are all dealing with these massive changes yet again. Some of us haven’t had much change because our work has continued, but many of us have not. In either case, none of us have been immune to the news, the worry, the additional learning we have all had to undertake to deal with the pandemic.
So, how are our cats coping with our moods?
It may seem odd to you. Cats just get on with things, don’t they? They come and go as they please.
That’s probable, but do you genuinely never touch your cat, never interact with them, not even when it’s feeding time? It’s unlikely that you totally switch off from your own pet. Let’s take a quick look at how we can reduce our cat’s stress so that when we are feeling the need, we don’t ‘transmit’ our own worries to our little moggy.
If your cat bites or scratches you, they are telling you, clearly, that they don’t want you to do whatever it is. It might be that they even seem to encourage you to pet them, but most cats have a limit. They need to be able to tell you when to stop! Let’s not force them into this situation.
All cats have areas of their body that they particularly don’t like to be touched. Some have sensitive bellies, their feet, back, tail, head, ears, and may not want any touching at all.
Others will push themselves onto you, begging you to pet them.
How can we know whether or not to engage with them?
Cats, unlike dogs, do not give off obvious body signals. A tiny tail twitch or a tightening of the ears can signify that the cat has not only had enough but has changed from fluffy feline into angered tiger.
If you want to touch them, invite your cat to you, and not just when you feel like YOU need a cuddle. Does your cat come to you willingly? If not, leave them alone.
If they do, let them walk away when they are ready. Finally, don’t be fooled by the ‘rolling onto their back’ signal. This might be that they want you to touch their tummy, but more often it’s the cat passively bringing all four sets of claws into play.
Back away, give them a moment, and only continue to stroke gently down their back as long as their tail isn’t twitching. Then leave them be. They will love you for it!