How you can help calm cats and reduce stress during martial law

Greetings! I am Old Anna, the head of the Felinology Department. 
 
Unfortunately, our lives have recently changed dramatically. We all feel fear, stress and uncertainty about the future. Many of us have pets who also experience similar emotions. And now we're going to talk a little bit about how you can help calm cats and reduce their stress levels.

If you are forced to stay in a bomb shelter, you need to prepare your cat in advance. It's great when your pet is already accustomed to the carrier and can easily enter it and stay there during an air raid. It is also better to put special ammunition on the cat so that it does not run away from fear and noise. It is ideal to additionally put on an address book with your phone number. It is important to bring enough water and food for the cat (at least for 3 days). If he refuses water, you can offer wet food, which is more palatable and contains water. If the cat refuses water completely, you can gently give it to him with a syringe without a needle. You can also bring along some treats that can be thrown into the box without opening it. But if you notice that your cat breathes with his mouth open very often in the bomb shelter, his pupils are very dilated, he hisses, then you may want to leave him in a more familiar room according to the 2-wall rule. After all, against the background of severe stress, serious and fatal diseases can develop.

Cats' usual routine is also disrupted. And now he may have another uninvited guest, or your cat may become such a guest himself. We know that cats are territorial animals and their own comfortable and safe home is important to them. Therefore, it is very correct to try to recreate it in the current conditions. If unfamiliar cats live in the same area, it is necessary to organize the space properly. Each cat should have its own resources: a bowl for food and water, a toilet, a scratching post, a place to sleep, and a place to run away and hide at any time. It is important that the cat has several possible escape routes. 

You shouldn't try to make them friends at the first meeting; it's better to let them live in different rooms for a few days and get used to each other's scent; then you can swap toys. Then, under your control, you can let the cats go out for a while to get to know each other, leaving them free to stay or leave. Do not force the cats to get acquainted, as this will cause even more stress. Allow the cats to figure out their relationship on their own.
 
Unfortunately, cats, like humans, can develop many diseases under stress. Nowadays, our clinic is visited by many cat owners whose cats spend long periods of time sitting on the toilet, they may scream, and urinate in small portions and with blood. 

These can be symptoms of idiopathic cystitis that develops under stress. In order to prevent this disease, you should try to keep things familiar to the cat: the same litter box, litter, familiar food, no harsh sounds or odors. It is important that your cat drinks enough water to prevent dehydration and worsening of the disease. You can replace dry food with wet food; place several water containers in the house or add a few drops of olive or tuna oil to the water. This is very difficult to achieve in the current conditions, so for cats that react more violently to changes in the environment, you can use medical assistance. These can be soft food supplements based on tryptophan, casozepine, or a synthetic pheromone analog called Felivay. For a faster response, you can use the pharmacy drug gabapentin. Before using it, it is better to consult your doctor about the dosage.

I would also like to emphasize that cats can feel your emotions very well, so it is very important to try to stay calm, put off panic and believe in our victory! 

Everything will be Ukraine!