Depending on how you feel about
your family, you may just want to crawl under the bed with your terrified cat
when the time comes for holiday parties and family get-togethers. Depending on
your cat, these parties can be fun or they can be extremely traumatic. Some
cats hide for days after a party.
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| Hiding |
If you are planning a
boisterous holiday party with lots of guests, you might want to consider
boarding your cat during the holiday. Otherwise, to help a shy cat cope, you
can prepare a sanctuary in advance – a bed, food, water and litter – in a
low-traffic area, a closet or the basement where sounds will be more muffled,
and plan to keep them in their sanctuary for the duration of the party. Feline
pheromone spray or a diffuser and items with your kitty’s own smell on them
will help create a calming scent. Show your cat this area before the big day so
she will know it’s her safe place. Cats that are frightened because of large
numbers of people might dash for the door, or curious cats may slip outside
along with an unwary visitor. This is an excellent reason why even indoor cats
benefit from being microchipped. It is also a good idea to request that family
members keep their own pets at home. Cats are creatures of habit, and the
holidays are stressful enough without having an interloper to deal with. In addition,
the last thing that you want to be doing just before Christmas dinner is
rushing your cat to the ER with a bite wound if the animals decide that they
don’t want to play nicely anymore.
Other concerns about holiday
parties and visitors include inappropriate elimination. Some cats will urinate
or defecate outside the box when they are overly stressed or anxious – another
reason to consider isolating your cat in its sanctuary or planning to board
her.
If you have specific concerns,
antianxiety drug therapy could be discussed with your veterinarian. There are many calming medications available,
ranging from human anti-anxiety drugs to herbal and homeopathic supplements, so
you and your veterinarian can discuss which option would be most effective for
your cat.
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| Foxy poses in a boarding cage |
If you will be traveling throughout the holidays and
your cat is not going with you, the most ideal option for pet care is to have a
non-traveling family member stay in the home with the cat. This allows the cat
the comfort of a familiar face and surroundings to provide the least
interruption of his or her normal routine. A qualified pet sitter is the next
best choice – someone who is trained to recognize signs of illness. Ideally,
the sitter would stay in your home with the cat, or visit a minimum of twice
daily for 30 minutes or more. The third
option would be for cat owners to board their pets at a reputable feline-only
boarding facility. There are a lot of holiday hazards that a cat can get into
at this time of year, so cats should not be left alone unattended. Cats with
medical problems and daily medications should not be without their medications
at this time of high stress.
