Stressed cat: signs, causes and what you can do

Reading time 6 min · Level 1: Why the symptom happens

The short answer: A stressed cat rarely shows it clearly. It hides, over-grooms, eats more or less than usual, stops playing or starts weeing outside the litter tray. Short-term stress is normal and harmless. Long-term stress is the problem, because it can make a cat physically ill, for example with inflammation of the bladder. The answer nearly always lies in the environment: safe hiding places, resources of its own and predictable days. If behaviour changes suddenly, the vet should first rule out pain and illness.

Why stress is so hard to spot

Cats are good at hiding how they feel, and the signs of fear and worry are also fairly general. They can look like completely different problems². Being startled by a dog or an unexpected noise is part of everyday life and not dangerous. The body gets ready to flee or fight, and then it settles. Long-term stress is something cats are far less equipped to handle¹. It also creeps up gradually, so you get used to a cat that has slowly become more withdrawn.

Signs that your cat is stressed

How stress shows depends a lot on the cat's personality. Agria and its cat behaviour advisers highlight these signs¹²:

It is the change that tells you something. A cat that has always been wary of visitors is not necessarily stressed. A cat that suddenly spends more time outdoors than usual after something has changed at home may be¹.

Common causes

Researchers who reviewed stress in pet cats point to four common sources: changes in the environment, conflict between cats, a strained relationship with the people at home and not being able to carry out behaviours the cat is strongly motivated to perform, such as hunting, climbing and scratching³. In everyday life it can look like this:

1. Something new in the territory. A new cat, a dog, a baby, a new partner, new furniture or building work².

2. Something familiar disappears. A move, a family member moving out or a favourite spot that is no longer there.

3. Competition for resources. Two cats sharing one food bowl and one litter tray. Two individuals that do not get on can be enough for problems to start¹. The conflict can be silent: one cat blocking a doorway or staring.

4. Cats outside the window. A neighbour's cat marking around the house is a common and overlooked source of stress for indoor cats.

5. Boredom. An indoor cat with nothing to hunt, climb or look out over is missing part of what makes a cat a cat.

When stress becomes illness

This is where stress moves from a welfare issue to a medical one. In one study, researchers followed 32 cats in a research facility for 77 weeks, both healthy cats and cats with bladder inflammation. In the weeks when something unusual happened, such as new caretakers or a changed routine, the cats ate less and more often weed or pooed outside the litter tray. The healthy cats were affected just as much as the ill ones⁵.

The most common form of bladder inflammation in cats is called idiopathic cystitis. Evidensia writes that it probably accounts for more than half of all cases of lower urinary tract problems in cats and that stress is a trigger⁶. Stress also raises the risk of urine marking and compulsive over-grooming³.

When to see the vet

Urgently, straight away, if your cat keeps going to the litter tray and nothing comes out, or only a few drops. It can be a urinary blockage, which is life-threatening and more common in male cats⁶. Also if your cat has eaten nothing for 24 hours, or seems to be in pain.

Within a few days if your cat has started weeing outside the tray, has blood in its urine, has licked itself bald or has changed its behaviour without an explanation you can find. The vet needs to rule out pain and illness before the problem can be handled as stress.

What you can do yourself

Feline medicine organisations have gathered a cat's needs into five pillars. They apply to every cat, indoors or out⁴:

A safe place. Hiding places both high and low, where the cat can withdraw and not be disturbed¹. A cardboard box on a shelf goes a long way.

Separate resources of its own. Food, water, litter tray, scratching post and resting place in several spots. One litter tray per cat plus one extra, and the trays should not stand next to each other. Food bowls should not stand right next to water bowls¹.

Play and hunting. Short play sessions with a wand toy or something the cat gets to catch, ideally several times a day.

Predictable contact on the cat's terms. The same routines for food and play. Let the cat start contact and respect it when it wants to be left alone¹.

Respect for scent. Cats find their way with their nose. Strong cleaning products, scented candles and perfumed litter can be disturbing. Many cat behaviour advisers use pheromone diffusers or sprays as a complement².

Frequently asked questions

Can a cat get ill from stress?

Yes. Long-term stress can, among other things, trigger inflammation of the bladder¹ and unusual events in everyday life have been linked to poorer appetite and to weeing or pooing outside the tray, even in healthy cats⁵.

How do you calm a stressed cat?

Give it control. A hiding place it chooses itself, resources of its own and calm around it. Do not try to comfort a frightened cat by pulling it out. Let it come out when it is ready.

My cat is stressed after the move. How long will it last?

It varies a lot between cats. Start with one room containing everything the cat needs and let it expand its territory at its own pace. If it is not eating, or is weeing outside the tray, contact the vet rather than waiting.

Does a stressed cat need a feline friend?

Not necessarily. Not all cats enjoy company, and a new cat can be a major source of stress in itself¹.

That was the short answer. If you have a question about your own pet, email us at info@herbiovet.se. We reply within one working day.