As cat owners, we want to ensure our feline friends are happy and comfortable, especially during the holidays when there may be changes to their routine. This post is all about holiday cat care tips and how to reduce cat stress with company.
Read on to learn;
- The importance of keeping your cat’s routine
- Design a cat-friendly home
- Creating a cat hideaway
- Making a designated cat room
- Toxic plants and flowers to avoid
- Hiring a trustworthy cat-sitter if traveling
- Pheromone diffusers and supplements
- Provide vertical space
If you will be traveling without your cat, be sure to hire a reliable pet-sitter. Kritter Kommunity recommends Rover: Use our link Find the perfect pet sitter or walker on Rover! Sign up with the Kritter Kommunity link and get $20 off your first booking: https://www.rover.com/ambas-refer-a-friend/N6YWWDxA – be sure to check recommendations before you hire a sitter!
Purrfectly Designed: Holiday Cat Care Tips for a Cat Friendly Home
With the holiday cat care tips in this article, you can reduce cat stress and ensure they have a great time during the holiday season, or anytime you have company or will be traveling.
Let’s pounce in and unpack holiday cat care tips together!
Maintaining Your Cat’s Routine During the Holidays is Crucial: Tips to Reduce Cat Stress
The holiday season can be a busy and stressful time for everyone, including cats. As their owners, it’s important to remember that our furry friends thrive on routine and familiarity. Disrupting their daily schedule during the “cat holidays” can cause unnecessary stress and anxiety.
It’s important to maintain your cat’s routine as much as possible. This means keeping the same feeding and playtime schedules, and not disrupting their sleeping habits. Cats thrive on routine, and any changes can cause stress and anxiety.
One common cause of stress for cats during the holidays is high-traffic times. If you have company, be sure to spend as much time with your cat prior to your guests arriving. Keep your cat’s routine as much as possible by maintaining feeding times, especially if your guests will be staying for a few days. Make sure your feline has access to litter boxes, feeding stations and toys. Read below about creating a special safe space for your feline too!
Traveling with your cat can also be stressful for the pet and owner. If possible, keep your cat in a familiar environment and arrange for a trusted pet sitter to check in on them. If you must travel with your cat, make the journey as comfortable as possible by bringing familiar toys and bedding. Check with your vet about a ‘chill pill’ for anxiety. Put a favorite blanket in your cat’s carrier with one toy for comfort. Keep snacks on hand to pop in the carrier if possible.
Leaving your cat at home while you travel can also cause stress. Consider hiring a pet sitter or boarding your cat at a reputable facility.
Provide detailed instructions on your cat’s routine and needs, including feeding times and any necessary medication. Make sure your sitter knows which toys to play with and how many snacks to give him. I ask my sitter to hide a few treats in his favorite spots too.
Have your cat sitter come 2x a day if possible. I used to have a cat sitter come in the mornings, but soon realized nobody wakes up as early as me. Finnegan is already on nap two when a sitter arrives. Switching to nighttime visits helped so much; it gave him a chance to eat, play and hang-out with someone. He wasn’t hiding so he could get more sleep, like he was in the mornings.
To reduce stress during the holidays, stick to your cat’s routine as much as possible.
Make a Hideout
Secondly, provide your cat with a quiet and comfortable space where they can retreat to if they become overwhelmed. Make sure this space is away from the hustle and bustle of holiday activities and provide them with their favorite toys, blankets and bedding.
Check out our blog post: How to Make A Cat Hideout For Your Feline for tips!
Avoid Toxic Plants and Flowers
Thirdly, be mindful of any decorations or plants that may be toxic to cats. Keep them out of reach and ensure your cat cannot ingest anything harmful.
Hire a Trustworthy Cat-Sitter
Fourthly, if you’re leaving the house for a holiday trip, it’s important to have a trusted cat-sitter to take care of your feline friend. Make sure they are familiar with your cat’s routine, feeding schedule, and any medications.
Check out our blog post Cat Sitters: What Can You Learn From Your Most Important Critics for tips!
Pheromone Diffusers or Supplements
Lastly, consider providing your cat with a calming aid, such as pheromone diffusers or supplements, to help reduce stress and anxiety.
Feline anxiety can manifest in many ways, including hiding, aggression, and excessive meowing. These behaviors can be particularly noticeable during the holiday season, when there may be more people in the house or changes to the cat’s environment. To reduce cat stress, providing a calm and predictable environment for your feline friend is crucial.
One way to achieve this is through the use of pheromone diffusers. These products release synthetic pheromones that cats naturally produce to mark their territory and feel safe and secure. By diffusing these pheromones throughout the house, you can help your cat feel more relaxed and less anxious.
In addition to using pheromone diffusers, there are other holiday cat care tips you can follow to reduce stress for your feline friend. For example, try to maintain a consistent feeding and play schedule and provide your cat with a quiet and comfortable space to retreat if they feel overwhelmed.
Overall, pheromone diffusers can be a great tool to help reduce cat stress, especially during “cat holidays,” when routine changes can be particularly stressful. By providing a calm and predictable environment, along with the use of pheromone diffusers, you can help your cat feel safe and secure during the holiday season and beyond.
By following these holiday cat care tips, you can reduce cat stress and ensure your feline friend has a happy and comfortable holiday season.
As a cat mom or dad, you want your furry friend to feel comfortable, safe, and happy in your home. Creating a cat-friendly environment can help reduce your cat’s stress levels and improve their overall well-being. This post is all about catatizing™ your home to reduce cat stress when you have company.
Provide Vertical Space
Firstly, consider the layout of your home. Cats love to climb and explore, so provide them with opportunities to do so. Install tall, sturdy cat trees or shelves that they can climb and perch on. Make sure to secure any furniture that could potentially topple over, as cats may try to use them as climbing structures.
RELEVANT: 7 Fabulous Wall Items Every Cat Owner Needs
Create a Cat Room
The holiday season can be stressful for many, including our beloved furry friends. As we prepare for guests to come and go, our cats can become overwhelmed with all the hustle and bustle. One solution to reduce their anxiety is to create a separate cat room.
RELEVANT: Super Easy Tips For Making A Small Cat Room Feel Bigger Instantly
A cat room can be a simple and effective way to provide your feline a haven during the holiday season. This designated space can be easily created using a spare room, a large closet, or a screened-in porch. The key is to make the space comfortable and inviting for your cat.
By providing your cat with its own space, you can reduce the stress caused by holiday traffic. Small children can be incredibly overwhelming for cats, and a separate room allows your cat to retreat when they need a break. Additionally, it gives your cat a sense of control and independence, which can help them feel more at ease.
When creating a cat room, there are a few things to remember. Make sure the room has plenty of natural light and fresh air. Provide your cat with a comfortable bed, toys, and a scratching post. Keep their litter box, food, and water bowls in the room so they don’t have to leave their safe space for these essential needs.
RELEVANT: Small Cat Room Ideas
Creating a simple cat room can significantly reduce your cat’s anxiety during the holiday season. Giving them their own space allows them to avoid the stress of holiday traffic and tiny children. Following holiday cat care tips and providing your feline with a safe and comfortable room can ensure a happy and stress-free holiday season for your furry friend.
Offer Multiple Cat Beds
Cats love to sleep, so providing your cat with multiple cozy beds throughout your home can help reduce their stress levels. Place a bed in your cat’s safe haven, as well as in other quiet areas of your home. This will give your cat plenty of options for napping and resting.
By creating a safe haven, providing vertical space, offering a cat room, providing multiple cat beds, and creating a calming environment, you can help your cat feel happy and comfortable in your home. So go ahead and catatize™ your home, your furry friend will thank you for it!
Is Your Cat Stressed? Look for These Signs
After your guests have left, keep an eye on your feline.
Stress is not just a human problem, and cats can experience it too. Some cats are extroverts, but there are plenty who are introverts. If you just had a house full of guests (especially little ones), you might have a frazzled kitty afterward.
It is important to recognize the signs of stress in your cat so you can help them feel more comfortable and relaxed. Here are some common signs of stress in cats:
Increased hiding
If your cat is spending more time hiding than usual, it could be a sign of stress. This could be under furniture, in closets, or in other secluded areas.
Changes in appetite
A stressed cat may eat less or stop eating altogether. This can lead to weight loss and other health problems.
Aggression
Cats may become more aggressive when they are stressed, especially toward other pets or people.
Excessive grooming
While grooming is a normal behavior for cats, excessive grooming can be a sign of stress. This can lead to hair loss and other skin problems.
Urinating outside the litter box
If your cat is urinating outside the litter box, it could be a sign of stress. This can also be caused by other health problems, so it’s important to take your cat to the vet.
If you notice any of these signs in your cat, it’s important to address the source of their stress and help them feel more comfortable. Some ways to reduce stress in cats include providing plenty of hiding spots, toys, and scratching posts, as well as creating a calm and quiet environment.
Catatize™ Your Home for the Holidays
If you are having guests in your home, making a chill area for your cat can relieve her of any stress the extra foot traffic brings. “How to Make a Chill Area for Your Cat this Pawliday Season” might help.
Below are five ways you can catatize™ your home that will bring a kitty cat flair to your festivities.
Catatize™ – the act of taking anything and bringing a cat style to an otherwise non-feline-focused project, object, product, or service. Including but not limited to DIY cat toys, repurposed furniture with cat aesthetics, and/or in a way that cat can use.
Catatize™ Christmas Tree
If you are a cat parent, you know the Christmas tree struggle with kitties. The balls, lights and tinsel are a cat’s dreams come true. One lunge the entire tree can come tumbling down.
Even if reducing cat stress is not necessary, you may need to catatize™ to reduce your stress!
If you have not experienced a Christmas tree with a kitty cat yet, here are a few videos that will show you what can happen, and make you laugh. Laugh only because it is not your tree LOL.
How to Survive Christmas With Your Cat
One way to distract your cat from your tree is to make the furry destroyer one of his own. Get a small , artificial tree and hang kitty cat toys all over the tree as decorations.
Catnip ones are preferable, but jingly balls and felt toys are perfect too! Be sure to put the cat tree in a place she will appreciate it. If she is on the timid side, a low traffic area might be best.
Some kitties (especially younger males) love to be out in the limelight so putting it where everyone can watch him show off will be a treat for you and the cat.
If you are especially smitten with your kitten, you might even be satisfied with replacing your regular tree for a cat friendly tree.
Monogrammed Stocking
“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, your cat didn’t see his, and gave you a death stare.”
Make your cat his very own Christmas stocking and fill it with treats, toys and anything else that he needs or will enjoy.
There are department stores that now sell personalized pet Christmas stockings, but if your kitty has a unique name that you cannot find already made, you can simply make his for him.
Purchasing a stocking and adding his name can be super easy, but you might be ambitious and make the entire stocking yourself. Either way, you both will feel the thought that went into including your feline!
Catatize™ Kitty Cat Wrapping Paper
If you love cats, then kitty cat wrapping paper will be a fun way to add a feline flair to some or all of your holiday gifts! Cat wrapping paper can be used on only your kitty cat’s presents, or on all of your gifts. Having those adorable kitty toys wrapped in cat paper, underneath the catatized™ tree is such a cute and adorable way to celebrate Catmas! (Oh, please DO send us photos if you do that!)
Kitty Cat Christmas Cookies
Catatize your holiday cookies by making cat shape festive treats. Use cat cookie cutters to bake some homemade cookies and then add green, red and white colors to make them super festive. Amazon even carries kitties with Santa Paws hats on so all you have to do is make your cookies!
Cat Paper Plates
If you are having an informal get together with other kitty cat lovers, I encourage you to think outside the litterbox, and go all in on a cat Christmas themed pawty. These kitty cat plates from Amazon are adorable. Even better, you don’t have to clean up after your holiday party. Simply throw away your cat themed plates and be done with it!
Have fun with your pets this holiday season. Include them in your festivities, the more you give, the more you’ll get. Cats can sense when special attention has been put on their needs and desires; and don’t worry, they’ll be sure to let you know if they want more!
For more cat decor and home design ideas check out this list of ‘cat-friendly home design ideas’ blog posts we rounded up:
Essential Food Tools Ever Cat Lover’s Kitchen Needs
Fading Indoor With Outdoor Using Pet Furniture Design Ideas: Pet Lover Decor
How Biophilia Designing Can Improve Your Pet’s Well-Being
Cat Beds That Will Modernize Your Home And Make Your Cat Happy (2022 Updated)
How To Get Urine Off Hardwood Floors
How To Make A Chill Are For Your Cat To Reduce Stress And Anxiety
Create A Cozy Home With Cat Themed Furniture And Decor
Delicious Cat Shaped Cookie, Bread And Cake Pans
Cat Window Perch Ideas Your Cat Will Obsess Over
Lisa Illman is the Founder of Kritter Kommunity, LLC. She has a tuxedo adult cat and has had him since he was a baby kitten. Before her cat Finnegan, Lisa had had two FIV-positive cats for over a decade. They inspired Lisa to invent a cat enclosure and a portable catio so they could safely sit outside and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Lisa had a Poodle and a parakeet growing up. She currently loves to pet-sit for her neighbors’ dogs and cats.
Why is Kritter Kommunity Your Trusted Partner?
Our mission at Kritter Kommunity is to promote happy and healthy lives for pets and their owners. We specialize in Barkitecture and designing tips for pet-friendly homes, utilizing the natural instincts of cats, dogs, and small critters to create a home life that pets and people love. From tips on pet care to reviews on pet toys and furniture, we are a go-to source for all things cats, dogs and small critters. Join us in celebrating the joys of pet ownership and providing the best possible lives for our furry friends.
