Stress in Cats Course

(Header image created with microsoft co-pilot. Does it accurately portray a cat in stress?)

I’ve spent a lot of time searching online for advice about many cat-related issues. And I’ve repeatedly found this:

“Blah blah blah. But remember, every cat is different, and if in doubt, consult your vet.” – Many online cat advice articles.

Consult your vet. Or an expert. And the Stichting Dierenlot Academie (Animal Fate Foundation Academy) came to my rescue with a course on “Stress in Cats”! 🙂 And after my cat scratch and subsequent tetanus jab, it’s just what the doctor (would have) ordered!

The Course

The course was given by Kirsten Meijer, a cat coach at Tinley Gedrags Therapie voor Dieren (Tinley Behavioural Therapy for Animals). She has over 11 years’ experience with cats so I had high hopes to learn how to deal with stressed out cats during an animal rescue!

The course covered what stress is in cats, how we can recognise it through signals the cat gives, understanding what causes a cat stress (and therefore tips on how to prevent it) and handling a stressed cat.

Selected Points and Surprises

A small amount of stress is good because cats can learn from these moments (including how to be stress resilient! 😉 )

Cats need patience, but going too slow can also lead to frustration and stress.

Over-stroking is a cause of stress for a cat.

It nearly broke my heart when I learned that cats don’t need physical contact as much as humans do. Then again, my own cat shows signs (sometimes) that she wants or appreciates a stroke. But I have learned that there’s a limit.

There’s such a thing as “cat friendly sticky tape” which can be placed at on the edge of the dinner table to deter cats from jumping up and begging for food (or stealing it, if it’s my brother’s cat; my cat doesn’t show this kind of behaviour at all. Maybe our dinner table is ‘naturally’ sticky…! 😉 )

Peace, Patience and Understanding

I hoped to come away from this course with some practical tips on how to catch a stressed cat during an animal rescue. Until now it’s been using stiff, awkward protective leather gloves which are clumsy to use – and which, as I’ve learned, cat’s don’t like being handled with either.

My key learning point is cats need peace, patience and understanding. Peace is obvious. Understanding what stresses cats out means I can try to limit or reduce these stressors so that cats don’t get to that frenzy point. And patience because cats do (or don’t do) things on their own terms and in their own time, especially after frenzy point.

These points make clear to me why it’s so difficult to deal with cats on a rescue! Indeed, Kirsten admitted that dealing with cats in rescue situations would be very difficult! We might be busy with a lot of rescue calls lined up for us, but we’re not on a tight schedule. But that said, inherently we usually arrive when the cat is already stressed, and there isn’t always all the time available that a cat needs.

On the flip side, I have all the time in the world for my own cat, and with the knowledge I’ve gleaned from Kirsten, I hope I can make her life better!

Hearty Acknowledgements!

Many thanks again to Kirsten at Tinley Gedrags Therapie voor Dieren for giving the workshop, Stichting Dierenlot Academie for organising and making it available, and Dierenambulance Nederrijn for letting me volunteer there so I’m allowed on the course! 🙂