A group of pet experts have shared seven little-known signs of stress and upset in cats, in order to help them better understand their four-legged friends.
The Upper Canada Animal Hospital took to their ever-popular TikTok page to share some lesser-known facts about stress found in cats. The account, which has 338,000 followers and over 13 million likes, posted videos informing pet owners about how to look out for warning signs their animal may be a little under the weather as well as when vet attention is required.
Informative videos range from heatstroke warnings, how to check for bloat, and toxic food that can fatally injure your dog or cat.
This time around, the vets were put on the spot to name one sign of stress in cats, and seven of them came up trumps.
According to the video, these are the seven signs of stress in cats:
- Over-grooming themselves
- Decreased appetite
- Panting when they aren't hot
- Inappropriate urination
- Hiding
- Unexpected aggression
- Increased vocalisation
One of the vets urged people to look out for the panting, as she added: "One sign of a stressed cat is panting.
"Cats only pant when they're extremely hot, extremely stressed or there's a serious illness going on.
"If your cat is not hot and not stressed, get them to a veterinarian immediately."
Comments flooded in under the video, thanking the vets for their advice.
One TikTok user wrote: "Agree with all but the vocalisation cause I have a bengal. He’s not stressed. He just likes to scream at me."
Another said: "A good sign of stress is drooling. Mine ONLY drools when she’s at the vet or when it’s time for meds."
And a third wrote: "Our cat has gone to the vet 4 times for panting. Our vet has examined every inch of this cat 10x over. Diagnosis: raised with dogs."
More comments read: "My cat developed cystitis from the stress of seeing outdoor male cats eye to eye through the windows. Symptoms appeared before lab tests showed probs."
And one said: "I have a cat who is inappropriately urinating and we have a vet app next week. She isn't gonna like going but gotta make sure my baby is okay."
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