You might enjoy the fireworks tonight, but kitty may be hiding under the bed. There’s a new solution for helping cats through stressful situations, like fireworks, storms or other loud events, vet visits, car trips, and grooming. It’s the Thundershirt – an invention that’s been used for years to reduce anxiety in dogs — now available for cats, and it’s proving to be quite a useful tool.
The Thundershirt is a little vest that applies gentle, constant pressure to your cat’s torso, calming them and reducing anxiety. According to the Thundershirt website, “anxiety experts believe that pressure has a calming effect on the nervous system and may release calming hormones like endorphins or oxytocins.” Using pressure to calm and relieve anxiety is common practice: parents swaddle newborn babies, pressure has been used to relieve anxiety in people with autism and with children having certain behavioral problems, and vets and trainers have used gentle pressure when working with animals for years.
Here is a testimonial from a cat guardian who has had success with the Thundershirt:
“Thundershirt has been successful in eliminating Jack’s vocalizing in the car and at home, and reduced hiding at home. His symptoms of fear during noisy events, such as vacuuming and thunder, have been completely eliminated. He will stay in the same room now and even watch me vacuum. During thunder, he calmly sits beside me and will even sleep stretched out on my bed. He has expressed a much calmer nature while wearing his Thundershirt. I am so glad to have it.”
Lynnette
Lithonia, Georgia
The company gave me a Thundershirt to test with my cats. I’m trying it with Andy, who is generally high-strung, and Ratso, who is having some anxiety around the new foster kittens (she’s not a fan). You need to get your cat used to wearing the vest, which can take a little training. At first, you may get the “Freeze & Flop” where the cat becomes immobilized and falls over, but the Thundershirt website has excellent guidelines for working with your cat to get the maximum benefit from the product. Once the cats have become accustomed to wearing the Thundershirt, they can move around easily and symptoms are reduced immediately. Check out the FAQ page on the Thundershirt website for lots of useful information. I’m still getting Andy and Ratso used to it and will keep you posted on their progress.
The Thundershirt is easy to put on and can be adjusted to apply varying amounts of pressure as needed. It is made of lightweight breathable material and can be machine washed. This is a simple, drug-free solution for reducing anxiety in cats, and it’s an affordable solution, too, at just $39.95.
ENTER TO WIN!
One lucky reader is going to win a Thundershirt to try with their cat! The winner will get to specify the size (S, M, L). To enter, please leave a comment on this post telling us why you need a Thundershirt. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced on July 11, 2012. One entry per person. This giveaway is limited to addresses in the US and Canada.
July 8th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Our blind cat could use this.
July 8th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Works wonders on my dog. I bet this would calm my cat, Eddie down… if I could get it on him!
July 9th, 2012 at 2:02 am
Then I could my cat Thundercat!!! I liked that cartoon.
July 9th, 2012 at 2:27 am
I would need the large for my cat pooh bear. He is scared of loud noises like thunderstorms he runs and hides.
July 9th, 2012 at 4:41 am
My beautiful cat jessie needs this as she seems a bit stressed out with my other cats
July 9th, 2012 at 5:46 am
Great idea….. if you can get it on ‘em.
July 9th, 2012 at 6:50 am
I WOULD LOVE TO WIN ONE OF THESE FOR MY CAT “BP”…HE IS SO SCARED OF EVERYTHING AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE COMPANY.
July 9th, 2012 at 7:37 am
Big Bad Baby Twinkle sez: “Cee Cee needs one fur shure!!”
July 9th, 2012 at 8:36 am
The thundershirt worked wonderfully for a little dog that I was watching last year, and I’d love to try one on Jasmine. She gets so anxious when we go to the vet that she’ll be sick for days afterwards. After seeing the thundershirt help the dog with separation anxiety, fear of thunder and excessive barking, I’m eager to give this a try for Jaz.
July 9th, 2012 at 10:41 am
I would love to win and give it to a great friend that really needs it much more than me.
July 9th, 2012 at 10:42 am
My friend’s cat is ALWAYS on edge. He’s afraid of visitors, loud noises, new foods, and even rearranged furniture! He’s on anti-anxiety meds but I know she wants to find a good alternative. Maybe a Thundershirt would do the trick….
July 9th, 2012 at 11:00 am
My Licorice could use that
July 9th, 2012 at 11:38 am
My Harper would love this! She is a hurricane Katrina survivor, so she is understandably a little on the shy/scared side. She is super sweet and loving, but gets scared of loud noises such as fireworks and thunder.
July 9th, 2012 at 11:50 am
I could see this being a really good thing for my lil guy!
July 9th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
We recently got a puppy who is really sweet and not at all aggressive with the cats. One of our 2 cats quickly accepted him within a few days, the other who is much more nervous still hisses and growls at him for just being in the room (months later). I would hope something like this could calm her and they can learn to be buddies.
July 9th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I have a foster cat that scratches, licks, and bites his skin raw when he gets stressed. Maybe this could help him!
July 9th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Puggles could use this.
July 9th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
thundershirt for the win!!!!! my cat jimmu is a scaredy cat and runs from everything. it gets so bad that he urinates outside the litter box. whether it be me laughing out loud, the doorbell ringing or his brother playing with him he always seems on high alert and stressed out. he tries to compensate with overeating and apparently not using the bathroom in the proper places but i love it if he didnt run away or act scared all the time. hes a big boy and needs a large size. i think a constant hug would help him out.
July 9th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
This is a great product, and would definitely comfort my little guy in stressful situations!
July 10th, 2012 at 12:59 am
I would love to win of these for one of my senior girls. She was rescued as a severely traumatized, very abused/neglected adult 15 years ago; I adopted her when I knew no one else would given her extreme total fear of humans. To this day she still cannot be approached directly, though she will allow me to pet/caress her, but only in limited fashion. Perhaps this vest might help calm her; nothing else I’ve tried over the years has helped.
July 10th, 2012 at 6:29 am
My dog daughter has a thundershirt. These things are amazing! I bought two for my dog nephews in FL that are both afraid of lightening. Works like a charm for them. One of my cat sons that is afraid of anything that moves would surely benefit from a thundershirt!
July 10th, 2012 at 9:16 am
We just moved and one of our cats won’t come out from under the covers. This might help with the anxiety!
July 10th, 2012 at 9:37 am
This is amazing! I have a five year old bombay who is sometimes scared of his own shadow and this would be the perfect thing to have since he and I are moving in two weeks.
July 10th, 2012 at 10:03 am
My cat Mika definitely needs this. She can’t handle car rides.
July 10th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Calypso might benefit from one of these.
July 10th, 2012 at 11:33 am
I would love to try this on both of my cats when taking them to the vet. They get so stressed with the car ride it would be great if this would help calm them. My boy is also quite a chicken and is afraid of loud noises, strangers, etc. Maybe this could help him be a little less anxious.
July 10th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
My cat could definitely use this. Last time I took her the vet she completely freaked out. She was growling, scratched me and started batting at our other cat.
July 10th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
My cat goes w/me everywhere, most the time she’s calm, but sometimes stressful situations arise and this would really help a lot.
July 10th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
my cat is so neurotic, hope i win ..
July 10th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
My 7 year old male cat (Johnny Rocket) is desperately afraid of thunder. Whenever it thunders, he runs to the basement and hides. Sometimes I can’t find him! When he finally comes up, his eyes are big and he walks very low to the ground for a couple hours after the storm. My baby needs a thunder shirt!
July 10th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
My Bengal cat screeches loudly when he is confined to a carrier. We have to take him on a flight in December. Due to a heart murmur, we don’t want to medicate him. On the other hand, we don’t want to be thrown off the plane at 35,000 feet!
July 10th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
ahhh! awesome giveaway!!!
July 10th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
I would love to try this for my cat who gets nervous when I visit my mother’s house that has a dog.
July 12th, 2012 at 11:09 am
My cat (freaky)Earl could use this, does it really work? Could you really get it on a freaky cat?!
Maybe we should make a web site about our freaky cats and solutions.
Also, if the thunder shirt is a great solution…..cause there are instructions on how to keep trying the thunder shirt.
July 17th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
My cat is huge and he would love this, I think. He loves attention and pets – he’d take them 24/7.