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Valerian, an herb with a soothing effect
The day after I posted my article on laser declawing, I received an email from my friend and former roommate Becca. She wanted to share a laser declawing success story; a friend of hers signed her cat up for the surgery and it went very well. The cat was able to jump around the house the same day as the surgery as if everything was normal, and because the procedure did not remove the cat’s knuckles, it can still catch things like houseflies that traditionally declawed cats cannot.
I’m excited to hear firsthand that laser declawing works so well. I’m also glad because Becca had more good news for me. She wanted to suggest that I write an article about pheromone therapy for pets. Her current living situation includes the cat she grew up with and a cat she adopted just before she and I moved in together.
Leila, the cat she had while we lived together, has been stressed out and clearly unhappier living with the childhood cat than she was when she lived with just Becca and me. To try helping Leila feel calmer, Becca purchased a pheromone collar for her. Ever since then, Becca says, Leila is happier and more playful than she’s ever been since moving in with another cat. So Becca, thanks for the tip and this one’s for you.
Dogs and cats both naturally produce pheromones, those scents undetectable to the human nose that dogs and cats use to mark their territory. According to vetinfo.com, pheromones have a calming effect on dogs and cats because pets spread their pheromones to claim what’s theirs. They feel calm when surrounded by their own scent, because that tells them they are on safe, familiar ground.
Pheromone therapy marketed for pets uses natural products combined with chemicals to replicate the scents of canine and feline pheromones. The products usually contain the herb Valerian, which is known for its calming effect.
You must first prepare your house before using pheromone therapy. Get rid of any pet urine odors. Even if you can’t smell the urine your pets might be able to, so if there’s a spot in your house where you know your pet had an accident, make sure you use an odor-removing and not just an odor-masking cleaner to break down the scent. Even a household item like apple cider vinegar will do the job.
You need to clean your pet’s previous scents from your home before using the pheromone therapy so that the new pheromones are the predominant smell. Your pet will always react the best to its own scent, so you want to make sure you’ve gotten rid of that before attempting the pheromone therapy.
Pheromone therapy is most commonly used in collar form. It’s popular both because it is closest to the pet’s nose and because the collars tend to last the longest. However, you can also purchase plug-ins and sprays. Those, however, especially the sprays, need constant reusing and replacing. Sprays should be utilized in all of the pet’s most frequented rooms, especially those containing its bed, toys, or scratching posts, and need to be re-sprayed every day.
If you have a nervous pet, or one that seems uptight or ill-at-ease, consider trying pheromone therapy. Depending on the cause of the pet’s distress it might not be the sole solution, but the calming effect will help your pet no matter the circumstance.
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*(This image by taliesin is licensed under the morgueFile Free License.)