How to help reduce your cat anxiety using ThunderShirt

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I was abandoned when I was a kitten. Obviously, it did not kill me but it did impact some of my overall behavior. I have a long list of anxiety and fear, from being terrified of going outside, being afraid of strangers, to being extremely sensitive to sudden and loud noises, and the list goes on.

It’s okay though because Human has accepted me and loves me for all that I am. However, being anxious is not an healthy state of mind – not even for an indoor cat. So Human thought that we should try a ThunderShirt for Cats.

Back in April, Human ordered the L-sized ThunderShirt for Cats from Amazon UK because at that time there were only S- and M-sizes available on both Amazon US and Amazon DE. A few days later my ThunderShirt arrived.

First of, Human read the ThunderShirt for Cats fitting instructions but we did not follow the instructions step by step because I am already used to wearing cat’s apparel from harnesses, life jacket, winter clothes to cat costumes.

Luckily, I did not experience the so-called “Freeze & Flop” – some cats will behave as if they are immobilized and may fall over when first wearing a ThunderShirt. Having have worn cat’s apparel before made me less sensitive to wearing my ThunderShirt. So, I could and can just do whatever I like to do wearing my ThunderShirt, like:

Keeping an eye on my neighbourhood through the windows. Someone has to do it, right?

Playing and jumping on my cat tree, and trying to destroy it bit by bit. Every. Single. Day. One needs to keep on doing something, right?

Catching summer bugs or at least pretending to catch some on Human’s order because well, she hates those summer bugs.

Watching some more bugs, birds and other creatures on my iPad, which somehow I have not yet managed to catch.

And of course doing the things I love the most, lounging in the sun and snuggling with Human in the afternoons.

Now it is time to reveal whether a ThunderShirt for Cats can help reduce your cat anxiety. If you want to turn your cat into a fearless, adventurous cat like Jesperpus the Norwegian cat, or if you expect some sudden, miraculous changes to your cat’s behaviour, then you will be very disappointed.

But …

Thanks to my ThunderShirt, however, Human has so far noticed these subtle improvements to my anxiety, including:

I am a lot less sensitive to sudden and loud noises. In fact, about two weeks ago I was just observing lots of people who were watching a local music festival that was located in front of our building, through the window without the need to hide under the bed.
I yowl a lot less. Prior to ThunderShirt for Cats, I usually yowled in the middle of the night, or I yowled at anytime of the day to get Human’s immediate intention and food.
I am a lot more calm and at ease if and when Human put me in my front- and backpack to go somewhere together, like going to the vet, to the parks or to window shopping.

In short, I have been wearing my ThunderShirt for almost 2,5 months and have achieved some subtle improvements to my anxiety. Human also got me this orange harness by Nobby (Amazon DE), which looks really great with the Thundershirt.

Now, it is your turn to share your experience using your very own ThunderShirt for Cats in the comment below. Thanks!

Tips from Human: