A Moving Emergency: Pheromones Save the Day!

Problems with the economy have hit nearly everyone hard. We found this in our family when a medical emergency led to a financial hardship for my daughter and son-in-law and after several years of being “empty nesters,” we had the kids move back in until they could get back on their feet.

Moving in wasn’t a big deal. However, they didn’t come alone. They brought along two cats and a ferret.

We already have three dogs and a cat. My husband envisioned the worst case scenario: a house of yowling, unhappy cats.

But we were prepared: We installed a door downstairs so their critters wouldn’t come into contact with our critters; everyone agreed on a litter cleaning schedule to keep odors at bay; and we added one more weapon to our arsenal: Sergeant’s Vetscription Cat Calming Collars.

For several weeks, the kids’ apartment was a flurry of activity as they frantically packed and sorted what would move with them and what would go into storage. Their cats were stressed and the youngest, a female, wouldn’t even poke her head out of hiding. About three days before they moved in with us, I stopped over with the calming collars, explained how to put them on correctly and urged the kids to “give it a try.” I also went home and put one on my fat, lazy and sometimes neurotic tabby, “B.K.,”  as a preventative strike. I knew the extra commotion and the smells of new cats in his house could make him unhappy.

The move went fairly well. We had to do some quick fixes in their new living quarters that required some hammering and commotion. Add to that the uproar involved with moving in furniture and putting big things, like shelving units, back together. Despite the commotion, every time I went downstairs to lend a hand, both new cats readily came out to greet me, meowing for attention and wanting to be petted.

I found out later that that was not the norm. While their older cat, Blue, is generally sociable, the younger cat, Ogee, is extremely timid. The little calico, my daughter said, was known for hiding under the bed, only coming out if the apartment was quiet and there were no visitors.

We are convinced the collars made all the difference in the world. Instead of having three super-stressed cats in the house, all are calm, cool and friendly. B.K. either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that there are two new cats living in his basement, and Blue and Ogee are happily settled in.

What’s the secret? The calming collars contain the pheromone that is used by a nursing mother cat to calm and reassure her kittens. Even though cats may be fully grown, they continue to recognize the pheromone throughout their lives and it provides soothing relief in times of stress, like moving.

The pheromone in the collar remains active for up to 30 days. When that month is up, we will continue to either use the collar, or we’ll switch to a plug-in diffuser, designed to work in a small space. (There’s even a calming spray that can be used in areas like cat carriers or even your car!)

Now that the worst is over, I am thankful that in a time of stress and upheaval, a potential cat crisis was averted. Pheromones proved to be a superhero in our house!