Cats are highly sensitive to environmental change and social stress — recognizing anxiety and providing environmental stability are key welfare interventions.
Cat anxiety is frequently missed because the signs are so different from human expressions of stress. A cat that stops using the litter box, begins over-grooming, or starts vomiting may be communicating profound psychological distress that manifests as physical symptoms before behavioral changes are noticeable to owners. The domestic cat evolved as a semi-solitary species, making multi-cat households inherently more stressful than owners realize. Welfare-focused management of cat anxiety requires identifying stressors, providing adequate spatial resources to prevent competition, creating stable routines, and offering predictable safe spaces. Environmental enrichment and pheromone products provide additional support. Anxiolytic medication can be life-changing for severely anxious cats and should not be withheld on philosophical grounds.