Anxiety is widespread in domestic cats and often undertreated. Pharmacological interventions, used alongside behavioral modification, can significantly improve quality of life for anxious cats.
Anxiety in cats causes prolonged suffering that owners often attribute to behavioral problems rather than welfare issues. A cat that eliminating outside the litter box, hiding, or pulling out fur is signaling distress, not misbehaving. Veterinary behaviorists increasingly recognize that anxious cats deserve the same pharmacological support offered to anxious humans and dogs. Medication is not a substitute for environmental modification — removing stressors, improving resource provision, and behavioral modification remain essential — but for genuinely anxious cats, medication can reduce suffering significantly and make behavioral interventions more effective. Side effects of commonly used medications are generally mild and manageable. The cultural resistance to medicating cats for anxiety reflects a misunderstanding of veterinary psychopharmacology rather than evidence-based concern.