Behavioral medication for cats improves welfare when used for genuine anxiety disorders, with appropriate diagnosis and monitoring essential for success.
Feline behavioral pharmacology welfare requires accurate diagnosis of underlying anxiety disorders rather than medicating any undesirable behavior. Cats with genuine chronic anxiety experience ongoing negative emotional states that medication can address - improving welfare, not just behavior. The welfare case for medication is strongest when environmental modification alone has been inadequate and when the underlying problem is clearly anxiety-based. Under-treatment of chronic feline anxiety is a welfare problem that is as significant as over-treatment, and the stigma around medicating cats for behavioral issues should not prevent appropriate therapeutic intervention.