Composure

Our cat was a feral rescue we got as a kitten. She has spent the last 8 years indoors and spends a majority of her day sleeping, hiding, and running when you want to snuggle, pet, or just show any small amount of affection. We typically see her twice a day when she demands to be fed. Typically an hour or two before it's her designated feeding time. She has had a couple of big moves and suffers from terrible anxiety. When she was a kitten she endured a 17 hour drive without eating or drinking anything and cried the entire time. It was heartbreaking. She hid for a week straight. Then a few years later we had a very short distance move and the stress from that made her even more nervous and less trusting. She was finally getting comfortable being out during the day and about that time we found out we were going to be moving to Hawaii. Instantly memories of her distressed crying for the majority of a 17 hour drive came flashing back and I talked to the Veterinarian about our options to make the flight possible. She was going to be flying in the cabin and I knew if she was under severe distress there was a possibility she couldn't fly. Plus I didn't want to subject others to the awful sounds of those throaty cries. The Vet said that we could use an antihistamine to make her sleepy as airlines don't allow animals to be "drugged" and seemingly out of it. I really didn't like the sound of attempting to give our family pet a medication designated for humans but heard it was quite successful for many in long distance moves and flights. Well it didn't work. I tried every recommendation the Vet and internet had to offer on getting our cat to eat a small amount of the antihistamine and all it resulted in was our cat being under so much stress she was literally foaming at the mouth. Then she didn't trust me and if I fed her at meal times she wouldn't eat. It was very sad and I felt terrible. It was then that I began researching homeopathic remedies to ease some of cat's tension and make her less jumpy and more trusting. She isn't a vicious cat, and many who have ever came over often forget we even have a cat until she makes a cameo appearance in a social media photo. We've had people stay for a week and never saw her. We used to make her wear a collar with a bell just so we knew she was still around. I ended up with these and a couple other items in the shopping cart in an attempt to make the upcoming move more tolerable for our fluffy feline. I began giving her the recommended 1-2 per day with her daily feeding schedule a couple weeks prior to our move. We noticed a change almost immediately. She was no longer rushing around trying to hide if someone acknowledged her fluffy presence, and was sleeping right in the middle of the entire family. Usually she only trusts my husband and myself and our child are shunned. The Vet said we could likely give her more than the recommended dose on highly stressful days and she would be okay. She is 17+lbs so the morning of the move I gave her two treats right away, then one prior to boarding and one every 2-4 hours depending how much she was moving around. She was easy to take out of the carrier for TSA (Using a leash and harness in case she panicked and fled) and easy to put back in. She didn't meow the entire day, and moved around a few times on the flight. I gave her another treat prior to her being taken to be checked at the animal quarantine station after getting off our flight and they said she was very calm. A little nervous but didn't try to run or hide. Big life events are often stressful for pets. I wish I would have found these much earlier in her life because I feel like she has spent so much time hiding away. These have given her new life and she can often be found snuggling up with our 6 year old or making sure she's right in the line of activity so she can get all the pets! These were a life saver during our move and we still give them to her because she likes them and it makes her more at ease. They make her a little sleepier than usual but she now prefers to cuddle up instead of slinking off under a bed or in some dark corner hidden away from sight. We no longer have the collar on her as she makes sure she is seen at all times of the day. I highly recommend these treats! Our cat hears the sound of the bag and will come running up purring for a treat! These do have a bit of a vitamin like smell to them, but our cat doesn't seem to mind that at all. When we purchased a larger bag of treats some of them were harder than others and we just broke them into smaller pieces. They are a bit larger in size than typical cat treats so if you have an older cat or a cat who has a hard time chewing I recommend breaking the treats into smaller bits and you could even try mixing with wet food. These have changed the dynamic in our house so much as we all are able to provide lots of pets and loves to our fluffy feline now that she's more relaxed. Definitely give these a try! I know that these may not be ideal for all cats, but they're at least worth a try!

Update 11/3/2020: I'm cancelling my subscription to this product. Over the last three monthly deliveries the quality has steeply declined. Each delivery has come more hard and stale. Where my cat eagerly glomped them down in during the first few months, she is now flat-out is refusing to eat them because she is having a hard time chewing them. I've noticed a problem when I break them in half for her, so it's not just her. They used to break apart cleanly because they were soft chews. Now? Not so much. They tend to crumble because they are hard. So, yeah, the quality has declined a lot. Three stars because she used to love them and it used to work for her, but they are useless if she can't chew and eat them. ---end of edit--- Update 6/8/2020: My foster cat got adopted! I passed these chews along to the adopter and let her know how I was using them. The adopter didn't use them - at all. Now I'm not saying that the chews were essential, but in addition to the stress of the move, she also lost a calming agent. My girl freaked out. When the adopter brought her back she officially became a foster fail. She is sleeping peacefully beside me as MY adopted former colony cat. She's still skittish when there are loud noises and still seeks out places to hide occasionally, but she's mostly calm and happy. I'm going to give partial credit to the chews, which she loves. ---End of edit I'm fostering a former colony cat during the pandemic. She's very skittish and human shy. Noises scare her. I purchased this with the attitude of "Why not? It certainly can't hurt." Over the past month or two I noticed major improvements in her behavior. She's now at the point where she's lolling in a chair and softly batting our hands to be petted now. I was very proud of all our efforts to calm her and give her a safe space when she needs it. Then I forgot to give her one of the VetriScience Calming Chews when she came out as she normally does in the morning. She did not want to be petted and behaved skittishly. Eventually, she went to her 'safe space' behind a chair. She hid the entire day and only came out very late at night. The next morning I gave her a chew and was able to enjoy her company for most of the day. I really think that with all herbal remedies, it varies from animal to animal. But, it has made a huge difference in the way our cat lives in a short amount of time.

These definitely work. Getting your cat to eat it might not work though. I tried to give it to a rescue that was flying out to her new owner, she wouldn't eat it. The whole reason I ordered them was for her. So, I tried it with my 2 male rescues that hate each other. They both gobbled it up and wanted more. About 20 minutes later they were sitting a few feet apart and not growling at each other. Effects seemed to wear off after about an hour and a half. I fed them each 1. So these work but not all cats like it. Maybe they could improve the flavor or something. They also stink REALLY bad.

I want to start by saying what every cat owner knows: just because my cat refused it, doesn't mean your cat won't love it. But they ask for reviews, so I am going to tell of my experience. I have a cat, about 8 years old, who occasionally goes on "nervous jags". During that time, she will throw up everything, every time she eats. Sometimes for several days. I have the Felliway on in the bedroom, where she spends most of her time; I keep the door shut so she isn't bothered by another cat; and I go in and try to talk softly, and gentle her down. I cannot pet her, because during this time, she does not want it, although she usually does like to be petted. I have taken her to the vet a few times, and she gets a B1 shot, and whatver else they do, and then I pay over $200 for the privilege. So I am trying now to handle this myself, since I know it is nothing physical. I bought this because she usually loves to have treats, and I figured this was better than trying any pill, which would cause a fight. So I got them today. She has been pretty good all day, and seems calmer. I took one, and let her smell it; she seemed interested, but: my first problem: it was too big. She prefers small bites. So I took the little "fish" and twisted off the tail, and broke the body in half, and laid it down in front of her. She sniffed each part very carefully, looked up at me in disbelief, and then spend the next 90 seconds trying to bury them. Walked away in indignation, if you get my drift, and as a cat owner, I know you do. k Your cat may like them; I realize that. But be prepared to find out it doesn't, as well.

I couldn’t be happier with the results I’ve seen in my young cat. My kitty is a former feral who decided to become a house cat. After the first few weeks happily settling in, he began to develop extremely hyperactive and disruptive habits - constant roaming, vocalizing, breaking into cabinets & drawers, food obsession, and just could never settle. Even the slightest noise would wake him from a nap and he’d come running to investigate. His nervous system was so hyperactive after moving out of survival mode and into the chill, quiet house cat life. I saw results after the first chew. Now over a week in (with 2 chews per day), he’s a completely different cat. Quiet, calm, purring, and finally enjoying long naps. No longer phased by typical household noises, and his rather raccoon-like habits of ransacking the kitchen and constantly seeking food has significantly diminished. His calmness has also allowed him to bond so much more closely with my other kitty - they now cuddle, groom each other, play together, and sleep together. Like others, the edibility of the chew is questionable on its own. With how food motivated he is, he did gobble it down for the first few days without issue. But he soon lost interest. This really isn’t an issue for us, because it’s easy to crumble the chew and mix it into his wet food at meal times. I’m not yet sure if this will be a longterm supplement for him or only a supportive aid for a few months while his nervous system continues calibrating into the chill kitty lifestyle. Either way, I’m so glad I researched these ingredients and trusted the process. He’s so much happier, and so am I. 😻

My cat ate 2 of the treats the first time I gave them to him. The next day, he would not even touch the treats. The following day, I put the treats in a flavored pill pocket to entice him to eat them. He still wouldn't. I tried another pill masking wrap in a different flavor and he still wouldn't eat them. I don't know if they upset his stomach or he just didn't like the way they made him feel but he has not eaten them since that first day. It's possible he doesn't like the texture (they're kind of hard) or the flavor. He tends to only like fish. Since he only had 1 dose, I can't really say if it worked or not. I had high hopes for this treat because of the colostrum - which I read helps calm pets better than treats without this ingredient. I bought this for a cat who is spraying, hoping that it would help calm his anxiety. He is already neutered and has been for a long time. We have multiple cats, so we're thinking that he is anxious or just trying to mark his territory. We have tried a pheromone diffuser and it has not helped either. This was the last resort before going to medication. I have also tried the VetriScience Hairball treats for my cats and none of them really seemed to like those much either so not sure if it's due to the flavor or texture of this brand. All my cats seem to like fish flavored products and dislike chicken.

These treats were on a list that my vet recommended for my male cat who has FLUTD/FIC. Calming ingredients like colostrum, thiamine and l-theanine are good for reducing stress and anxiety but I'm giving them to all of my cats. They arrived in good condition, my cats like them and they seem to work pretty well. Right now two of them are sleeping side by side which doesn't usually happen. They do have a strong smell, but I don't believe human judgement of the smell of cat food or treats is relevant. Most of it smells kinda gross, but it's not for us. Cats can be picky eaters just like people. This is a trial and error situation. They aren't squishy but breaking them up into pieces isn't difficult so it's easy to make them to a chewable size. There haven't been any digestive side effects so far. I will definitely be including these treats in their daily food intake.

I use this and Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements Calming Care Cat Supplements (powder) on my feral cat. It has calmed him down so much. He is much more relaxed. He still has so much energy and has to play hard but is not as aggressive toward my other cat. I do 1/2 pack of powder in the AM and the other 1/2 pack in the evening. I also do 1/2 chew in the AM and 1/2 chew in the PM.