Spring is in the air; the flowers are blooming and the outdoor cats are on the prowl.

It is the time of year when vet clinics can expect emergency calls about stressed cats acting out. There is another name for this time of year: it is Blocked-Cat Season!

What does this look like, to a pet parent at home? Click here for more information on urinary problems in cats.

Spring is also the time of year that vet clinics often get calls about cats just acting strange. They might seem agitated when looking out the window (tail thrashing, fur around the scruff standing up, vocalizing more than usual).

Maybe they have started some destructive claw-sharpening maneuvers on the living room furniture or carpets.

You might discover that your cat is choosing to eliminate in a corner of the basement instead of his litter box.

Of course, it is always a good idea to have your cat checked by a vet if their behavior changes suddenly. Cats tend to be good at hiding it when they don’t feel well, and often don’t show overt symptoms until they really don’t feel well.

But sometimes these behavior changes don’t indicate a medical issue so much as show that your cat is feeling stressed. Luckily, there are things you can do to reduce stress, if that is the primary problem.

You can help your stressed cat!

First, try and figure out WHAT is causing the cat to feel so stressed, if you can. Click here to see a partial list of feline stressors.

Second, once you think you have an idea of what might be causing your cat to react, try to get rid of the problem. It is not always an option, of course. If your cat is upset about a new addition to the household, for instance, they might just have to learn how to deal with it. Read on, all is not lost.

Third, if you can’t figure out what is causing the problem (and have had a vet check for medical issues) or you know what it is but can’t get rid of the problem (you are not returning the new couch or sending the infant back with the stork), then try a pheromone-releasing product or a stress-reducing nutraceutical (over-the-counter nutritional supplement meant for a therapeutic purpose) like Zylkene. They help, and sometimes they help a lot.

Of course, stress in cats is not limited to springtime. But there is a reason why vets often see an uptick in these problems in the Spring…and it happened to one of mine.

One April a few years ago, I knew MC seemed more stressed than usual (he is a high-stress cat under normal circumstances). He is also, after all, The Worst Cat in the World.

MC’s stress lead directly to life-threatening health problems. He spent several days in hospital and had a major operation. He survived. We got lucky, there are no two ways about it.

Why was my cat stressed?

MC healed well and came home to a long recovery, but we still hadn’t figured out what had caused him to block. Until one I was leaving the house and saw this:

This beautiful ball of fluff is my neighbors darling cat Belle, and she had adopted my tree as her favorite place to birdwatch.

No wonder MC was so upset! He had been watching her taunt him from the window. He must have been thinking “How dare she trespass on my property!” It doesn’t even matter that he is an indoor-only cat and has never been in the front yard.

I had a quick discussion with my neighbor and Ms Belle was confined to her own yard. The primary problem was solved (this time) and stress reduction followed for MC.

If your have a stressed cat in the springtime, check around and see if there are outdoor cats hanging around.

As the weather gets nicer, the outdoor cats in my neighborhood become more visible. In Portland it sometimes seems like it rains kittens and cats in the Spring.