Feliway Plug-ins--Safe?

[DragonsFly]

Do we know if it is safe to use a Feliway "Comfort Zone" plug-in in the same room (large room, well ventilated, but still) as a crabitat?

[curlysister]

I don't know if there is an official yes or no. But I know I used them in the house, but not in the same room as the crabs, with no issues.

[DragonsFly]

Thanks, that helps some, anyway.

[wodesorel]

I've also used them around the crabs and my fish. They're pheromones rather than an essential oil so it shouldn't be harmful, but Feliway makes me sneeze like the dickens so there is something irritating in it.

[gunstreet.girl]

I've also used them around the crabs and my fish. They're pheromones rather than an essential oil so it shouldn't be harmful, but Feliway makes me sneeze like the dickens so there is something irritating in it.

I also have used feliway diffusers in the same room as my crabs in the past with no ill effects. Apparently, Wode, the paraffin-type oil used in the diffusers can tickle the nose of some sensitive folks, or cause reactions in some people with severe asthma, so maybe that’s what got to you?

[DragonsFly]

Thanks, wodes and gunstreet! I think I really need to use it right now and it does seem to be helping (and I'm in a small apartment so neither the crab tank nor the cats can be isolated from each other), so I'm relieved to hear that it probably isn't going to hurt the crabs.

[curlysister]

I am happy to see that there are so many of us in the 'problem cat owner club'!

[gunstreet.girl]

I am happy to see that there are so many of us in the 'problem cat owner club'!

Yeah.. I have two cats in different stages of renal failure, one of whom also suffers from idiopathic cystitis and overgrooms, and is really sensitive to medications (she nearly died last year when our former vet prescribed her an anti-anxiety medication), so i’m always on the lookout for more natural calming aids.

Do we get t-shirts? Is there a cool secret handshake??

[DragonsFly]

lol I know the feeling. My cats are "ditch-babies," thrown out by some nice person (not!) in the ditch near our house; they and their mother were so starved we thought some might not make it; mother also positive for FIV. I decided to let them stay together so the kittens could keep nursing, feed the mother well and treat everybody for their many issues. Once the kittens were able to be weaned, we found a home for the mother with a woman who already had one FIV+ kitty, then kept testing the kittens; they never tested positive. But the runt of the litter (the one the vet said really was in danger of not surviving), although a marvelous little boy, has lots of problems (asthma, digestive issues, and some kind of issue that makes him attack his own tail--not just in a "cute," "aw, look at him playing with his tail!" way, but literally biting the end of his tail so hard that he wounds it--so the Feliway is among the array of things we have instituted to try to eliminate that self-injuring behavior. It does seem to help, so unless somebody here said it was seriously toxic for the crabs, I plan to keep using it!

[wodesorel]

some kind of issue that makes him attack his own tail--not just in a "cute," "aw, look at him playing with his tail!" way, but literally biting the end of his tail so hard that he wounds it

Hyperesthesia, thought to be a type of seizure disorder but they really don't know what causes it. There are medications that can help as well, if the Feliway isn't enough.

[gunstreet.girl]

lol I know the feeling. My cats are "ditch-babies," thrown out by some nice person (not!) in the ditch near our house; they and their mother were so starved we thought some might not make it; mother also positive for FIV.

Zooey says thank you for rescuing the little darlings. So many garbage humans out there, it’s always comforting to hear stories that balance out the evil.



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[DragonsFly]

Hyperesthesia, thought to be a type of seizure disorder but they really don't know what causes it. There are medications that can help as well, if the Feliway isn't enough.

Yes, the vet here thought it might be something like that, or possibly nerve pain, so we have tried Gabapentin. It seemed to help for a while but then I think he developed tolerance to it, as the behavior broke back through despite upping his dose up to twice a day. I've backed him back down to just one at night (instead of one in the morning and at night) and added the Feliway Comfort Zone plug-in and twice-a-day rub-downs with chamomile tea, of all things. The tea rub-downs actually seem to be more effective than anything else so far. Go figure!

[curlysister]

LOL, definitely a secret hand shake!
My previous cat started plucking out his fur after I had to put him in a boarding kennel for 2 weeks. The at the age of 14, he started peeing on the floor if he didn't get what he wanted - like if we didn't let him out, or if his food dish was empty etc. We tried Amytriptyline, then eventually Royal Canin Calm food, Anxitane, and Feliway plug-ins. That combo kept him happy enough, and he was doing really well for about the last year of his life. Given all the trouble he had caused us over the years, we never expected him to just die peacefully in his sleep at the age of 17 on the futon he had 'claimed' as his.