# The power of Feliway, a warning



## maisiecat

For those who don't know, my remaining cat is tiny. She is also very difficult to feed and in spite of many tests at different vets and the RVC hospital we have got nowhere.

From time to time there has been a Feliway plugged in as one vet suggested our other cat might be causing her stress. He is no longer with us, it has been almost a year since he passed and it has made no difference.

Earlier this year a friend was here for a few days to do some work, she has always loved the cuddles and attention, but picked up on his new cat smell from his clothes and belongings and problems began so I put the Feliway on. Her appetite decreased more and more and she became even more picky, it is normal for her so I just did the usual following her around with food etc.She had become very quiet and subdued and I really thought her time had come.

I recently bought a refill and set it up and she virtually stopped eating for 3 days, and after a while I thought it might be the Feliway. I turned it off and she began eating.

She is still picky, she still hates the neighbour's friendly cat, but she is no longer quiet and subdued and has begun eating again.

My point, if you are still with me, is that all the recommendations are for using Feliway for stress etc. but *please be aware that it can make things worse.*


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## leashedForLife

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rather than post this here, have U taken it to Ur own vet or tried to pass it on to the manufacturer? ...
Frankly, 2 swallows do not a summer make, & tho i completely understand Ur own worry & desire to find a culprit in her decreased appetite, etc, Feliway has zero to do with appetite.
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it's a synthetic mimic of the pheromone produced by the CHEEK GLANDS of all cats - which is simply a calming signal, cats rub their cheeks on objects or people that they trust, including 'cats' specifically in my general word 'people'. A cat will cheek the pantslegs, sleeves, hands, face, etc, of a familiar human person, & the face, body, legs, etc, of another cat.
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I would strongly urge U to report this to the maker, to Ur own vet, to a regional authority [in the U-S, we have State Veterinary Offices in every one of the 50 states] & find out if anyone else has made any similar reports. DATA, not anecdote & conjecture, are needed to suss out cause & effect.
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FWIW, none of the many cat-owners i've spoken to who used Feliway have ever reported that it caused / its presence in an airborne diffuser was Co-Incident With a loss of appetite in any of their cats - even undersized, runty, or elderly / underweight cats.
Note that i'm not arguing U didn't see what U saw - only that no one else has ever mentioned "Feliway on" & "appetite down" in over 15-years & many clients.
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## spotty cats

It's not that uncommon for cats to react poorly to Feliway, some will become aggressive, or spray directly onto the plug in or have other symptoms, glad your little girl is feeling better now


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## Erenya

To be honest, I've never seen much effect with feliway, but who knows, maybe your girl is reacting to some compound in it. If she's happier without, then you're right to stop using it. 

You could always try beaphar spot ons, we've had a better result with those and they're a totally different make-up to feliway


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## huckybuck

I am not a fan of feliway other than their "friends" product

Much prefer Pet Remedy which is more calming


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## chillminx

@maisiecat - there could be something in what you say.  I have asthma and can't use Feliway plug-in diffusers in my home because the carrier oil used for the chemicals adversely affected my breathing, giving me a blocked up nose and triggering an asthma attack.

I am not suggesting your cat has asthma, but it is possible the diffuser could have been affecting her sense of smell. If so this could in turn have affected affect her appetite, as cats need to be able to smell their food easily in order to have a good appetite.


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## Soozi

Feiliway has absolutely no effect with my girl! I found it a waste of money tbh! but so many swear by it.


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## Elaine b37

chillminx said:


> @maisiecat - there could be something in what you say.  I have asthma and can't use Feliway plug-in diffusers in my home because the carrier oil used for the chemicals adversely affected my breathing, giving me a blocked up nose and triggering an asthma attack.
> 
> I am not suggesting your cat has asthma, but it is possible the diffuser could have been affecting her sense of smell. If so this could in turn have affected affect her appetite, as cats need to be able to smell their food easily in order to have a good appetite.


This makes perfect sense to me, I have not tried Feliway but can immediately tell if Cody is going to like or even try a new food by his reaction after he sniffs it, it doesn't matter how hungry he is he wont even try food that doesn't pass his sniff test!


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## lorilu

I had good results with feliway plug ins years ago. There was no odor and the purpose I used it for was satisfactory. I had a senior kitty with a lot of health issues. Using the feliway seemed to help her feel more relaxed and improved her appetite. That was 10 years ago.

Recently I bought a new one. It was awful. The smell of it was so strong I could smell it all over the apartment. One of my cats was very spooked by it. She sat two feet away and stared at it and stared at it. I finally took out out and will not use it again.

I do use the spray for vet trips, for that same cat. It does seem to help her, a squirt in her carrier, and I wipe the table down with it at the vet and ask them to spray their hands and lower arms. Doing that has also curtailed the hissing from the other cats at vet smell, when she comes home.


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## lorilu

Elaine b37 said:


> This makes perfect sense to me, I have not tried Feliway but can immediately tell if Cody is going to like or even try a new food by his reaction after he sniffs it, it doesn't matter how hungry he is he wont even try food that doesn't pass his sniff test!


Cats often don't recognize a new food as food and need time to get used to something new. Instant rejection does not always mean complete rejection forever. There are methods and steps you can take to help.

When I was converting to raw, my one cat refused to even g near a dish with raw in it, even with her canned right next to it. It took months for her to recognize raw as food. She loves it now. : )

@maisiecat what kind of foods are you feeding your little girl? What methods have you tried, to increase appetite? I had a young cat with inappetence, I despaired of ever getting her to eat enough. After turning to a raw diet I've never had a problem with her again.


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## lorilu

@maisiecat you might try Rescue Remedy for pets to help reduce her stress. Like all things, it won't work for every pet, but it has worked wonderfully for my kitty (who reacted so negatively to the new feliway diffuser). It might even help her appetite.

Oddl yenough, her name is Mazy cat. : )


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## maisiecat

Thanks everyone, I will try to answer you all in one post, and try not to miss anything.

I have used Feliway since 2005 for my other cat, he was a 'difficult' boy. I was never sure if it made any difference really but sometimes he would be a bit less aggressive, it never helped with his peeing everywhere but we were never sure if it was a medical or behavioural issue due to whatever had happened to him before he came to us. The vet at the time suspected nerve damage. I continued using it.

Re: asthma, she doesn't have that, but he did, apparently, although he was eventually diagnosed with polyps on his soft palate which meant it may have been wrongly diagnosed the first time.She sometimes has a cough, also no diagnosis, it comes and goes and she sometimes will vomit, often stops. No idea why. She does have a heart condition, according to the vet college, an unusual one, I declined to have her operated on just so they can experiment on her and probably kill her in the process.

Eating: she has only ever eaten a full serving of food on a handful of occasions in the last 8 years.She has a tendency to vomit and then stop eating for a while, resulting in me having a stock of all the foods she 'might' like and following her around with them/wiping them on her nose to get her to lick it, etc. until she takes something. It hasn't been a complete refusal to eat since the last 2 Feliways, it has been a lack of interest and consuming a little taste here and there, not helped by no longer being able to use Whiskas milk since the new recipe. As soon as I had turned the diffuser off and the air had cleared she actually ate the stuff that passes for meat content instead of licking off the gravy and leaving it.

Have tried the steps to convert to new food, mixing it results in refusal, putting a choice in the same bowl works in as much as she will decide if she fancies either or both, and will lick the jelly, gravy or mousse off. On really bad days I have sat with her and stuck my fingers in to a bowl of watered down slop, tapped it on her nose and held my fingers in front of her to be licked until I can get a couple of blobs into her.

She won't eat raw, I have tried, she vomited and refused to eat at all and on a Bank Holiday weekend when the vet was closed, we ended up at the vet hospital. She has had extensive tests at 2 different vets and again at the hospital.Our vet has said to just give her what she will eat. I have worked through the Zooplus list, and all the UK foods and have a cupboard full of anything she has shown an interest in, ever. I have bowls of dry food in different rooms for her, she will wait until I put one out that she fancies. She IS fussy but always has been. She 'might' have IBS, none of the vets knows for sure but getting her to eat is the main concern rather than finding the most suitable diet.

There has been a change in Feliway products for sure, I thought it was just the diffuser and refill designs but it is making me think there is something different with the make up of the liquid. A while ago I discovered that the original design was being discontinued and had to buy the 'new style' one, which came with a different shape refill, a taller one. I continued with that in the hall and the old ones elsewhere, all was fine. I went to replace the refill and discovered that there had been a problem with the new style ones and they were no longer available so after a battle with Feliway they sent me a new one, a complete diffuser and refil, and that must have been when it started to affect her.

I use the spray for vet trips and have also used it around the house, I haven't bought any recently, that may also be different now. It doesn't stop her vomiting on car trips to the vet. I find the spray will knock her out if I am not careful. I am assuming that as she is so tiny it will affect her more than an average sized cat, but the new plug ins seem to be very strong.

Yes, I know what Feliway is, just because someone hasn't heard of anyone having a problem with it does not mean there isn't one and after many years of experience, I know my own cat, as I did my other cat. Manufacturers have a tendency to change products without telling anyone and as I mentioned above, there have been changes made to the products which people may not be aware of.

These are the new look plug ins which were subsequently discontinued and replaced with the old style ones https://www.petfleas.co.uk/blog/important-information-feliway-adaptil-starter-packs-and-refills. Shortly after this was when I noticed a change. I suspect that something was tweaked in the composition when either these new ones were introduced or the return to the old style ones was implemented.

Whoa, this is long, sorry. But if it makes sense to anyone else and helps anyone else, then the time it has taken to write it will not have been wasted.


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## lorilu

I'm glad I saw this thread because I only recently got a new bottle of the spray and noticed it is now in a plastic bottle which I was not thrilled with. I still have some of the old bottle left so will do a comparison. After my experience with the new diffuser and now this new packaging for the spray, I am not sure I am going to want to use this product any more.

I agree that manufacturers will change (cheapen) things without notice, it is very discouraging (and one of the many reasons I went to a raw diet, so I can control what they eat) You could also try home cooked, harder to balance, you will need supplements, but may be worth adding it to her rotation of canned meals.


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## maisiecat

If only she would eat it I would. I have hesitated over Pet Remedy as I was concerned about allergies from the ingredients (hers and mine) but am thinking no more Feliway too. I also have Felifriend which didn't do anything athough the vet didn't seem impressed when I handed it to him, and it made no difference anyway.


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## Ceiling Kitty

No change in the formula of Feliway to my knowledge (from the horse's mouth - Ceva). But yes, there was the diffuser swap that they want to forget about lol.


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## maisiecat

Yes, they want to forget about it because it cost people a lot of wasted money, and you had to jump through hoops to get a replacement. 

I am not convinced it is still the same, seems much stronger since the diffuser fiasco. Perhaps not the actual ingredients are different, but the strength.


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## leashedForLife

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personally, i don't like / won't use the diffuser versions of either K9 or feline pheromones; i use the alcohol-based pump sprays.
These are? / were 99.999% isopropyl alcohol & an itty-bitty synthetic copy of the species-specific pheromone, so that once the alcohol evaporated, all that remained was the active component - which, since it's chemically identical to the molecules as made by dogs or cats, i can't see as a hazard.
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the reason i dislike the diffusers is twofold: A, they're site-specific & waft thru the house in varying amounts, more closer to the source, less further away.
B, the diffusers can OVERHEAT when they are empty or near-empty, & can be a fire-hazard.
i don't know of any fires caused by pheromone diffusers, but a dozen fellow-trainers in the US-apdt posted about smoking hot near-dry D.A.P. diffusers just months after they came on the market, several explaing they used hot pads or even silicone tongs to remove the diffuser from the wall-outlet, & put it into a metal trashcan or bucket [not plastic] for fear it would either melt thru, or worse, shatter as it cooled.
So i've used [& recommended] pump sprays only, which can be used anywhere & go with U - in a pocket, backpack, or purse.
I think they're far-more flexible & more effective, too.
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but i still would encourage anyone who has an adverse or unusual response from their cat or dog while using a pheromone, or any other OTC product, to TELL * THE * MAKER.
They won't test for what they don't hear about / know about, & there may be some subsets of pets who have issues that don't occur in the vast majority of the pet-popn.
["Collie sensitivities" spring to mind.]
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## lorilu

maisiecat said:


> seems much stronger since the diffuser fiasco. Perhaps not the actual ingredients are different, but the strength.


That was my experience too, when I bought a new one a couple years ago. Back when I was using it 10 years ago there was no odor at all. Even if I went up to it and sniffed deeply, I smelled nothing. this one stinks up the apartment in a matter of minutes. I won't ever use it again. I can smell the spray, but only for a few minutes, then the smell dissipates.


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## Leelacat

maisiecat said:


> For those who don't know, my remaining cat is tiny. She is also very difficult to feed and in spite of many tests at different vets and the RVC hospital we have got nowhere.
> 
> From time to time there has been a Feliway plugged in as one vet suggested our other cat might be causing her stress. He is no longer with us, it has been almost a year since he passed and it has made no difference.
> 
> Earlier this year a friend was here for a few days to do some work, she has always loved the cuddles and attention, but picked up on his new cat smell from his clothes and belongings and problems began so I put the Feliway on. Her appetite decreased more and more and she became even more picky, it is normal for her so I just did the usual following her around with food etc.She had become very quiet and subdued and I really thought her time had come.
> 
> I recently bought a refill and set it up and she virtually stopped eating for 3 days, and after a while I thought it might be the Feliway. I turned it off and she began eating.
> 
> She is still picky, she still hates the neighbour's friendly cat, but she is no longer quiet and subdued and has begun eating again.
> 
> My point, if you are still with me, is that all the recommendations are for using Feliway for stress etc. but *please be aware that it can make things worse.*


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## Leelacat

I found your post very helpful, I've found the same reaction in my small lightly built female 8 year old cat.
She has always been very healthy, never been to the vet since her kitten jabs. Always nervy though, & prone to weeing on the carpet, after a recent episode, not knowing what was troubling her, I sprayed some feliway spray around the chair she was sleeping in. Next morning she was like a zombie , moving very slowly, & not responding at all. I thought maybe the spray was too much & bought a plug in, after a few days of this she was moving very slowly, not eating & hiding away. A few days after unplugging feliway, she was sill no better, took her to the vet yesterday, no problems found. Today she has started eating again & perking up. Wont be using it again, & will contact manufacturers.


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## maisiecat

lorilu said:


> @maisiecat you might try Rescue Remedy for pets to help reduce her stress. Like all things, it won't work for every pet, but it has worked wonderfully for my kitty (who reacted so negatively to the new feliway diffuser). It might even help her appetite.
> 
> Oddl yenough, her name is Mazy cat. : )


I have only just seen the replies to my post - I have many times recommended Bach remedies in this group, and used them in my work as a therapist, I used Rescue Remedy among others on my cats when appropriate, for many years. There are other Bach rememdies that are good for cats, maybe a search of the forums will find my old posts, if they are still here after the changes.

I would probably have seen the replies on here if my boy hadn't passed away, followed a while later by little Maisie.


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## maisiecat

One more thing to add to this, a few years on.
I have the ginger guy in the photo staying with me. He seemed a bit upset by an interloper and as he was quite good size I put the Feliway out for him, after suspecting it may have been the size of little Maisie that had caused the problems.

In one day he had gone from being an outgoing and lively cat to a zombie, this is a big cat, so it makes no difference size wise. It does need to be notified to CEVA however as the Big Guy is currently in hospital for tests it is not high on my list of priorities.


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## Danelle

My cats also stopped eating the day after I plugged in Feliway. One cat became very lethargic and was sleeping all day. He’s like a zombie when he’s awake and even two days after unplugging it he’s still not eating and won’t even look at his favorite treats which used to make him crazy if he even hears me opening the bag. We’ll be going to the vet today which is very traumatic for him so I wish I never bought this stuff. The vet recommended it because one of my cats was over grooming his tail and the doctor thought he might be stressed. Well now we’re all stressed because my normally lively, hungry and loving cat is a zombie refusing to eat anything at all...four days with no food. Beware of this product! And yes, I’ll be notifying the manufacturer.


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## chillminx

Hi @Danelle and welcome  I am sorry to hear your cat seems to have had a bad reaction to Feliway. If he has not eaten for 4 days he is likely to be dehydrated which will certainly make him feel very unwell. So I am glad you were taking him to the vet today.

We use Feliway plug-in diffusers at the Shelter and seem to help the new cats settle in. I never found Feliway any help for my own cats though.


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## Tracelp

I have 2 adult cats and a new kitten, and purchased a Feliway multicat diffuser to help them accept each other better. After being plugged in overnight, my female adult cat was lethargic and uninterested in her food in the morning. I have unplugged it, and have gotten her to eat, and she's walked around some, but she's not her usual self, I am hoping she will be back to normal once whatever she has reacted to is out of her system. I believe she might have had an adverse reaction to one of the compounds in the diffuser, and will be calling the vet if she doesn't improve. I have contacted the manufacturer, and am awaiting a response, but I'm not really expecting one. I think that they should place a warning on the packaging, because it appears some cats are very sensitive to one or some of the compounds in this product.


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## Yoninah

maisiecat said:


> all the recommendations are for using Feliway for stress etc. but *please be aware that it can make things worse.*


Feliway did nothing obvious for our adoptee when we suspected her of being a little stressed. She really has just been needing time to heal.

Different when it came to me, though. I grew progressively worse with throat and breathing problems until I got suspicious and turned the thing off, recovering in two days. I am *not* saying it was Feliway (cos guilt by association is not proof of itself) but I would always recommend people using it to be on the lookout for symptoms that they get while it's diffusing in the house.


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## Tracelp

Yoninah said:


> Feliway did nothing obvious for our adoptee when we suspected her of being a little stressed. She really has just been needing time to heal.
> 
> Different when it came to me, though. I grew progressively worse with throat and breathing problems until I got suspicious and turned the thing off, recovering in two days. I am *not* saying it was Feliway (cos guilt by association is not proof of itself) but I would always recommend people using it to be on the lookout for symptoms that they get while it's diffusing in the house.


I think you're right, and I'd suggest running it for a few hours to start with, then unplugging it, just to make sure everyone in the home, both feline and human, is okay with it.


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## theangelik1

I know this is an old post but this helped me. I am from the USA. My cat is 8 years old and weighs 11lbs. She is healthy and has not had any health issues or surgery. She is normally very vocal and active. We recently got a new kitten and we got the diffuser to help with stress. My cat stopped eating and moving after plugging in the Feliway Diffuser for the first time 2 days ago. She won't eat, drink, use the litter box, and barely moves. She also vomited a lot (10+ times) on Day 2. I had to take her to the after hours emergency vet. Everything came back normal. (The kitten is showing no signs of sickness and is eating, playing, using the restroom fine) So after researching and finding a few reports, like this one, I decided to unplug the diffuser. Hopefully, she will feel better soon and start being her normal self. This "diffuser" has totally turned her into a vegetable at this point if it really is the cause. I will be reporting to the manufacturer for sure.


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## maisiecat

It does seem to cause severe lethargy and anorexia in some cats. I still have the last diffuser I bought and a new kitty. She had Pet Remedy at the rescue so we bought one of those, however I think I have an allergy to it so switched it for the Feliway. She went quiet and lethargic, so I turned it off again. Making do with the radio on for her for company. Feliway does smell strong even after all this time.


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