My kitten got a bout if stress induced cystitis in December, following the vet treatment I purchased a Feliway diffuser. I then replaced the refill in it when it ran out, but then forgot to check it after that and it seemed to run out again without me realising. She started crying loud at night for a week, then started urinating blood etc again. Took her to the vets for treatment and checked the feliway diffuser when I got back, finding that it was completely empty. I have replaced it again, but am not keen on having to leave it permanently plugged in. Mainly due to some horror stories I have been told about them starting house fires.

Do you use the plug-in feliway diffusers? Do you leave them plugged in overnight etc 24/7? Any other suggestions?

I used it months ago and it got very hot and the liquid dripped onto the floor below. I unplugged it when I left the room and eventually stopped using it. I was afraid to leave the house with it plugged in.

I switched them off when I left the house. Fire terrifies me. You could get some feliway spray and spray cats bed or something when you are not in the house.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Sorry to drag up an old thred.

I am going shopping this weekend to buy everything i need for when my little girl comes home in 3 weeks.
I have a feliway diffuser on the list and im just wondering if it is a necessity straight up?

Should i get it and have it in our spare room which will be her safe space for when we first bring her home? Or is it the kind of thing that you only really need to get if your cat is showing signs of stress?

I have never used a Feliway diffuser. Quasar settled in pretty nicely and didn't seem to need anything like that. I had never heard of this item prior to getting on this website, but a lot of people seem to swear by it.

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~ Kyenta

I've never used one either. Bryan settled in fine.

I use a Feliway diffuser in our bedroom, but it hasn't stopped my bengal from spraying in there. I've never unplugged it. I check it frequently to make sure the refill hasn't run out, but at times I find it empty. I don't honestly consider it a fire hazard. I use air freshener diffusers as well with no problem. I do also have the Feliway spray.

I remember my kittens would turn into zombies and fall asleep when I plugged it in. I didn't use it much for that reason. I wanted them to be active kittens. It did stop them from fighting though.

There is an alternative to the diffuser - Feliway also comes in spray bottle form, which is actually supposed to be stronger than the diffuser and faster acting. I keep a bottle on hand for stressful situations. But it can also be used to build up scent markers in the house. Feliway has videos about how to do that. The drawback is that I can actually smell the product, whereas when I go to the vet I can't smell their diffuser.

The other way to go is to try the Jackson Galaxy sprays, which apparently can be used on the cat's fur. I've never used them, but have heard many positive stories about them.

I have 2 feliway defusers one in the living room and one in the bedroom, I leave them on permanently as I was told that's what you have to do.

I am doing a bit of an experiment with them at the moment to see if I calms my 2 down a bit, my problem being Pearl permanently chases Magic round and he doesn't always want to play so he hisses and spits at her but she doesn't seem to be able to read the message and carries on annoying him until it can get a little out of hand.

I'm on my second lot of the defusers and I also have the spray, I spray it up in the air near them when they are getting a little over excited and it does seem to help.

I actually think that the spray works better than the defusers and is cheaper and lasts longer, I also have tried the Feliway friends but that didn't seem to do anything at all but the classic Feliway spray is the one I am going to stick with, once the defusers have run out I'm not getting any more.

I don't think there is any more danger of fire from them than air freshener plug ins as I keep them on all the time.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK