My cat is quiet, shaking, and has a fluffy tail after dog scare. Why?

When cats get spooked or frightened by something, it often takes them a few days to completely calm down again - so this is not unusual. The best thing to do is leave her alone and give her space. You can try using a Feliway pheromone diffuser and/or a daily calming supplement like Anxitane to help reduce her anxiety, if you want to.

I will copy and paste my previous response with a little tid bit at the end since this seems to be a repeat question that was duplicated on the message board and my previous answer was deemed helpful. He is likely scared now. He will soon come to terms with what happened and likely go back to his normal self after a few days to a week. If he is not whimpering in pain, having any neurological signs (drunken walk, twitching of the pupils, excessive panting, or inability to move his head to one side) or refusing food and water consecutively, then I wouldn't be too concerned. He is likely just still scared that it will happen again. However if he is still holding his tail awkwardly after a day or two, then its best to have him seen by your veterinarian to ensure there are no serious underlying injuries there. However this is unlikely because he is able to wag it intermittently with no problems. Best of luck!

This may be a reaction to pain or discomfort when moving his tail. Tail injuries don’t seem severe but they are extremely painful and dogs often don’t want to move around and can cry out when they move the tail. If it’s just from the tail problem then this should improve in a few days to a week. If this behavior continues then I recommend a veterinary exam so they can make sure it’s nothing more serious. I would take a video of the head movement so you can share it with your veterinarian if needed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Gruber.

Tucking the tail and running are normally signs of fear in dogs - it sounds like something may have frightened her. She could also be in pain or not feeling well for some reason. If she doesn't begin to act more normal over the next few hours and you don't see any reason that she would be afraid, I would recommend having her examined by a vet to check for a medical problem causing her to act this way.

I would be concerned that Elvis could be painful somewhere or not feeling well. Sometimes they will have a change in behavior if they are painful, have a high thyroid, or even if they have a GI tract or urinary tract infection. I would have your vet do a thorough exam on him to rule these things out. Your vet will be able to determine whether he is painful, perfect a urinalysis, fecal or blood work if needed. If your vet thinks he is normal then I would be concerned about anxiety. You can try feliway diffusers which are cat pheromones that sometimes help to calm them. It doesn't work on everyone. Cats usually become anxious of anything that has changed in their environment like new people, new pets, normal people gone too much, construction in or out of the home, new feral cats outdoors, etc. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It could be due to the stress related to that event you describe. Cats can sometimes be very sensitive to things that scare them. If this is the case, things should improve shortly. If no improvement is noted in the next few weeks or your kitty develops symptoms like inappetence or lethargy have your veterinarian take a look. Good luck!

Hi there! It can often take several days for cats to fully calm down and return to normal after a stressful event, so I would tend to agree with your vet - it's likely that he just needs more time. You can try using a Feliway pheromone diffuser to help him relax, or a natural calming supplement such as Composure or Zylkene to see if this helps.