Feliway saves the day (and cheers Inkie up)

We’ve been a little worried about Inkie - since coming to live with us she had been a bit down. We expected her to be nervous of her new home and little shy, but Inkie was being very clingy - following us around, not eating much and then only if we encouraged her. She has also not been grooming herself and shown a general lack of interest in anything but sleeping.

After a weekend with her we were getting very concerned, so on Monday Derek called the RSPCA. They told us we could bring Inkie in for a check up on Wednesday - which is their vet day - and they also mentioned something called Feliway. We had heard of Feliway in passing, but didn’t really know what it was. Being seriously concerned for our little cat, we were prepared to try anything, so we popped to our vets and bought a Feliway diffuser.

At about 4 o’clock we plugged it in, not really sure what to expect. The box said to give Feliway at least a week to take effect. Well, by about 7 o’clock that night we began to see a change in Inkie. She was sitting on my knee when Derek bought me a glass of milk and Inkie went bonkers! She climbed up my chest trying to get to the glass and when I put it down on a coffee table she went after it. This is normal behaviour for a kitten, but Inkie had been so down she’d never showed any interest like this before.

We tried not to think too much of this sudden burst of naughtiness, as it might just have been the smell of milk that set her off. Although after I had finished my glass of milk, Inkie still wanted to play with it - trying to stick her head inside and batting it with her paw. After a few minutes she settled back down on my knee and I carried on playing my video game. That was until a naughty little cat started tapping the controller and even chomped my finger!

It was wonderful to see the change in her. The activity kept coming in little waves and she’d wander off do some exploring before returning to my knee and settling down for a bit. This carried on for the rest of the evening until we took her up to her room for the night. Inkie went straight to her food bowl and tucked into her kitten nuggets, with no encouragement at all, eating quite a lot. That night Derek and I went to bed feeling very happy.

The next morning we let Inkie out of her room and her eyes were wide and bright, she gobbled down some food and then wanted to play with her toys, which was amazing to see as she had not been interested in playing before.

Even when she sleeps, Inkie looks happier, before she was sleeping hunched up and not very relaxed looking. Now no matter where Inkie is she will curl up on her side, or even stretch out and look like a happy little contented cat.

Derek and I were not sure about Feliway when we bought it, but it really has been like a miracle for Inkie and we are very glad we tried it. The little madam still isn’t grooming herself, but she is much happier and her whole demeanour has changed and it is wonderful to see. Now Inkie is feeling better and more playful we can all get to know each other properly.