Thunder Cat Anxiety Jacket Anti-Anxiety Shirt Stress Relief Keep Calm Clothes, Heather Gray (M)

I purchased this Anti-anxiety shirt to use on my cat for a trip to the vet. He objected to putting it on, but seemed to be considerably calmer once he had it on. He also seemed calmer during our drive to the vet and time at the vet.

I have an F3 Savannah (a hybrid breed) who has serious anxiety issues. We got her as a 4 month old kitten. She has always been great with humans. Even protective of my children, growling at anyone who lingers outside our house a little too long. However, noise seems to set her off. And in a house with three young children, it has just been too much for her.I also believe she is part Siamese, which makes her extra territorial. Two of my other cats are likely part Siamese as well. Only one of these two are what I would consider territorial. But because they are litter mates, they look nearly identical. (My kids have lived with them their entire lives and still question which is which. Like a mother of human twins, I notice the subtle differences, but almost no one else can - apparently even the other cats.) I believe my cat, Vannah, mistakes the two for each other and ends up attacking even the docile one (Bubble) who clearly tries to be friendly towards he (evidenced by slow blinks).Well, a couple weeks ago, Vannah mistook and attacked Bubble and caused her to pull a muscle in her leg. (Bubble is about 8 and a half years old now, so her muscle tone isn't up to par with 4 year old Vannah's). Add after the past few years of constant spraying between Vannah and Creams (Bubble's sister) and I've just about had enough of the strife between these cats.I have seven cats total, all of whom are spayed/neutered. Most of them generally get along except for the occasional spat here and there. Vannah and Creams have been at war since Vannah arrived, with Creams viciously protecting the litter box area. Adding extra litter boxes improved the situation slightly, but Vannah's anxiety levels were too high by then and she regularly sought out any other cat to fight with. All the other cats except Creams quickly put an end to anything Vannah attempted. But for some reason, Vannah wouldn't quit on Creams.As a final last resort, I decided to try this ridiculous Thunder Shirt, fully expecting it to NOT work, but being at my whits end with Bubble's injury, I figured I'd return it if it didn't work and at least I could honestly say I tried everything.I combined this with a Sentry Calming Collar, which knocked Vannah out for the first several hours. I figure her body needed a reset. Whenever I try something for stress relief that actually works, it usually makes me sleepy at first. Once a stressed body finally gets a chance to relax, sleepiness is common. So, I wasn't worried that it made her tired. After the first day, she had normal but calm energy levels again.We call this her "stress vest". At first, she barely moved when it was on her. As she got used to it, she started moving around like normal. It didn't cause her to stop eating or drinking or using the litterbox (which was my initial concern). She still glares at the other cats even with this on. But it seems like she doesn't want to run or jump with the vest on. I'm not sure whether it actually calms her or just makes her too uncomfortable to do things. But it has significantly reduced the fighting. (Hasn't done much for spraying, but I'm wondering if putting one on Creams too would help with that).This is a cat who does not like to be held. In the picture, my 8 year old is holding her without a struggle. She held her like this so I could clip her claws. Usually she growls and tries to bite when I clip her claws. But she didn't fight us at all with this on. It worked better than wrapping a blanket around her. (I usually sort of swaddle my cats for claw clipping so I can do it without help.)She purrs loudly with it on. So, she isn't too miserable.I will note that if you plan to use this more long term like we do, be sure to remove it every couple days to allow the cat to groom itself. We took it off and found her fur pressed flat and a bit greasy. She spent the rest of the day cleaning herself. She has very short fur, so it didn't get tangled. A cat with medium to long fur would likely need some human help with grooming after a couple days of wearing this.I also wouldn't put a cat outside with this on because they react much more slowly. For instance, Vannah doesn't quickly move out of the way anymore when the kids plop down next to her. This could make an outside cat more susceptible to a predator attacking or even killing them. (Creams doesn't initiate conflict, so that's why Vannah got the vest instead of Creams; although, Creams did get a Sentry collar as well.)As for fit: Vannah is very small. Smaller than my other cats. I think this would fit perfectly on an average sized cat. It is slightly big on Vannah, but we make it work. If your cat is even a little larger than average, I would definitely recommend the large size for this.As for putting it on: It's not readily apparent how this goes on. It can be a bit confusing. Ours came with some picture directions that helped explain it. I like to put the neck part on first because that seems to keep her still enough to put the rest on.Hairless cats: A hairless cat might need an undershirt of some kind to go under this since there is rough Velcro on the inside. Cats with furry bellies shouldn't be bothered by this, but it would rub the skin of a hairless cat or a cat who is missing fur on the belly.

My skinny 8lb cat has a temper with his younger brother and often takes it out on him at 3am. I put the Thundershirt on him (size Medium) when we go to bed (with a small treat) and while he's not exactly thrilled about it, it calms him instantly and he sleeps on me quietly for the entire night. I take it off in the morning. It's also really helped a the vet visits too. Our vet praises it!I rated the durability a little lower though, as the Velcro seems like it might not last forever. The adjustable snugness helps though. A regular cat shirt wouldn't do the trick with my screamy baby.

We noticed a huge difference in our cat. He would roam the house for hours crying and chatting at nothing. Once the shirt is on, he instantly calms. We’ve slept through the night since. The tummy part doesn’t secure great unless we pull tight, but it’s too tight for him to even move if we do. He’s 10lbs.

I love this product. The sizing is definitely on the small side-both of my cats are in the 9 pound range and it fits them perfectly. Both cats took to the shirt immediately. My one cat acts out when his anxiety level increases and calms right down once I put the shirt on him. Well worth the money.

Conceptually this is a great item. My cat is part Maine Coon and has a very long full coat. I ordered a medium for him even though he is just under 8 pounds and the fit is good. The main issue that I have is that the Velcro sticks to his fur On his sides and underbelly. I ended up putting pieces of felt onto the portion of exposed Velcro that will touch him and that helps.

Cat is 2 years. 9lbs. It fits as if its for dogs. Does not line up properly. I was in a hurry that I sprayed it before trying it on. Mistake.Since it has a picture of a cat!

The material is to thin. Kitty destroyed area around neck the first day of use. I would love a replacement.