This is a little, fun, competition for anxious cats. The cat’s guardian (caretaker), speaking on behalf of their cat, should leave a comment and explain how a Thundershirt will help. That is all you have to do. Anyone in America, Canada and Europe (excluding Switzerland!) can win a Thundershirt.
The person who provides the best explanation wins a Thundershirt for their cat. Of course, the cat’s caretaker is writing on behalf of their cat so the language could be in the first person. But this in not obligatory. Example:
“I need a Thundershirt because even the smallest, unusual noise makes me jumpy. I don’t know why. Also, going to the vet makes me scared. I’d love to be less jumpy. If I was less jumpy my human companion would be happier because she is so concerned for me. I know she tries to comfort me but I can’t help being jumpy….I am terrified of everything…”
OK, that is the general idea. Now for a little bit about the Thundershirt, which is manufactured in America.
The Thundershirt seems to be named after a pet’s usual reaction to the sound of thunder. Most cats and dogs are frightened by the sound. In fact any loud sound will at least concern a cat and most likely be frightening. Fireworks are the obvious noise that is unacceptable to a cat.
Wearing the Thundershirt calms a cat or dog down. The things that make him jumpy no longer make him as jumpy. How does wearing a coat make a cat feel calm?
As I understand it, the idea originates in what appears to be proven biological science that pressure on the body at certain points has a calming effect. I am yet to see hard evidence but there are enough first hand experiences to support this treatment. There may be studies that I have not spotted.
The well known American doctor of animal science and respected author, Temple Grandin invented the “hug machine”, which is also known as a hug box, squeeze machine or a squeeze box for people based on this scientific “fact”. She used it herself for many years. Incidentally, Temple Grandin agrees with me on cat punishment. The hug machine is a Thundershirt for people.
The Thundershirt is an item of cat clothing that fits tightly over the torso of the cat. The pressure of the garment calms the cat. There are many positive testimonials.
The downside of this product is probably the difficulty in getting it on your cat and making sure it stays on. Then there is the difficulty of getting the shirt to fit snugly. Cats vary widely in shape and size. A manufacturer cannot make tailor-made products. This may result in a less than perfect fit for the Thundershirt. And, as I understand it, a close fit is necessary for it to apply pressure at certain points. However it has inbuilt flexibility.
Those are the negatives, as I see it, but there are lots of positives and this product is definitely worth trying. If you can get one for free by participating in this fun compo, why not try it?
I hope people get into the spirit of this. I also hope that there is more than one comment! Whatever happens there is a prize to be won. The Thundershirt costs about $40 and has a 3.5 star rating from 25 reviews on Amazon.
I will be supplying the shirt from Amazon so each competitor must provide a proper email address with the comment. I can then contact the person and take address details to ensure delivery.
Winner Announcement
Hi Alex, thank you for your comment. I am pleased to make you the winner 😉 Well done.
You have written a great comment and you have a specific anxiety problem with one of your cats. I’ll be emailing you shortly to ask you for your address and then I’ll order the Thundershirt from Amazon on your behalf.
When you have the shirt, it would be nice to hear from you in about a month’s time with some feedback.
Our rescue cat, britomart, has a terrible fear of cars and vehicle noises, we can only assume she had some terrible run ins while she was living on the streets. She gets terrified every time a truck goes by, or if she hears a dog outside, and riding in the car she can hardly stop crying unless someone Is petting and reassuring her constantly. We’ve always suspected she was abandoned, and it breaks my heart when she’s so terrified thanks to whoever had abandoned her, because the rest of the time she’s an absolute sweetheart, but the bad experiences she had as a kitten have left their mark on her, and it would be wonderful to have some way to help her cope with her fears. Britomart is one of three cats in our household, and would be sharing her thundershirt with our eldest cat, who sometimes has problems with separation anxiety and sometimes gets confused when he can’t find us. This would be an incredible help for them both (the middle cat is the most mellow pet I’ve had, and wouldn’t need th thundershirt) so I hope you choose us as the lucky winners
I have an elderly cat, Bester, who I strongly believe would benefit from a Thundershirt. He’s extremely vain and considers any accessory (sparkly collars, collar charms, etc) to be an accent to his overall prettiness. He’ll even wear a Catbib (a piece of cape shaped neoprene that hangs down from the front of the collar, to prevent cats from being co-ordinated enough to stalk birds) in the house just because he, well, likes to be fabulous.
He’s gotten more anxious as he’s aged, and WILL NOT take pills or gels or any kind of oral treatments, so anti-anxiety meds are out of the question. He also does not respond to Feliway at all. So when I saw the Thundershirt at Petsmart tonight, I thought, wow, finally, something that could help my poor guy.
I have a disability where my bones move too much and tear up the surrounding joint and muscle tissue. So I don’t sleep well to begin with. When Bester can tell I’m having a bad night he starts vocalizing, and doesn’t stop until I hold him and he’s sure I’m all right. Now, I love this little guy; I’ve had him since he was born; but when my body is literally shredding itself, it’s hard for me to ignore that for anybody or anything. Since what he wants is to be held, and since he loves to wear ‘clothes’ anyway, the Thundershirt could really help us both.
I came upon this site while researching the Thundershirt, because, being on disability, it’s a relatively non-trivial expense for me to outlay. I would gladly get one for him if it would make him more relaxed and give me fewer nighttime disruptions and thus hopefully need less morphine – everybody wins. But if you’re giving one away, and it doesn’t sound like anybody else here understands that yeah, it really can work wonders for those who have cats willing to wear one, I’ll take it with enormous gratitude. (You can visit my website for more information about my condition and situation and so on if you wish.)
I agree that the page ended up as a bit of market research, really. It was interesting. The manufacturers wouldn’t be to happy about these comments 😉
Yes Michael I didn’t think many cats would want that prize lol but it opened up a good discussion anyway that most cats wouldn’t like to wear a straighjacket and that is good news for cats because some people may not have known that.
Well, that didn’t work as a competition did it 😉 Oh well back to the drawing board.
I’ll have to see if I can find something that a cat actually wants….