I have written about our younger cat Vincent here before, and about the behavioral issues we experienced with him from the time he first came to us when he was just 8 weeks old, up until fairly recently. Vincent was the second cat to come into our home. We also have Devin, a female cat who is significantly older than Vincent, so I really didn’t know what I was getting into when my partner and I were asked if we would be willing to take in a kitten who was very different than the exceptionally-behaved, low maintenance cat we had for years.

Vincent had energy like I had never seen before; he climbed up curtains, scratched our furniture obsessively, was afraid of the lid on his litter box, and would urinate where he slept, whether it was on a particular spot on the floor, on towels and blankets, on the furniture, or in our bed. I just about lost my mind cleaning up after him, but it did lead me to develop my own all-natural cleaner through a process of trial and error as I experimented with ingredients and found what worked best for cat messes and odors. I also drove myself a little batty as I attempted to figure out why he was acting like he had been possessed by gremlins that were fed after midnight. Much to my relief, he calmed down a bit after being neutered and continued to wind down as he got older, but the occasional urine marking and scratching remained.

A cat’s nature and instincts are numerous and sometimes difficult to pin down or understand. In our minds, a little thing like moving furniture around in one room is insignificant, but to a cat it can be a major trigger for stress. It is this mindset that gave me a ray of hope for Vincent and his bad behavior, especially when I was being asked by several people why I didn’t attempt to find him a new home. Cats can’t help what it is in their nature to do, but there is a product out there that works with their instincts to alleviate bad behavior.

Comfort Zone is a line of spray and plug-in diffuser products for cats and dogs that mimic the pheromones secreted by these animals that mark areas as safe and familiar.

I have been using the Comfort Zone with Feliway plug-in diffuser for cats over the past few months in my home office, where the cats spend most of their time and where we have had the most occurrences of Vincent spraying. For the first month, nothing changed. Not a damn thing. It was as if I hadn’t plugged in the diffuser in the first place and I frequently wondered if it was actually “working.” On a few occasions, while on my hands and knees scrubbing yet another mess up off my carpet, I muttered that I was glad I had been fortunate enough to receive the diffuser and refills as a review product and hadn’t spent the $50+ on it. I was beyond frustrated, but as the next month rolled around, I changed the Comfort Zone with Feliway refill and yet again waited for something to change. And it did, eventually.

In total, it took nearly two full months of having Comfort Zone with Feliway present in my office for Vincent to cease any and all spray marking and he has only exhibited scratching on my desk chair and only when he is demanding my attention–he has always been a very needy little guy who is adamant on laying on you and being pet. I have not had to clean up even one Vincent-related mess in over a month, and that has been such a tremendous relief!

In February, my partner and I are moving into a new house. This move will undoubtedly trigger both of our beloved cats and under any other circumstances, I would have already begun to stress out about what I will be put through at the paws of my cats by putting them through the stress of a big move. Fortunately for me, I know I have a tried and tested ally in Comfort Zone with Feliway and you better believe I will have diffusers plugged in at the new house to help make the disruption in their routines just a little more pleasant and a lot less messy.

Comfort Zone products are clinically proven to be effective against most, if not all bad pet behaviors, including scratching, spraying and urinating, adaptation behavior, traveling, and general stressful situations including unfamiliar environments. Comfort Zone products include plug-in diffusers and sprays for both cats and dogs and can be purchased at your local pet retailers or any trusted online distributor.

I received a Comfort Zone with Feliway product for review. No other compensation was received, and opinions are my own.