Ocicat stress from being indoors all day

An Ocicat confined indoors all day is a recipe for stress — they're one of the most energetic, dog-like breeds you'll find in the domestic cat world, and they don't do well with understimulation. Cat anxiety is real and often underestimated, partly because cats hide it so well — by the time you're seeing signs, it's usually been building for a while. Pheromone products are the most effective calming tool available, but placement and consistency matter a lot. Before I point you in the right direction — what signs are you seeing, and is this a new pattern or has something changed recently, like your working hours or a home move?

That timeline makes complete sense. Two years of near-constant company, then suddenly eight-plus hours alone — that's a significant adjustment for any cat, but for an Ocicat it hits particularly hard. The overgrooming is a classic anxiety response, and the attention-seeking behaviour with the shelves is him communicating frustration. Neither of those is going to resolve on its own. Before I recommend a product — where does he spend most of his time during the day, and is there a room he seems most unsettled in?

Good — that's exactly what I needed to know. I'd recommend the Feliway Classic Plug-In Diffuser for the living room. It releases a synthetic version of the feline facial pheromone — the same one cats deposit when they rub their face on things — which signals to his nervous system that the environment is safe and familiar. It won't sedate him or change his personality, it just takes the edge off the underlying anxiety so he can settle. Plug it in where he spends the most time, at cat height if possible, and leave it running continuously — it takes around a week to build up and a month to really see the full effect. One diffuser covers around 70 square metres, so one unit should handle your living room and hallway easily. Don't move it around; consistency is a big part of why these work. Alongside it, if you can add a puzzle feeder or a window perch with a bird feeder outside, that'll give him something to do while you're out — pheromones calm the anxiety, but mental engagement addresses the boredom underneath it.

The mixed results almost always come down to two things: placement and patience. People plug them in behind a sofa, or in a room the cat barely uses, and then don't give it long enough. When used correctly — in the right room, at the right height, running continuously — Feliway Classic has solid evidence behind it for exactly this kind of situation: separation-related stress in a single-cat household. It won't work overnight, and it won't fix the problem if the underlying boredom isn't addressed at all, but paired with some environmental enrichment it should make a real difference within four to six weeks. His age works in your favour too — at two he's adaptable. You've caught this before it becomes entrenched.

You're in a good position — you noticed the signs early and you know the trigger, which makes this much more straightforward to address. Get the diffuser running in the living room this week and give it the full month before you judge it. The window perch is genuinely worth doing alongside it; Ocicats are visual hunters and watching garden activity keeps their brain occupied in a way that's actually satisfying for them. Good luck with him.