Cat stress from new puppy — calming help

A five-year-old Somali hiding and refusing food since the puppy arrived is a classic stress response — and it's more serious than it might look, because cats can go downhill quickly when they stop eating. Cat anxiety is genuinely underestimated; they're wired to mask distress, so by the time you're seeing it clearly like this, it's already been building. Pheromone diffusers are the most reliable calming tool here, but placement matters a lot — wrong room and they do almost nothing. Before I point you in a specific direction: what breed or size is the puppy, and are they actually making physical contact with your cat, or is it more the noise, unpredictability, and general chaos?

That actually tells me a lot. A golden retriever at 10 weeks is all noise and bouncing energy — even without contact, the unpredictability is overwhelming for a cat like a Somali, who's sensitive and quite alert by nature. The bedroom becoming her refuge is sensible instinct on her part, and honestly the right starting point for treatment too. The key question: is she eating at all when she's shut in the bedroom away from the puppy, or is she refusing food even in that safe space?

Good — that tells us the bedroom already feels safer to her, which is exactly what we want to work with. Here's my recommendation: plug a Feliway Classic diffuser into the bedroom now, not in the main living area. That's the mistake most people make — they put it where the dog is, but your cat isn't spending time there. Feliway Classic mimics the natural facial pheromone cats deposit when they're calm and secure, and in a room she's already retreating to, it reinforces that the space is genuinely safe. One diffuser covers roughly 70 square metres, so a standard bedroom is well within range. It takes around five to seven days to build up properly, but most owners see a meaningful improvement in eating and general demeanour within the first week. You'll want to leave it running continuously — each refill lasts about four weeks. This won't fix the introduction process between them, but it stabilises her enough that you can start that process properly rather than from a place of crisis.

It's a fair question because the branding is confusing. Feliway Friends is specifically for conflict between cats — it's not what you need here. Feliway Optimum is their newer formula and is good for general anxiety, but it's more expensive and the evidence base isn't as long-established. For a single anxious cat responding to a new pet in the home, Feliway Classic is still the go-to — it has the most research behind it, it's widely available, and it addresses exactly this kind of territorial stress response. Stick with Classic, plug it in the bedroom, and don't move it around. Consistency of location matters.

A few things will help it work better. Keep her food and water in the bedroom for now — eating near an exit point where she might hear the puppy will put her off. Make sure she has a high perch in there if possible; height gives cats a sense of control. And when you do eventually start reintroducing them, do it through a closed door first — scent swapping before any visual contact. Don't rush that part. The diffuser handles the background anxiety; the structured introduction handles the relationship. Both matter. But right now, your priority is getting her eating consistently again, and the diffuser in her safe room is the right first step.