Customer Reviews

Feliway Plug-In Diffuser with Refill, 48 Milliliters

5 star:		(137)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(47)
2 star:		(39)
1 star:		(90)

 

 

The scenario: my 6 month old kitten adopted from a garbage pit 4 months ago, for many unpreventable medical and physiological reasons reverted back to her feral state; fearful, crying, and creating all-night insanity, making sleep impossible for me, the other cats, and perhaps the neighbors as well.
Most alarming was that the stressful condition she was in altered her appetite, and the most she would consume was some warm milk.
I didn't want to add to the medications she was already taking, with a prescription of something like Diazepam (Valium), so decided to give "Comfort Zone" a try.

I noticed an improvement within 8 hours, and by 36 hours, all her feral symptoms had vanished, and she was calm, slept through the night, ate, and was her charming, cuddly self again. During the first 36-72 hour period, there were some "extras," like her rubbing against my legs while I was standing in the kitchen, but now things are back to normal, and she is behaving the way one would expect a healthy 6 month old to act.
The last month has been quite an ordeal, but with the help of "Comfort Zone," I feel as though a miracle has taken place, with harmony and peace back in our humble but cozy abode.

This 48 oz. bottle lasts approximately 4 weeks, covers up to 650 sq. ft. and is recommended for all situations that cause stress in a cat, from new environments to the addition of a new pet in the family. It will also treat "urine marking," another symptom my kitty was exhibiting, as she would spray against the wall instead of urinating into the litter, a nasty habit that required a lot of cleaning up and that "Comfort Zone" has cured.
Completely odorless, the bottle and plug-in unit is a 1-2-3 simple assembly, and feline facial pheromone that is the active ingredient does not affect humans, except to improve their lives by making their fur friends happier.

Feliway Comfort Zone diffusers are great for reducing stress in cats. They help prevent aggression and urine marking in the home. But, they are really expensive- $15-18 per monthly refill. I had the brilliant idea to use a $5 appliance timer (electric socket timer from Home Depot) to reduce the amount of Feliway dispensed by the Diffuser. To ensure the Diffuser is releasing product frequently, I use a timer that allows for 15 minute intervals and set it to supply electricity 1/3 of the time (ie on for 15 minutes off for 30 minutes). The timer makes the product last 3 times as long so it pays for itself in less than a month. Feel free to experiment with the timing. Perhaps you can get away with having it on for just 15-30 minutes 3 times a day, it will depend on your cat's level of stress. I would start with it being on 1/2 of the time and gradually decrease the time as kitty feels better. I hope this tip will help people to keep their beloved kitties and help kitties heal from the issues that lead them to tinkle in the house. Please repost this tip on any animal related sites.

Here is a similar timer to mine but this one only allows for 30 minute intervals, which may be just fine. Woods 59366 Lamp and Appliance Timer with 3-Prong Outlet, Repeats Daily

To the Feliway product description information above, I would also add, "Aids in calming cats...who manage stressful chronic health conditions."

My 4yr. old neutered male cat manages several chronic health conditions, which at times create seemingly unrelated behavioral issues, when flare ups occur that jangle his nerves. When his IBD is not well controlled, my otherwise angelic cat becomes stressed out & does deadly things - chewing through power cords, consuming inedible objects, eating plants untouched for years, climbing to & jumping/falling from extremely high places aggravating his arthritis, & more. When he's not feeling well, acting-out is his way of externalizing his bad nerves & telling me, "I don't feel well, help me".

So I bought a Feliway Diffuser for him for his birthday a few weeks ago, & the change in my cat's behavior was noticeable within the first few hours after plugging it in. Initially, I noticed a personality change - sort of a mellowing effect, reflecting a more leveled out & increased general sense of well-being. I see less lethargy, & more interest in social interaction, his environment, & play. It's a subtle overall field effect, but his happiness & joy somehow seem happier. I've noticed I've had an easier time with giving him his regular medications & brushing his teeth. It's a synthetic feline facial pheromone, but I call it "the airborne feline prozac"... And without putting more chemicals into his system that don't belong in the body, & their problematic side effects. My cat seems to appreciate the general change in the overall atmosphere of his home, & occasionally, he even sleeps underneath the diffuser.

The benefits my cat experiences also pass on to me - because if he is less stressed & upset, & doing fewer life threatening things in reaction to his nerves - then I'm less stressed out as well. I'd rather buy him Feliway, than spend money on veterinary visits & additional medication to deal with new problems he creates when he's stressed. And there have been a lot of them.

Feliway contains an odorless oil by human standards, & it does not upset my cat's severe asthma or allergies, nor my own more moderate conditions. In fact, I am wondering that if he's less stressed out psychologically - & in turn physiologically - if there might even be less asthma & less digestive upset due to a reduction in the cycle of internalized stress. And if it improves his overall quality of life, I'd much rather buy him peace instead of more doctors...

I live in a small 1 person unit, & 1 diffuser does seem to cover the entire place. I unplug ours when the window is open, & plug it back in when it's closed, while I sleep or am away, & any time I think he might benefit from it. The plastic bottle can be unscrewed from the plug-in unit & recapped to preserve it until your next use. This may help to extend the 6 week life span recommended in the packaging information, we'll find out. I would also add that the diffuser gets warm, but not hot to the touch, & certaintly not hot enough to burn a hand or singe a whisker or fur. I have handled the diffuser many times during use, & I have no fear of allowing my cat to be directly near it.

The only negative aspect of this product so far as I can determine is how much you'll want to kick yourself for waiting to buy it for long as you did... As a pet store employee recently told me, "It is one of the few behavior mod products for cats on the market that actually does work." While there is no substitute for building & maintaining a solid, trusting relationship with your pet - or for seeking competent veterinary care - Feliway does seem like it could be a great adjunct to it.

Feliway gets 2 Thumbs & Paws Up from kitty & me. =^..^=

Folks, listen, I have the queen feline of peeing on things over $100.00. My cat Lucy has been with me her whole life (she is 6 this year), but when she was a kitty with my roommate's cat (that peed on anything you left on the floor), I'm convinced she picked up the behavior in her own way. Boxes, towels, jackets, ANY kind of carpet and throw rugs- forget about it. if it was on the floor and she wanted to make it hers, it stunk forever and cat pee is not an easy thing to remove.

the last straw was when she peed on my new white down comforter AND my new $110 backpack within days of each other. I almost lost my mind, took her to the vet, who said nothing was wrong with her. I called the vet sobbing saying "i can't live like this anymore!!!" and threatened to put her down (which would have broken my heart). The vet said to me "there is one last thing you can try, i know it works for some people" and recommended Feliway. I bought it, got it overnighted... nothing has been peed on since. (fingers SERIOUSLY crossed that this isn't just a temporary thing!!)

my only regret with this product was not finding out about it sooner. I've been using it for a month with MIRACULOUS results. Lucy was a feral cat, so her social skills were far from polished but this product has helped a LOT. She's great with me, but she used to bite and hiss at company which has been vastly improved with this product as well. She seems calmer, and I came back to amazon today to purchase the 6 pack of refills and the spray.

ALSO- for cat owners who are tired of their belongings smelling like cat pee, i was surprised to see that soaking my backpack (and whatever else) in white vinegar overnight gets rid of the scent(!)

I'm moving into a small apartment with carpet in NYC, so I'm eager to see how she does there but i think if i douse the room with carpet with the Feliway spray, I'll be alright.

Honestly, feliway saved my sanity, and my cat's life!!!!

I've heard good things about this product, but it didn't make a difference in our home. Our year-old (neutered) male treats our older females like prey, and generally causes a lot of stress. We tried it in the bedroom first, as that's where confrontations often happen (and where all 3 of them spend time), and moved it to a more central locale in the hallway towards the end of the month. I'm sorry to say it didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever to the situation. Maybe we had it in the wrong location?

I have a male cat who would repeatedly (and seemingly randomly) go outside the box- like right outside the box. I took him to the vet a few times, after ruling out an infection, they suggested I try to give him anti-anxiety drugs. Well one smell of the pill raised his anxiety even more and he would hide under the bed. A few months later, hopeless and tired of cleaning the carpet (and tired of buying cleaning supplies!!!) I bought feliway. I've been using it for 6 weeks now and I haven't had to clean the carpet since. Keeping my fingers crossed!

What a truly amazing product this is! I want to give them the Nobel Prize or something. Here's how Feliway changed my life (and my kitties too!).

Jake and Elwood were from the same litter, and played well together for a few years. My devious neighbor decides that it's okay to feed Jake...and then all of a sudden, Jake stops coming home (gee, wonder why) I actually thought he might have been dead, since I hadn't seen him for months.(Both cats are outdoor, btw). When I finally did see him, I snatched him, and confined him to indoors for a while. That's when all hell broke loose. Jake and Elwood started hissing and fighting with each other, and I couldn't have them in the same room as each other. Elwood freaked out over this "new" kitty, and started spraying every corner of the house... and he's neutered! So both cats were completely unhappy. Enter Feliway.

Within 2 hours of plugging this bad boy in....Jake and Elwood were mellow with each other, and stopped hissing. After a full day, they were sleeping with each other and spooning. Even cleaning each other's heads! I can't even completely explain how magical this truly is. I love this product. I also bought the spray to wipe down the carrier before they go to the vet. It's also just as miraculous!

After much agitation, from both me and kitties, i broke down and bought this.
We were having issues of them going where they are not supposed to.
I asked the vet what he thought about this product, given the situation i was facing, and he recommended it.
I bought it and brought it home.
After I plugged it in, it took about 2 days for it to get in the atmosphere and make a difference.
But it has. My cats are normally pretty laid back and affectionate, I think this has helped them be even more so.
They haven't gone outside of the box since about 48 hrs after I plugged this in; that's been a HUGE relief.
Advice: bringing a new cat into the house or changing things? This and a spray bottle of Nature's Miracle are about the two best investments you can make to make sure your house doesnt smell like you have cats in it if you do. It's a relief to walk in the front door and no longer smell that telltale ammonia smell in the air.
I know some people say they can smell it or it irritates allergies. I have never been allergic to cats, so i think thats why it doent bother me. Also i think i can smell it barely, but its not unpleasant to me- i think that its actually mellowing me out a little bit too ;)

This product does work but if you have a bird, do some research. As I type this, the jury is still out on just how dangerous it is for a bird's respiratory system due to the wax-based paraffin oil. In fact, check for ANY wax-based diffusers such as household plug in air fresheners. Our cockateil (the smaller version of a cockatoo), sits right above our Feliway diffuser. We plan to move him or the diffuser but we haven't seen any bad reactions after a month of use.

Also, Feliway and Farnam both use the exact same Feliway pheromone. There are 2 parts to a diffuser kit. One is the aparatus or piece that plugs in. The other is the bottle that contains the pheromone. Both Farnam and Feliway diffusers use the same exact Feliway pheramone product. Farnam supposedly packages Feliway for a different market and here at Amazon your seeing both markets/packages. I've read somewhere that the diffusers are different at least in looks (clamshell for the Farnam). It's possible the diffusers are different enough that one may 'diffuse' the pheramone better than the other. Someone else's review here stated the pink package worked better for them. That would be Farnam.

Here's our story on why I'm convinced we must continue with this product:

4 yrs ago we adopted a senior cat about 8-12 yrs old. This year we adopted a kitten about 7 weeks old. Turns out our senior cat hates the kitten because he bothers her, jumps on her, follows her around. So our senior cat started hiding, hissing... getting angry and not just at the kitten but at us as well.

We took all our pets in for a vet check up. He suggested a Feliway Diffuser (that brand only because it's the only one he trusts based on client feedback). He also said we need to get our senior cat's teeth done and we set a date for about a month later.

So we purchased the Feliway, plugged it in and suddenly our senior cat starts coming around, hanging around us again.

A month goes by which is about the time the diffuser runs out and the time our senior cat goes in for surgery on her teeth. Her teeth were a mess since we adopted her and she had 2 more teeth pulled. She was fine on the pain meds but as soon as those were done, she reverted to the way she was when we first got the kitten --hissing, groweling and even biting. I purchased a refill for the Feliway Diffuser but never put it in. I was convinced the surgery didn't go well and there were still nerves left in her mouth which would explain her bad behacior. I planned to call the vet.

The day I had time to call and go in to the vet, our senior cat starts purring again and even KISSING. A complete turn around in bahavior. I didn't understand what was going on. Nothing had changed. I thought possibly be the nerve in her mouth suddenly died? It had been almost a month since her teeth were done and her attitude had been very bad. Why change now? Turns out my husband stuck the refill in the diffuser. Yep... it was the diffuser. Absolutely no doubt.

I have read other reviews that this product didn't work or didn't work the way they expected. The benefits if this product does work are so great that it's worth a try and hopefully your cat/kitten will react well.
[...]

I have a pair of cats, sisters, who have always had strong reactions to strange odors. When they're exposed to one that they find upsetting, their response is to begin taking their anxieties out on each other and they'll fight for days. In the past we've had to simply wait it out until they calm down and get over it. But now we're introducing a new cat into the family, so we decided to try Feliway and see if it might help with the process.

The introduction is a slow process -- the new cat is currently isolated in one bedroom while the other two girls are in the rest of the house. They know she's there and are a little tense, but have been behaving themselves. For the first 24 hours, during which time we weren't using the Feliway, everything was going smoothly, until the new cat used her litter box and deposited some especially aromatic feces in it. The moment the smell wafted out into the hallway, both of our other cats began freaking out and taking it out on each other. I ended up having to buy Feliway at a nearby store because we needed it immediately; in the future I'm buying it through Amazon because it costs less than half the price here!

When I returned from the store with the Feliway, the girls were growling at each other and avoiding direct contact. I plugged it into an outlet near their litter box. Within moments, one of the girls had begun to visibly relax. A few minutes later, both girls were sniffing the diffuser with curious interest, and leaning into each other. They still seem a little tense about the new Mystery Cat, but they're no longer taking it out on each other. It was that fast for us!

Important things to keep in mind about Feliway:

1. What you're doing is releasing a scent into the air that the cats interpret as "this is a safe space." This is very effective IF that's true. It can counter their alarmed reactions to unfamiliar scents, sights, and sounds because it signals that they're not actually threats. It WON'T work in any situation where a real threat exists, nor will it work in a situation where you have a pet that's harassing/attacking other pets for fun, rather than because it's frightened.

2. My instant results are not necessarily the norm. Since my cats' anxieties are triggered by scents, the Feliway was able to counter them very quickly by essentially negating the scents and sending out a new message. If your situation is more complex than that, it'll take longer. The instructions say to allow up to four weeks for noticeable effects, so don't throw it out a few days later just because things haven't worked yet!

3. It's not an instant fix for everything. Some cats have genuine anxiety disorders that are beyond the scope of what Feliway can do. If your situation is extreme and/or the Feliway doesn't seem to be helping, you need to discuss things with your vet. I picked up the product on my vet's recommendation, because he felt my situation was within its scope. Yours might not be, at which point your vet may have a recommended treatment to use with or instead of Feliway.

I'm looking forward to continuing to use this product, myself. Once the new cat has been integrated into the family, our next project is getting the older cats to stop fearing our basement. I suspect that a Feliway diffuser down there could turn it from a scary place into a place they enjoy going (and we'll be thrilled to be able to move the litter box down there if it works) so that's next on the list. Personally, I wish I'd bought this years ago!