Thanks Dee, good article! No worries, Rescue Remedy is Flower Essences, not essential oils. I do know that essential oils are not safe for cats.
I am thinking of trying it myself, the next time I have an anxiety attack (granted I haven't had one in a long time)
Here is what happened today:
As I said the rescue remedy came today so I decided to give it a try with everyone, just for the heck of it. I had company today, my friend D was coming over, they all know her of course, she's been here many times, in fact she is the only person, other than me, whose lap Tolly Angel would sit on, that's how well they know her.
As an aside, Queen Eva often will crawl onto her lap if she has a blanket over her lap (under the blanket of course)
So, I put two drops (instead of the recommended four) on a piece of PureBites freeze dried chicken breast, each cat ate her treat with the usual gusto they show for PureBites.
I went about my cooking, keeping an eye on them. Queen Eva disappeared into the hammock, sound asleep. Now, I wasn't sure if that was to be attributed to the RR, or the fact that I had opened up the house while cleaning this morning (it's very cold here) and she had spent some time on the snowy porch, which revved her up and she had done laps around the house for a good half hour earlier.
Jennie showed no obvious reactions. Mazy hung around and showed nothing unusual.
Right before my friend came, I fed them lunch. Queen Eva roused herself for lunch and ate, the other two did too of course, they always eat, haha. After they ate, we heard the sounds of D coming to the door. Mazy (as usual) ran to her Safe Spot. Queen Eva, (NOT usual) got very spooked, ran around low to the ground, then hid under the couch. Queen Eva NEVER hides when company comes, so I was surprised to see that.
Jennie, as usual, showed no reaction, she isn't bothered by much.
D came in, Queen Eva finally came out and said hello, then went back to the hammock. Very unusual for her, she usually puts on a show for my friend. I won't be giving Queen Eva RR again.
Jennie was normal.
But Mazy, now MAZY cat was the one. She knows D, but it usually takes her a good two hours to come down from her Safe Spot (a high perch in my bedroom) after she gets here. D always goes in and says hello, but doesn't pay any attention to her other than that, but still Mazy takes her time coming out.
Today, Mazy not only came out after only ten minutes, she actually went over to D, greeted her, then jumped up on the Ootay Memorial Bed next to D's chair, curled up, and took a nap. I went over to pet her and she was PURRING.
And then, she let D pet her, she let D reach toward her with her hand, rub her face with her hand, and she did not growl or show teeth, in fact she leaned into it.
Mazy cat HATES hands coming at her. In fact when I saw D reach out toward her I started to warn her not to do it, but when I saw Mazy lean in toward the hand I just let it happen.
Oh and later, Mazy cat curled up on the other side of D (we almost thought she might try her lap, but she didn't) and did a spin, showing D her lovey Yummy Dotted Tummy. Mazy never shows anyone that tummy but me. Wow.
Granted, this was not a very high stress event in Mazy cat's life. But...I am feeling hopeful that the RR will take the edge off for Mazy cat's vet visits.