Roof construction in my building is stressing out Casper big time

[Joe_Danger]

There's roof constitutions going on in my building, it doesn't bother Milla or Kala and initially Casper was cool with it too but then it really started stressing him out to a point where he started panting like a dog, meaning his heart was racing real bad probably, he started stress grooming himself, was unable to settle down or find a hiding spot for over an hour earlier, it was hell...all while his mom and sister calmly napped each in her favorite spot and occasionally waking up form a loud noise or two but paying it no mind.

I called my vet and he took the situation fairly seriously, without me saying anything he recommended giving Casper some Valeriana gels which should hopefully keep him calm enough for the duration of the week while this nonsense is going down.
When I asked if he could get a heart attack my vet just said "just give him the gels each day he should be fine"

Does anyone have experience with these gels? What are the chances they won't work and if they do will they keep Casper calm enough while this is going on?

[Ruth B]

Poor Casper, I wish we could explain to them what was happening and that it wasn't going to last. Earlier this year i had my bathroom completely refurbished and replaced with a wetroom, it should have taken 3 weeks, but took closer to 5, and still isn't quite finished, Covid19 meant the last few finishing touches had to be delayed, fortunately it is fully usable. My three cats spent all the time the plumbers were here shut in the bedroom, one of them spent almost all the time under the bed, fortunately she seemed happy there and understood she was safe, the other two weren't quite so happy and wanted out, they wanted to know what was going on.

I haven't any experience of Valerian but I have heard very good things about it. so the gel would certainly be worth a try. Hopefully he will then find a space he can hide and feel safe in while the work is being done. While it's hard, it can be best just to leave him to hide, try and act normally as if nothing unusual is happening, if he picks up that you are worried he will assume that it is the noise that is worrying you and therefore is something to worry about, making him worse. If he comes looking for comfort then just fuss him as you normally would.

[Joe_Danger]

I built him a make shift pillow fort and put his carrier in the middle of it, he is there now but we'll see how he reacts to the noise when it gets too loud, he is hopped up on that thing too but he still seems to react to the noise.
As long as that gel thing keeps his heart in check hopefully he'll be fine but it is worrying, the way he was panting yesterday was pretty scary

[Mollycat]

I understand it's scary, that open mouth panting is so alarming in cats.

Hopefully he should learn that this noise is unpleasant but not coming into his home and calm down a little. Valerian doesn't seem very strong as a calming influence, in my limited experience it seems very similar to catnip in effect.

Have you thought of Zylkene? Not expensive, sprinkle on food and most cats accept it. Also quite mild but hopefully enough to take the edge off the stress a bit. And I find more effective than Feliway is the PetRescue plug-ins and sprays. But do check with your vet for compatibility before ordering any Zylkene, sometimes even innocent seeming vitamins can react with medication.

[Joe_Danger]

Thanks, I have no idea what Zylkene is even called in my country or if it's possible to obtain it here.
My vet said this Valerian thing or Valiriana as he called it should be enough so we'll see, I wouldn't mind using Zylkene, anything really to keep him calm assuming it gets as bad as it did yesterday

[Mollycat]

Where in the world are you Joe I can try and find out for you

[Joe_Danger]

I'm from Macedonia, recently renamed North Macedonia

[Mollycat]

I can't find anything about it being under a different name, but you might be able to order it on the internet.

But I remember now your vets over there are a bit out of date aren't they? That makes it difficult to check with them for potential problems of interactions with his medication. All I can suggest is to try an internet chat with a vet from another country, if you have the exact brand name of the heart drug.

[Joe_Danger]

Hopefully Casper won't need it, but we'll see
I'm going to talk to my vets, they're good people and will probably have something stronger.

Today the construction wasn't going on for very long tho, Casper got scared but no panting this time around and he seemed to have calmed down quicker.
How long does roof construction on a building take anyway lol

Hopefully it's going to be over in a week tops