A stressed cat almost never looks stressed. It looks like a cat who has started spraying the door frame, or working away at the corner of the sofa, or sitting under the bed on a night the neighbours have fireworks. All of it reads as naughty right up until you work out what changed in the house.

This is a spot-on rather than a plug-in or a collar, so it goes on the cat and travels with the cat. Beaphar build it around valerian, a herb long used for its calming effect, and say each application takes effect within 1 hour and gives support for up to 1 week. There are 3 pipettes in the pack, so a box covers up to 3 weeks, and it is cleared for cats and kittens of all ages and breeds. Beaphar aim it at short to medium-term upsets - fireworks, a vet visit, travelling, a thunderstorm - as much as at what goes on at home.

• 3 pipettes per pack, up to 3 weeks of cover
• Contains valerian
• Beaphar say it takes effect within 1 hour
• Each application supports the cat for up to 1 week
• Suitable for cats and kittens of all ages and breeds
• Goes on the cat, so it works away from home too

One thing worth knowing. This is a herbal product and not a medicine, and Beaphar publish no strength, no fuller ingredient list, and nothing about the cats it does nothing for. Three weeks is a fireworks season or a house move; it is not an answer to a cat who has been unsettled for a year. Spraying and over-grooming can also be medical rather than emotional, because a urinary problem looks a great deal like a behaviour problem from the outside, so if the behaviour is new get the cat checked before you reach for a calmer.

Who it's for: owners of a cat facing a known, dated upset - bonfire night, a move, a long car journey, a stay in a cattery - and anyone who needs something that keeps working once the cat has left the room the diffuser is plugged into.