A cat who has started hiding, over-grooming or spraying is usually telling you that something about the territory has changed. A new baby, building work, a second cat, a house move, or nothing you can identify at all. Scent is how cats map safety, and a room that smells wrong to them stays wrong until something re-marks it. That is the gap a passive gel is meant to fill.

This one is a 100g gel that sits in the room and releases its scent gradually as it evaporates, with nothing to plug in and no noise or heat to bother anybody. Because the release is slow rather than sprayed, it builds a steady background instead of a burst, which is how cats seem to accept it, since an abrupt change of any kind is itself unsettling. Place it in the room your cat actually spends time in, not the room you do.

• 100g gel, with no plug socket or batteries needed
• Releases familiar, calming scents gradually as it evaporates
• Silent and heatless once it is set down
• Made for changes at home, new arrivals and visitors
• Simple to place and then leave alone

Being straight about what this can do. Pheromone products help some cats noticeably and do nothing at all for others, and the evidence behind them is mixed rather than settled. They work best alongside the practical fixes rather than instead of them: more vertical space, more hiding places, and one litter tray per cat plus one spare, sited apart. If your cat has changed behaviour suddenly, see a vet first, because pain and urinary problems look a great deal like anxiety.

Who it's for: Owners riding out a house move, a new arrival or building work with a cat who has gone quiet or jumpy, as one part of a wider plan.