OCD tends to be more common in pedigree oriental breeds, such as siamese (file photo).

Your cat might be more neurotic than you think.

Repetitive tail-chasing, excessive meowing and pacing may seem harmless, but it could be a sign your cat has obsessive compulsive disorder.

Compulsive behaviours are fairly common in anxious cats, cat behaviour specialist Lynne O'Malley said.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Repetitive meowing, licking themselves too much, pacing and even chasing their tails can all be signs of obsessive compulsive disorder in cats (file photo).

"The OCD behaviours are a way for cats to cope in their environment. It's a sort of self-soothing behaviour and helps them to feel in control and calm."

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"Over-grooming is really common in cats and that can be triggered by stress ... some cats will do wool sucking and weird things like that.

"Cats do tend to get kind of stressed with any kind of change in their environment. They are a stressy species."

And pedigree breeds - particularly orientals such as siamese - are especially neurotic.

"It can be a bit of a genetic thing, I think because those breeds tend to be quite intelligent. They are bred to have high levels of interaction with people," O'Malley said.

"If those needs aren't met, then they can be a little bit prone to having those types of behavioural problems."

To calm them, it's usually best to first look at environmental tweaks, such as toys and other distractions.

"If it's a real problem, you can definitely look at medication, but it's not a quick fix."

Moving house or having to spend time with a strange cat are common triggers, O'Malley said.

Animal shelters are all too familiar with anxious cats, Waikato SPCA centre manager Laura Vander Kley said.

"We assume that every cat that comes in here is going to be stressed out.

"We try our absolute best - we love animals here - but a shelter is stressful."

Cats are usually solitary creatures, so being suddenly surrounded by other stressed-out cats can be overwhelming.

Unlike dogs, cats try to hide what they're feeling, making it hard to gauge their mood.

"You'll often find that their body language is hard to read. It's really subtle."

Anxiety in cats has been overlooked, Vander Kley said.

"There's this really big perception in society that a cat is something you feed a couple of times a day and that's it."

Environmental enrichment is the SPCA's focus in reducing anxiety, Vander Kley said.

It doesn't mean buying expensive toys - something as simple as a post to scratch can help.

"Sadly, with cats, it is often only when it gets to an actual problem that people are really addressing it. There is so much we could be doing before it becomes a problem."