CalmCat

• Owner-problem phase first: four market research runs read retailer reviews, owner forums and competitor labels across the US, UK and EU. The pattern was consistent: calming products for cats fail on refusal before efficacy is ever tested.
• Literature pass: our AI-powered research system ran 103 searches and cross-checked 42 PubMed-indexed papers; our team reviewed every ingredient and claim. Alpha-casozepine had the most controlled cat research of any calming ingredient. We found no cat trials for valerian, magnolia, GABA, ashwagandha or chamomile.
• A second, stricter pass required a published source for every dose. It removed N-acetyl glucosamine after a six-month placebo-controlled trial in 40 cats found no difference from placebo, and excluded alpha-lipoic acid, about ten times more toxic to cats than reported in dogs.
• A second, independent research run re-checked every citation. We could not obtain the full text of the earliest positive cat trial, so we do not quote its figures. No study has tested our two calming ingredients together, so we make no synergy claim.
• Also rejected: CBD (the one clean cat trial found no effect, and it is not permitted in EU feed), melatonin (regulatory status), and sugars, which cats cannot taste and which degrade the actives during heat sterilisation.

Alpha-casozepine (milk protein hydrolysate)

Calming peptide from milk protein; the calming ingredient with the most published cat research.

L-theanine

Amino acid from tea leaves; a second calming ingredient, supported by an open-label cat study.

Taurine

Essential for cats; topped up because heat sterilisation raises the amount cats need.

Vitamin B6

Cofactor the body uses to make serotonin.

Liver digest and savoury amino acids

Flavour built on what cats can taste, with no sugar.

Tuna and chicken purée

The carrier: a lickable treat format cats already finish.

• In 24 fearful cats fed a calming diet with alpha-casozepine and L-tryptophan or a control diet for 4 weeks, the groups differed on behaviour measures in an unfamiliar room, but not on fear of an unfamiliar person. Cats; a complete diet, not our purée. [1]
• In an open-label study of 33 cats with stress-related signs, L-theanine for 30 days cut the median global stress score from 18 to 5, and 30 of 33 cats improved. No placebo group; cats, given as a tablet. [2]
• A randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 60 cats at the vet gave alpha-casozepine for only 3 to 6 days. The only significant effect was fewer sweaty paws at the high dose. That is why CalmCat is a daily product, not a same-day fix. [3]
• In rats given oral doses from 5 to 50 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg was the lowest effective dose of the casein hydrolysate, with effects similar to diazepam in standard behaviour tests but without its disinhibition. Rats; ingredient only. [4]

• Cat evidence for alpha-casozepine is mixed: a diet study was positive on some measures and a short-course vet-visit trial found little. CalmCat itself has not been tested in cats.
• The L-theanine cat data come from one open-label study without a placebo group, and no study has tested the two ingredients together.
• Effects build over two to four weeks of daily use. CalmCat is not a same-day product, and it does not replace veterinary care.

1. [1]Landsberg G, Milgram B, et al. 2017. Therapeutic effects of an alpha-casozepine and L-tryptophan supplemented diet on fear and anxiety in the cat.Journal of feline medicine and surgery · PubMed 27677831 · Free full text
2. [2]Dramard V, Kern L, et al. 2018. Effect of l-theanine tablets in reducing stress-related emotional signs in cats: an open-label field study.Irish veterinary journal · PubMed 30338056 · Free full text
3. [3]Makawey A, Iben C, et al. 2020. Cats at the Vet: The Effect of Alpha-s1 Casozepin.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · PubMed 33167443 · Free full text
4. [4]Violle N, Messaoudi M, et al. 2006. Ethological comparison of the effects of a bovine alpha s1-casein tryptic hydrolysate and diazepam on the behaviour of rats in two models of anxiety.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · PubMed 16899284

These studies tested ingredients or similar products, often in other species, not this finished product.