Pheromone diffusers can be helpful for pet owners, veterinary teams and pet services personnel to help calm cats of all ages in various scenarios. While not an end-all-be-all, pheromones can be used to help ease aggression and social tension.
Pheromones are not a substitute for providing a safe, secure, and enriched environment for cats. Especially in multicat households, pheromone diffusers can be of some help but are never the solution to behavior problems or conflict between cats. . . Pheromones are never enough, [but] they are helpful.” – Elizabeth Colleran, DVM, MS, DABVP (Feline)
Source: DVM 360, August 18, 2023. Link.
Also see: Pheromones; the nose knows, AHD, March 6, 2018. Link. Olfactory responses are learned by experiences. Pheromones, by contrast, are “hard-wired, innate.” Smell responses require experience and learning while semiochemicals are innate. The two are even processed differently.