Why doesn't your cat suffer from stress disorders? Besides sleeping twenty hours a day, cats deal with stress very differently than humans. Most mammals have periods of stress, but unlike humans who create extended periods of stress, other mammal's stressful periods come in short intervals. Many of the diseases of the modern world that have come to be accepted as the norm, as suggested by neuroscientists and immunologists, are actually from excessive levels of stress hormones. Stress hormones can have far-reaching effects including immunosuppression, alterations in homone levels, effects on blood sugar and blood fats and more. We will review the mechanisms of stress and the botanicals that modulate the key--the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis.