What causes pet stress & anxiety?
It’s a widely known and accepted fact that cats, dogs and other animals suffer from anxiety and often act out with inappropriate behaviour. Anxiety that exhibits in destructive behaviors from your pet can occur as a result of:
- Environmental stressors include changes to the pet's environment moving or traveling
- Isolation, fright, boredem, and separation
- Fireworks and thunderstorms
Although certain animals do have a more nervous temperament than others, traumatic events or exposure to particular stressors can make even a normally calm animal stressed.
Types of pet anxiety and actions to overcome them:
Dogs
Cats
Symptoms of pet anxiety:
- Whining
- Excessive barking
- Licking or chewing on their skin
- Tearing up house items
- Soiling the home in your absence
- Pacing
- Trying to escape by chewing on window or door frames
- In some cases, the dog simply gets sick, perhaps due to some form of depression.
These behaviour problems are some of the most serious that dog owners have to face, and are growing ever more common.
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Separation Anxiety Is associated with an extreme distress response following the departure of a human companion or owner. Their anxious (and sometimes destructive) behavior occurs within the first hour after they are left alone. From mild whining to full scale panic attacks, the dog exhibits behavior which may include:
What do you do
- Plan your exit
- Leave a distraction
- Confine your dog when you are away
- Leave the radio on or tape of your own voice
- Practice reinforcement training routine prior to leaving & reward good behaviour with a treat
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Fear Anxiety Some dogs react fearfully to thunderstorms or strangers, or have an aversion to people of a certain age, race, or gender. Other dogs show signs of aggression toward other dogs or even, frighteningly, toward humans, or directed towards other species such as cats.
- Possible causes of aggression include:
- Possessive
- Predatory
- Protective
- Redirected, territorial behavior
- Fear or maternal aggression
What to do
The best way to start trying to reduce aggressive instincts is with socialising puppies, and trying not to get them into the situation where they feel they have to use aggression to protect themselves. Some cases may require veterinary or specialist advice.
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Barking
Is a problem that, if recognised early (before 6 months old) can be managed through training, but becomes harder to treat the longer it goes on. There are a number of methods ongoing for treating this problem, varying from training, anti-barking collars, supplementation, medication and reducing the stimulus.
What to do first
- Establish Your Leadership - When a dog has a strong leader, it has a calming effect on him
- Exercise Your Dog - A dog that is lacking exercise is more likely to have stress and tension. If your not available to do this, perhaps your neighbour, friend or a dog walking service can help
- Entertain Them for instance, instead of putting all of their biscuits in a bowl, spread them out over the yard so he spends time picking them up
- Find a friend - The best toy for a dog is another dog. Do you know anyone else in the neighbourhood that would be a companion for your pup.
If barking persists, consult a qualified animal behaviorist.
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Transferred stress
If you are anxious and stressed, this will impact your pet.
What to do
One of the most important things you can do to minimize stress in your pet is to keep your own stress level down. A hot cup of herbal tea, a glass of wine, or maybe a drop or two of Rescue Remedy in a glass of water might be just the thing you need on some of those days when you find yourself "telegraphing" your own stress to your cat.
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Heat stress
Dogs and cats pant to lower their body temperature – they do not sweat like humans. If your pet is overheated you may notice:
- Excessive panting
- Salivating
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Increased heart rate
- Seizures or strange behaviour
- Overly red or purple gums
- Coma or even death within a few hours
What to do
If you suspect your pet is suffering from heat stress then you should call your vet for advice as soon as possible. In the meantime you should move your pet to a cooler spot and keep him or her quiet. Apply cool (not cold) water by hose or damp, cool towels. Immerse your dog in a cool tub of water for short periods if it can sit up – you want to lower the temperature gradually to avoid hypothermia.
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Stress and Anxiety in Your Cat
Stress can have a debilitating effect on cats It can exacerbate existing physical conditions, and it can lead to a number of problems often considered behavioural, such as
- Litter box avoidance,
- Aggressive behaviour
- Depression and withdrawal.
Stress and anxiety in cats can come from sources, such as
- Environmental changes or external stresses
- Physical stress
When a cat sprays
This is a very common problem with cats, especially males, and is more often seen in entire males but can also be seen in neutered males and females. The problem has to be distinguished from inappropriate urination and defecation which is not territorial. The sites cats choose to spray usually have some significance such as an entry or exit point, or an area associated with the owners smell.
What to do
There are a number of management protocols which may be combined with medication, which in most cases can eliminate the problem.
Over grooming
Cats can spend up to 50% of their time grooming, and it is a common displacement activity to reduce stress. Low grade stress induced is harmless, but cats can over groom due to continued stress and this can lead to hair loss, skin damage, and even mutilation of body tissue.
What to do
Trying to remove the cause of the stress from the environment, or medicating to try to reduce the stress levels of the cat. Hair re-growth usually occurs when the problem is controlled.
What are some key environmental changes?
Change Cats do not deal well with change. Even subtle changes in a cat's environment can lead to stress; substantial changes, such as moving, introduction of a new baby, spouse, or other animal to the household, can have devastating effects.
New Family Members, Human or Animal: Cats may react in a number of ways to new family members, including aggression, withdrawal, or sudden litter box avoidance, to name a few.
Moving to a New Residence: Moving calls for care in minimising disruption to your cat's life
A New Job: Or other change in daily routine should also be handled by planning ahead.
Re-directed aggression often happens when a household cat is sitting on his favourite perch, gazing out the window. Suddenly he sees a strange cat stroll through his yard. Frustrated because he can't get outside to defend his territory, the cat will suddenly attack the closest being, whether it is another resident cat or a hapless human.
What to do
Keep your cat away from that window, or somehow barring his view, while taking steps to discourage the strange cat from further exploration in your yard.
Fear
Fear almost always comes from sudden, outside sources. Fire, thunder storms, hail storms, fireworks are classic examples of fear-resulting stressors. Fear is sometimes exhibited when one cat is being "picked on" by another
What to do
Although many of these environmental stressors cannot be predicted, it is still essential to have a plan for dealing with an emergency before it happens.
Rivalry or Jealousy
This takes place more often with the introduction of new cats to the household, or as kittens grow into adulthood, and they sort out their "pecking order" in the household feline hierarchy.
What to do
Often the best solution is just to leave them alone. Cats have a wonderful way of working things out, and once the alpha cat is established, peace will reign again. Sudden rivalry and jealousy between two previously friendly adult cats is another subject. It can be more often caused by some environmental change, which will take a bit of detective work on your part to discover.
Stress in the Older Cat:
Stress is a big factor in managing the health of a senior cat, or any cat with a serious physical condition. Cats with weakened immune systems, such as FIV or FeLV do not thrive under stress.
What to do
Older cats and cats with chronic and terminal disease do much better in a quiet setting, with a minimum of environmental changes. It would be very unwise to bring home a new kitten or a noisy dog under these circumstances. Loud noises and sudden movement should be avoided, if possible.
Your vet may require to see your pet as serious complications can develop from heat stress – brain swelling, kidney failure, convulsions, shock or, in serious cases, death.
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