Have you seen any of these signs in your pet?

Have you seen any of these signs in your pet?

-lip licking

-panting excessively

- hiding/retreating

-urine spraying (cats)

-yawning

-inability to settle

Then your beloved pet may have Anxiety!

Anxiety can manifest in multiple different forms such as; separation anxiety, noise phobias and resource guarding.

Anxiety treatment is multifactorial, there is no easy quick fix.

-calming pheromones such as Feliway and Adaptil can be quiet effective for mild cases

- Regular exercise can help reduce anxiety. And yes you can exercise your cat! Throw toys with bells up the hallway for them to chase or tantalise them with feather toys on a string that they have to try and catch

-Use interactive feed toys/ slow feeders to keep them entertained

- Avoid anxiety inducing triggers/events – the more times they are exposed to triggers without behaviour medication or medications the more ridged the pathways in their brain become

-Behaviour modification can replace undesirable behaviours with more appropriate ones through positive reinforcement

- Avoid punishment as it can turn off their early warning systems

- Some pets may require behaviour medications. No this is not a last resort, it is an essential tool in treating anxiety disorders. Learning is affected by the emotional state, therefore high levels of anxiety can affect memory. By reducing your pets level of anxiety with behaviour medications it will help with their learning and behaviour modification training.  

The longer you leave your pets anxiety untreated the harder it is to get them back on track. If you have detected any signs of anxiety in your pet please book a consult with one of our vets

Source: anxietyinpets