Is your pet stressed?

As humans, we tend to think about stress as a long day at work or a tense social interaction. But stress in pets is often synonymous with anxiety or fear. 

Stress can cause unwanted behaviors and can lead to injury, illness, and aggression in cats and dogs. As a pet owner, it’s important to be aware of and address your pet’s stress so your pet can be happy and healthy. 

“Holidays, particularly summer ones, can be stressful for your pets as they can involve loud noises and new people," said Michael Nappier, clinical associate professor in Community Practice as the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. “Prepare in advance by providing a quiet safe space for your pet and don’t wait until the last minute to request medication from your veterinarian.”

Stress and your pet

Stress affects individual pets differently, and stressors vary by pet — thunderstorms might terrify some pets into hiding, while others might be completely unbothered or even curious about the loud noises.

Though cats and dogs can show stress differently, they share some behaviors in common.

• Appetitive loss.

• Excessive grooming, licking, and scratching. 

• More vocalizations (barking or meowing) than usual.

Grooming is a soothing activity for pets, so they tend to groom when they become stressed. Overgrooming, however, can result in skin irritation and sores, which can become infected. 

Stress in cats

Cats can’t tell us when they’re stressed, but they can show it through body language cues. If your cat is stressed, you might observe:

• Thrashing tail;

• Ears rotated backwards;

• Tail held very close to the body;

• Hissing and growling;

• Hiding.

A common stress behavior in cats is eliminating outside the litter box. However, this behavior can also indicated a bigger medical problem, like a urinary tract infection. If your cat start making it a habit of eliminating outside of the litter box, talk to your veterinarian. 

Stress in dogs

As social, pack animals, dogs have several ways of expressing themselves through body language. If your dog is stressed, you might observe:

• "Whale eye," showing the whites of the eyes;

• Avoiding eye contact or looking away;

• Yawning and lip-licking;

• Drooling;

• Panting;

• Tucking in the tail;

• Pacing;

• Freezing in place.

Many dogs experience separation anxiety when away from their favorite humans. In addition to the behaviors above, dogs with separation anxiety may try to escape, causing damage to doors and windows and possibly injuring themselves in the process.

How to handle animal stress

Remember that an animal that is stressed goes into “fight or flight” mode and may lash out aggressively if pushed. It's particularly important to be cautious around stressed dogs, who are more likely to seriously injure a human. 

“Stress for our pets weakens the human-animal bond we have with them so we should be proactive in trying to identify stressors that could weaken our relationship with them,” Nappier said.

When handling pet stress, it’s important to identify the trigger of the stress and either remove the stressor or remove the animal from the situation. 

Some other tools in your pet stress toolbelt include: 

• Giving the animal something else to focus on, like a toy or an obedience command.

• Provide your pet with proper enrichment. Are all of your pet’s needs being met, including their need for mental stimulus? 

• Stick to a routine. The unexpected is scary, and many pets thrive off of a regular routine. 

• Talk to your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can determine if your pet’s stress is caused by a medical problem and may even prescribe anti-anxiety medications to help your pet.