It seems life is returning back to normal (pre-covid days), and that means family holidays for many after years of staying indoors. Planning for your pets during this time is very important, especially as our fur children can pick up on the stress and anxiety surrounding this holiday time. Whether you’re heading off on holiday or going to be spending it with family at home, we need to consider how our pets will adapt to the changes in their environment. Will there be friends and family visiting and with that lots of laughter and excitement that your pets may not be used to? Will they be going on holiday with you? If not, will they be staying at the kennels or the cattery? Or, will a pet sitter be loving them and looking after them while you are away?
Marycke Ackhurst from Hill’s Pet Nutrition says that all of these changes, along with loud events such as New Year’s Eve, can cause your pets to become extremely anxious. Dogs and cats’ hearing is far sharper, and much more sensitive, than ours so even if there is loud noise quite a fair distance from your home, it could still trigger an anxious reaction. To identify whether you pet is anxious and nervous, Marycke recommends pet parents look out for the following signs in your pet’s behaviour:
Dogs behaviour to look out for:
– Nose or lip licking
– Yawning
– Excessive panting
– Reduced appetite
– Tail lowered or tucked
– Ears pinned back
– Cowering
– Trembling or shaking
– Increased vocalisations e.g. whining, howling, barking
– Excessive attention seeking
Cats behaviour to look out for:
– Urinating in strange places
– Scratching compulsively
– Hiding away
– Panicked meows or recurrent whining
– Aggression
– Sleeping more
– Decreased appetite
If you are also not too sure about your pets symptoms, try the Hills Stress test here
A Few Changes To Make at Home
1. Keep familiar noises or sounds playing in the house such as the TV and some background music. The more it seems like an everyday, normal situation, the better.
2. Create a comfortable, smaller space in the house for your dog or cat to retreat to when they’re feeling anxious. As a distraction from any loud noises, provide them with a tasty chew toy.
3. Keep outside noises and bright lights (like fireworks) at bay by closing the windows, doors and curtains at home.
4. For outdoor cats who come and go as they please, rather place a litter tray inside and close the doors and the cat flap, so they can’t go outside that evening.
5. If you can’t stay at home with your pets, have someone else they trust there to calm and reassure them – the less changes during this time the better.
6. It is always best to introduce the pet sitter to the pets so that they can become familiar with them.
7. If you’re dropping your pet off at the kennel or cattery for the holidays, send them with their bed, favourite chew toy and blanket to bring them comfort. This way the change of environment won’t be as dramatic and stressful for them.
8. A calming collar, spray or diffuser may help your pet settle in the changing holiday environment.
9. Ask your veterinarian about specially formulated foods which help alleviate stress, however, for severe cases, they may recommend certain medication to ease the anxiety.
