Have you infected your pet with STRESS

Think the pandemic took its toll on your mental health? A top vet says it’s also left our beloved cats and dogs with lasting problems... and unlockdown has only made things WORSE

DR RORY COWLAM is known to fans of his TV shows — which include The Pets Factor and Blue Peter — simply as ‘Rory the Vet’. The 29-year-old is an animal rescue ambassador and author of The Secret Life Of A Vet.

POOR Bella the tabby arrived in a sorry state. She had cystitis and was overgrooming so much that small bald patches of pink skin were beginning to show through her once-thick fur.

I asked her owner what had changed in their lives? Cats, like most pets, are creatures of habit and can become anxious if their routine is disturbed — and these were classic signs of stress.

Bella’s owner promptly burst into tears. She had just broken up with her partner, but this was in the early days of the pandemic and she couldn’t move out. So they were constantly at each other: trapped in a one-bedroom flat together with no respite.

On top of that, she had lost her job. It was too much for her to handle and, unsurprisingly, six-year-old Bella had picked up on her owner’s distress and become anxious, too.

It’s a situation vets like me have seen more and more of since the pandemic began.

People might not realise it, but animals are really tuned into their owners — dogs and cats in particular because we live so closely with them — and they do detect our stress.

And that, in turn, makes them feel stressed, which can show itself in different ways — from illness to behaviour changes such as not wanting to go out for walks, or becoming reluctant to eat.

If anything changes even slightly, these sensitive creatures will pick up on it and wonder: ‘Why’s that happened? He’s not as happy to see me as usual. He didn’t say hello to me. What have I done?’

And, of course, lockdown hasn’t been easy for anyone and, for many, the ‘return to normal’ has been difficult, too.

All this emotional upheaval means we’ve now got a huge amount of animals with issues: I think I’ve prescribed more behaviour modification drugs — including antidepressants — this year than I ever have in my career.

Vets first really started realising the full extent of the problem after the first easing of lockdown last summer. People who had been hunkering down started going out again and many felt anxious about it. I remember feeling scared the first time I got on the Tube.

Pets, left alone for the first time in months, picked up on that. Not only that, vets had far more animals to deal with — one in four households decided last year was the time to get a new pet, and my own surgery was signing up 100 new patients a week.

Those pups and kittens can be amazing for our mental health — but we have to remember that when we are not 100 per cent kitted out to cope with life, we pass it on to them.

Pets tend to show they’re stressed in ways similar to humans — not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, anxious behaviour when out and about, going off food.

The change in cats is often startling. They can develop cystitis and colitis, pee in unusual places (such as your bed) and pull their own hair out, often ending up with bald bellies.

With dogs, it’s more about changes in behaviour — their tail between their legs, wanting to stay in, snapping at people and other animals and not settling in environments they’d normally be happy in.

Birds pluck out their own feathers and grind their beaks. Rabbits will stamp their feet. While hamsters will chew their bars to the point where their teeth are bleeding.

Vets have seen these behaviours increase in the past year or so and I do believe that pet stress is the next pandemic.

As stress may shorten the lives of dogs and cats, it’s important to identify it and get it under control. With dogs, we tend to excuse behaviours such

as snapping and growling but you must never ignore it. It can quickly turn into an aggressive dog. If picked up

early, it’s easier to deal with.

THE same with separation anxiety — dogs destroying the house or howling when their owners leave them alone. There has been an increase as animals got used to their owners working from home and were unsettled when they started leaving again. But we have to get on top of it otherwise rehoming centres will be

full of dogs with this problem for the next ten years.

Another big concern is puppies showing aggression. A six-month-old cocker spaniel once tried to bite me.

Puppies should not know those ‘swear words’, as I call them. The fact they do means they’re over-stressed and well on the way to becoming an aggressive dog.

So how can we change this situation? If you’re starting to see behaviour changes in your pet, ask yourself what has changed. Something will have. Then try to bring some routine back — always feed and walk at the same time — stick to it and make sure it’s constant. That’s the key.

If it’s a medical issue, see your vet. Otherwise, you need a behaviourist — there are many across the country who are trained to help.

If you get a puppy, make sure you socialise them. It’s so important to expose them to positive events, traffic, people and other animals in their first year or they will get stressed when you eventually do. And prepare them for

being away from you. Find a safe space for them and leave them first for 60 seconds, then five minutes, building up slowly to when you can leave them for a few hours.

Another big thing for dogs is exercise — a tired dog is not an anxious dog. Pheromone diffusers and collars, which release calming hormones, are great, too.

When most people are told their pet’s problems are being caused by the owner’s stress, they are relieved. They know if they can sort themselves out things will fall into line. But remember that if your

animal has an issue, it’s never too late to ask for help.

THE paperback version of The Secret Life Of A Vet by Dr Rory Cowlam is available now.