Cat and Dog Separation Anxiety Treatment (behavior problems)

Cat and Dog Separation Anxiety Treatment

Treating pet separation anxiety requires you to desensitize your pet so it is no longer anxious as you come and go. Desensitizing requires you to start with behaviors that don’t cause anxiety and gradually progress to behaviors that have caused anxiety in the past. Adjust the rate you progress by how quickly your pet adapts. If anxiety occurs, stop what you’re doing and go back to the step that did not upset the pet. Then, more gradually move toward the behavior you want the pet to accept. By taking a couple months to desensitize your pet, you’ll have the rest of its life to enjoy having a pet that is relaxed as you come and go from the house.

To desensitize your pet to your leaving the house, repeat each of the following until the pet no longer takes any notice.

• From within the house, open the door and shut it without walking through.
• Open the door, walk through, shut the door and immediately re-enter.
• Open the door, walk through, shut the door and re-enter in 15 seconds.
• Open the door, walk through, shut the door and re-enter in 30 seconds.
• Open the door, walk through, shut the door and re-enter in 1 minute.
• Gradually increase time before re-entry until absence is tolerated for an hour, two hours, three hours...

You’re proceeding too quickly if the pet demonstrates anxiety at any step. Some pets require dozens of repetitions. Let your pet be your guide.

What over-the-counter products help pets feel less anxious?

Pheromones for Separation Anxiety

Comfort Zone D.A.P. pheromone is an atomizer containing a chemical message that the dog is safe. Dogs smell this pheromone, but people cannot. The DAP pheromone sends the same signal the dog got as a puppy snuggling with its mother: All is well.

Comfort Zone Feliway pheromone is an atomizer containing a chemical message that the cat is safe. Cats can smell this pheromone, but people cannot. This is the same message the cat leaves when it rubs its chin against your leg: All is well with the world.

Herbs for Separation Anxiety

Composure Liquid is a calming herbal liquid made with Thiamine (Vit B1), L-Theanine, Lecithin, Calming Decapeptide from milk protein.

Quiet Moments is a calming herbal tablet: Chamomile flower, Passion flower, Thiamine, Ginger, and L- Tryptophan.

Homeopathics for Separation Anxiety

HomeoPet Anxiety Relief is a homeopathic with Chamomile, Valeriana, Ignatia, and other ingredients.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids for Separation Anxiety

Lipiderm, 3V Caps, Derm Caps, 1-800-PetMeds Brite Coat XS, and Missing Link contain Omega 3 fatty acids that promote brain nutrition, learning, good mood, and good behavior.

What prescription products control anxiety?

Prescription pharmaceuticals prescribed for pets with separation anxiety include amitriptyline, Clomicalm, clomipramine, fluoxetine, diazepam, alprazolam, triazolam, cyproheptadine, and buspirone.

Prescription pharmaceuticals don’t begin to produce results until they’ve been taken for days or weeks. Prescription anxiolytics should be continued for a minimum of 1-2 months after the pet stops being anxious. In the average pet, treatment lasts 4-6 months. Pets are slowly weaned off these medications.

What individual homeopathic remedies are prescribed for pet separation anxiety?

In addition to the combination remedy HomeoPet Anxiety Relief individual homeopathic remedies used for separation anxiety include Phosphorus, Lachesis, Phosphoric Acid, Lycopodium, Pulsatilla, Arsenicum, Argentum Nitricum, and Kali carbonicum. Your holistic veterinarian will help you find the best remedy based on your pet’s physical and emotional characteristics.

Can more than one behavior-modifying product be used at one time?

Yes. The pheromones, Comfort Zone D.A.P. for dogs and Comfort Zone Feliway for cats can be combined with any of the other medications, including herbal meds and Omega 3 fatty acids. Combining behavior-modifying agents is rather like tuning up a car engine. The mechanic makes the car operate best by providing brake fluid, transmission fluid, engine oil, radiator fluid, and steering fluid. These fluids all work in different ways to make the engine function optimally. In the same way, behavior-modifying agents all work in different ways to promote brain and organ health so that the pet is happy and well-behaved.

What toys might help with pet separation anxiety?

Toys that slowly release food can keep pets busy. The Buster Food Cube holds kibble and releases it as the pet turns it over. Kong toys hold food—peanut butter, cheese, kibble—and can keep a pet focused on something other than its owner’s absence.

Can’t I just cuddle my pet to make it less anxious?

It is unfortunate that cuddling doesn’t cure anxiety because this is often our first tendency. The problem with cuddling an anxious pet is that we are teaching the pet it will get rewarded if it is anxious. What we want to reward is calm happiness. If you want separation anxiety to cease, it is better to ask the pet to sit or come, and reward it for proper behavior, than to soothe it when it is anxious.

Should a pet with separation anxiety be left in a crate? Crating will help some pets and upset others. Provide a crate for your pet if it makes your pet calm, but don’t use a crate if it makes your pet anxious. If you can’t lock your pet in a crate to prevent it from being destructive when you’re out, what can you do? Use herbs, homeopathics, and pheromones, or

Should my pet be able to see out the window when it’s home alone?

Some pets are more at ease if they can see the outside world; these pets should have access to windows and patio doors. Other pets are easily upset by wandering cats and dogs and become more anxious if they can see them in the yard. These pets should not be able to see outdoors.

Some cats begin marking (spraying) inside the house in frustration because they see stray cats wandering in the yard. If your cat does this, either close the curtains and don’t let it see outside or discourage the stray cats.

I am excited to see my pet when I get home and make a big deal of it for having been alone all day—am I increasing the likelihood my pet will develop separation anxiety?

Unfortunately, yes. Most pets with separation anxiety are very excited when the owner returns. The pet’s greeting behavior is excessively exuberant. Often we mistakenly encourage this behavior because we believe it means the pet loves us deeply. Unfortunately, encouraging exuberant greetings causes pets to be more anxious when we are away rather than to reassure pets that we will return. It’s best to ignore pets for a few minutes after returning, and greet your pet when it’s calm.

I feel guilty when I leave my pet in the morning and spend lots of time telling it not to worry—am I increasing the likelihood it will develop pet separation anxiety?

Yes. Pets with separation anxiety follow us around, looking increasingly more despondent the closer we get to leaving. By the time we exit, our pets are anxious and the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system is aroused. The sympathetic system releases adrenalin, and adrenalin stimulates activity. Thus, pets with separation anxiety begin barking, yowling, destroying furniture, or defecating right after we leave. The most severe reaction occurs within 15 minutes of departure, but can persist the entire time we are away.

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians   Date Category Topic 02/21/06  Anxiety Relief  PANCREATITIS 02/09/06  Skin Care  WARTS 01/25/06  Anxiety Relief  IS THIS SOME FORM OF SEIZURE? 12/18/05  Anxiety Relief  ANXIETY?? 12/06/05  Allergy  CONSTANT ITCHING AND BALD SPOTS 03/06/05  Training Aid  WETS WHEN NERVOUS OR STRANGE PEOPLE PET HIM. 03/05/05  Allergy  RED AREAS ON BELLY AND LEGS 02/07/05  Other  NERVOUSNESS

 

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