What Causes Stress in Pets

Just like humans, animals can suffer from stress and anxiety. Animals can become stressed for many different reasons, such as, a new animal or child entering the animal’s space, loud noises or being frightened. If you think that your pet is stressed, there are signs you can look out for. In dogs, some examples include trembling, loss of appetite and dilated pupils can all be an indication of stress. In cats, the symptoms are very similar and can include shedding of fur and inappropriate urination.

If your dog or cat loses their appetite due to stress, it can lead to weight loss and decrease the nutrition they are receiving from their food. Hills Pets vitamin and mineral enriched foods contain the necessary ingredients to keep your dog healthy from the inside. The protein rich food delivers goodness in every bite, and the Hills Pets Prescription Diet™ and Science Diet™ ranges are specially tailored to your pet’s health needs: for example, if they are underweight, the food will help them to gain weight healthily.

There are ways to help your pet become less stressed. If the cause of your pet’s stress is other animals, make sure he has a quiet space where he can retreat to, away from animals and children. This quiet space will serve as a safe haven. Another way is to offer food separately so pets can each eat at their own pace and in peace. The main way to reduce stress is to keep change to a minimum, gradually altering or introducing something new.