Page 40 Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020
for cats and dogs, the very first weeks
— roughly aged three to 16 weeks —
are significant, depending on the
animal and breed.
T h e w o r d s s o c i a l i s a t i o n a n d
habituation mean how your animal
can learn to be happy with the peo-
ple, animals and things around it. If
your puppy has spent its formative
weeks in a dirty cage with no human
contact and has never seen a vacuum
cleaner until it gets to your house,
it’s no surprise lots of them don’t
cope. Don’t buy one anyway because
you feel sorry for it: that way, you are
only making room for another.
Be very careful where you get
your pets. Adoption is always my
favourite route and many of the good
organisations have excellent behav-
ioural assessment and help.
If you’re going to a breeder, you
must see the puppy or kitten where
it has been raised. Meet its mother,
and ask about what has been done
for socialisation and habituation,
and what you should do next. If the
breeder doesn’t know, walk away.
Just as importantly, seek expert
help as soon as possible for behav-
iour problems. The sooner you tackle
these issues, the more likely you are
to succeed. Every pet deserves to be
happy as well as healthy.healthier happier pet
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
PHEROMONES STOPPED
HER BEING FEARFUL
Clare Guntrip, 33, works for the
ambulance service and lives near
Watford with her husband Jae. they
have a ten-year-old cat called lucy.ThE moment I saw Lucy, who’s a
Manx cat with a tail and unusual
markings, I fell in love with her.
Although she was shy and hid away at
first, she was also very affectionate. I
just had to have her.
After a few weeks, we noticed that while
she was settled when it was just us around,
if anyone else came in, she’d run behind
the TV. She just didn’t seem to have the
confidence to meet people.
It was difficult. We loved her and wanted
to show her off, but she was too nervous
to come out. Whenever the doorbell went
or someone knocked, she’d immediately
run away and we’d hear her scratching.
Lucy would scratch at the corners of the
floor, at a door if it was shut, and she’d
claw the carpet and sofa. I’ve been around
animals all my life and never seen a cat
hide as much or look as uncomfortable
when people came in.
She was obviously really unhappy
and knowing that was awful. I just
wanted her to feel safe and happy.
I spoke to a couple of friends who
suggested using Feliway, a plug-in
that releases pheromones that
calm your cat down. I hadn’t heard
o f i t. I k n e w n o t h i n g a b o u t
pheromones and wondered how
something you plugged in could
work — but I thought I’d try it.
Nothing happened at first, but
after a week or two a friend came
round and picked up one of Lucy’s
toys. Lucy ran straight out and
started playing with it. I was so
shocked. She’d normally have
stayed hidden but now she wanted
to play with a stranger!
After that, she started becoming
more confident, coming out from
where she was hiding more quickly.
She even started purring, which
was lovely to hear. Seeing her
transformation was unbelievable.
Yet a couple of days after plug-in
ran out, she went back to scratch-
ing, so I bought some more. They
cost around £14 for a month’s
supply, but they’re worth it.
Lucy now loves people coming in
and always walks up to greet them.
She’s a different cat compared to
when we got her, and I feel so much
calmer and happier too.
EMMA MILNE’S VERDICT:
WhEN cats scratch furniture and
trees and so on, they are not just
keeping their claws healthy, they
are marking their territory. Their
own scent makes them feel safe
and secure.
The pheromones can really help
because it makes the cat feel like it
has already marked its territory.
(Don’t worry, the smell is undetec-
table to humans!)
Cats can be timid and find
strangers very threatening. Never
force your cat to have human
contact. Freedom to escape is really
important for pet happiness. With
cats, life needs to be on their terms.
You know what they say: dogs have
owners, cats have staff!WE COULD NEVER
LEAVE HER ALONE
Jo-anne armstronG, 60, lives
in Bangor, Co. Down, with
husband peter, 71. they have a
three-year-old bichon frise, lily.
LILY came to us when she was
about ten months old and we wereher fourth owners. One had been
disabled and at home all day so
Lily had never been trained to be
alone. But we didn’t realise there
was a problem until July 2018,
when we went away for a few days
leaving her with a friend.
Lily didn’t settle at her house so,
on the day we were due home, our
friend dropped her at ours beforewe arrived and left her there,
thinking she’d be happier.
But when we walked in she was
very distressed. She was panting
and the floor was wet because
she’d salivated so much.
We called in a behaviourist, who
set up cameras in the kitchen. We
all went out and watched her on
the screen — she was pacing, jump-
ing up at the door and chewing the
table and architraves.
She had separation anxiety and
couldn’t be left alone for a moment.
It broke my heart to see it — I
was in tears. It was very, very
distressing and I felt guilty I hadn’t
spotted it before.
The behaviourist gave me a
training programme and started
working with us. First, I’d stand in
front of her while she was in her
basket, telling her to ‘stay’ then
taking one step back and givingVet rebecca Hughes, 42, owns Vets4pets in
Wrexham plas Coch, Wales, and lives
nearby with her husband richard, 45, a
painter-decorator, daughter emily, five,
and dachshund cross Doris, 21 months.
LOOkING back, Doris had anxiety issues when
we got her as a puppy — but at the time I
didn’t know. It was only when she didn’t
grow out of chewing things that I realised.
In fact, that behaviour became more manic
as she got older. She also started leaping
over the garden fence, which is very high, to
get to cats. It became an obsession.
So about a year ago, I called in a dog trainer
I trust. She agreed Doris’s behaviour was
odd — she’d fly around the house, on and offthe furniture, jumping on chairs and tables.
If she was at home alone, she wouldn’t chew
anything; but if you were in the room, she’d
constantly gnaw on everything.
The trainer had never seen anything like it
and neither had I. I felt I’d let her down, like
I wasn’t giving her the time she needed.
I put her on pain relief for two weeks —
two-thirds of behavioural problems in dogs
are linked to pain — but it made no differ-
ence. Neither did natural calming aids that
are supposed to help make them happier.
Then I found a drug on a shelf at work we
rarely use called Selgian. It’s an antidepres-
sant for dogs which promotes dopamine and
is for emotional disorders like depression oranxiety. Remarkably, within a week of taking
this drug she’d calmed down. The manic
chewing stopped and she wasn’t trying to
get out of the garden all the time.
I’d never have thought it would be that
simple. In fact, I’m a bit fearful of taking her
off the drug, which costs about £30 a month,
because if I forget it for a couple of days, I
see the old behaviour creeping back.
But now she’s a lovely dog to be around!
EMMA MILNE’S VERDICT: Rebecca makes
an excellent point here about pain. There
are many cases of behaviour problems
related to pain, something long-backed
breeds such as dachshunds can be very
prone to.ANTIDEPRESSANT STOPPED THE CONSTANT CHEWING
how to
have a
HELP FURRY
FRIENDS FACE
THEIR FEARS
many children request small
furries as pets, but do busy
parents have the time to cater to
their needs? Dr Jane tyson,
rodent welfare expert for the
rspCa, explains how to stop
rodents feeling lonely...
FOR species that would naturally
live in groups, living on their own
can be very stressful. You might
start to see repetitive behaviours,
like continually chewing cages or
over-grooming.
There are lots of different, subtle
indications that they may be
stressed. If you have
concerns, speak to
your vet.
Mice, rats, gerbils
a n d g u i n e a p i g s
require the com-
pany of their own,
but don’t mix spe-
cies. With hamsters
it’s more compli-
cated, as of the five
species used as pets,
Syrian and Chinese
hamsters prefer to
be on their own. If you put two
together that shouldn’t be, they
are likely to fight each other.
With most rodents, single-sex
groups are advised — otherwise
you’ll end up with more than you
bargained for. Male guinea pigs,
however, can be neutered easily
so they can exist in mixed groups
quite happily.
Small groups work best, and keep
the group as stable as possible —
don’t remove one for a period of
time then put it back in. This can
make things stressful.
So bear this in mind if you have to
keep one in isolation for health
reasons: it’s a good idea to keep
them near one another so they can
see, smell and hear each other.
Daily human interaction is very
important. If nothing else, you
should be checking them for ill-
nesses. You could also build up your
bond by teaching them little tricks.DOES your pet hide away or go
into panic mode whenever you
leave the house? It may be that
they are suffering loneliness or
even depression. Anxiety is
common in dogs left while
owners work. Cats often feel
most stressed about fellow
felines living in close proximity.
It’s important to seek expert
advice if you sense your animal
is unhappy. Here, four owners
reveal how they healed their
pets’ mental anguish ...The plug-in
cure for
scaredy cats
... and therapy
for lonely dogs
De-stressed: Jo-Anne with bichon frise Lily and Rio with Mulan