Pets take a cue from you: remain calm

Reprinted from the Nov. 4, 2005 Daily News

Just as residents around Southwest Florida had to cope with the psychological effects of a deadly hurricane, so, too, did their furry and feathered companions.

Before and after Wilma came to town, some animals trembled. They hid. They even left little surprises in your shoes.

“One of my dogs at home crawled into the cat bed at the back of the closet,” said veterinarian Lesli Reiff, coowner of Naples Safari Animal Hospital and Pet Resort. “She’s 15 years old and she’s never done that before. She knew something was up.”

Christina M. Crawfis, a South Fort Myers animal behaviorist, knew one of her horses experienced a bit too much stress through the hurricane and from being separated from Crawfis in the barn.

“When I opened the stall door Toby nickered at me and then sighed,” Crawfis said, adding she never has heard a horse actually sigh. “That is one of the worst things, that separation anxiety.”

Whether pets were taken along when their owners fled the approaching hurricane, rode it out with their owners at home or were left alone by evacuating owners, these animals have had a rough go of it. Psychologically, they may be just as frazzled as people, said Reiff, who also co-owns Westcoast Veterinary Hospital in Naples.

In the lightning capital of the country, some animals already are thunderstormphobic, Reiff said. A hurricane doesn’t help.

Animals can sense the barometric pressure dropping, and know some type of storm is approaching, said Crawfis, who owns All Dogs Hair Haven and the Naples Academy of Canine Arts. But unlike people, “they don’t think of impending death,” she said.

Nor do they watch that “cone of uncertainty” swallow Florida.

But domesticated animals cannot use one of their natural defense mechanisms: scurrying out of the area, moving to higher ground or high-tailing it inland. That’s because we’re part of their pack now, and they don’t want to leave their owners, Crawfis said.

And if the pets were rescued — such as from the streets or shelters — a host of psychological issues may crop up, animal intuitive Christene Reseigh said. They may revert back to prior bad behaviors, or became aggressive, timid, shy or reclusive, she said.

“If they’re rescues, having to be abandoned again ... old issues can definitely come up,” said Reseigh, who lives in Naples with her 11 pets. “A lot of them have reverted back to being cautious of all people and all sounds. Some don’t have their outside potty duties down again.”

And that’s because animals crave routines, just like children, she said.

“I know in this house the cats wouldn’t settle down without the power,” Reseigh said.

Mentally and physically, animals suffered strain from their owners intensifying stress, packing and leaving. Pets may become forgetful, tire more easily, sleep more and even become highly sensitive to sound and touch, she explained. Some even may destroy household items, and selfmutilate through excessive licking or biting, Crawfis added.

But owners can help soothe these ruffled feathers. Lavender diffused in the air, regularly changing their water, and owners cutting down on their own stress may relax their pets, she said.

“They don’t really need to be babied and coddled,” Crawfis said. “If we remain calm, our pets will be calm.”