Pets and pandemic: How does life in quarantine affect dogs and cats?

By Kelcie Grega

Monday, April 20, 2020 | 2 a.m.

With the state’s stay-at-home order lasting at least until the end of April, our pets are likely spending much more time with us now than ever before. And overall, that’s a good thing, local veterinary experts say.

“For the most part, it’s tremendously better,” said Dr. Christopher Yach of West Flamingo Animal Hospital. “The fact that we’re able to be home with them and interact with them is an incredibly refreshing thing for almost all pets. More people are going for a walk now than ever before.”

But there are some caveats, particularly if your pet’s schedule has been significantly disrupted.

How stress can affect our pets

Cats especially don’t handle change or stress well, said Dr. Stevie Aitken of Valley Ranch Animal Hospital. Stress in cats can often lead to behavioral problems like litter box avoidance, aggressive behavior, or depression and withdrawal. Stress can also make pets more susceptible to illness, and may exhibit physiological symptoms like gastrointestinal or urinary issues.

“Their bodies can’t handle any sort of stress,” she said. “I tell owners that sometimes it’s even something as simple moving a piece of furniture and they get ticked off.”

Companion animals can also absorb stress and negative energy from their owners. People who are overwhelmed with the overall trauma from the pandemic, from job loss to worries over getting sick, can pass on that energy to their pets.

“Your pet knows when you’re stressed, when you’re sick, when you’re happy, when you’re healthy better than your spouse does,” Yach said. “So when that particular person is experiencing low-level or high-level stress, it does affect the pets.”

Yach said anecdotally he’s seen an influx of sick pets come into his office over the last month or so, not necessarily because their owners are at home, but because stress they absorb from their owners who are experiencing hardships from the pandemic can make them more susceptible to illness.

“A stressed body is less likely to fight anything off,” he said.

Another caveat to more owners being at home and around their pets is the chance of separation anxiety, particularly with dogs, once everyone goes back to work.

“Now that you’re around your dog 24 hours a day, they may get chronic obsessive now that they’re used to you being home all the time. So those little guys with separation anxiety, they get worse when you have to go back to work,” Yach said. “We actually tell people that if you have a clinger, to be sure to not take them everywhere you go.”

Yach said owners should avoid bringing their pets with them on errands, and to even spend time outdoors without them, to ease the transition of when things eventually do go back to normal.

Keeping pets healthy during a pandemic

While there is some evidence that cats can be infected with the coronavirus that spreads COVID-19 — dogs not so much — cat owners shouldn’t panic yet, Aitken said.

“Things are changing every single day and we don’t know enough about this virus to really say,” she said. “Is it possible? Sure. But what they’re showing right now is that they do not believe that pets are an infectious host of this disease … There is no evidence that your pet can make anyone else sick.”

For those who are still worried, Aitken said she is advising people to practice social distancing with their pets the same way they would with any other family member. Don’t let strangers on the street pet your dog on walks and if anyone in the household is home sick, keep the animal away from them if possible.

Owners who live alone with their animal should avoid kissing pets on their face and wash hands frequently.

“I think it really depends on how sick you are,” she said. “If you want to be as safe as possible, have another family member feed them or walk them and try to keep yourself as distant as possible.”

While nonessential businesses are still closed, veterinary offices remain open, which means the pandemic is not an excuse to postpone essential pet health care, Yach said. Still, owners should always prioritize their own health first, he added.

“Sure, they can be a little overdue for a vaccine, but consult your veterinarian and ask them,” he said. The bottom line, Yach said, is to try to stay positive around our pets.

“Make sure to not unload on (your) pets,” he said. “The COVID-19 virus is certainly an unprecedented and stressful time for all of us, but I say that to anyone who is going through some kind of stress or struggle.”