Separation Anxiety Solutions Part 2

Katten zijn veel onafhankelijker van aard dan honden en zijn daarom veel minder vatbaar voor verlatingsangst. Hun wispelturige aard maakt dit probleem echter tot een altijd aanwezige bedreiging die met zeer weinig waarschuwing kan worden geactiveerd. Tot overmaat van ramp vertonen katten de symptomen zelden zo duidelijk als honden. Wanneer een kat overstuur is, zal deze een aantal dingen doen om stress te verlichten. Om te voorkomen dat kitty lijdt, zijn hier enkele van de belangrijkste symptomen en oplossingen voor verlatingsangst bij katten.

Scheidingsangst symptomen:

• Excessive leg rubbing or clawing- While most cats are affectionate, there is usually a limit. If your cat insistently passes its daily allotment of rubbing every time you walk in the door, or likes to greet you with a scratch, you might have a problem.
• Shadowing and Blockading- If your cat is following you from room to room, or trying to stand between you and the front door, he or she probably doesn’t want you to go too far.
• OCD cleaning- Cats keep clean with daily grooming. However, if your cat is grooming to such an extent that it’s losing fur, then separation anxiety is a definite possibility.
• Ignoring the litter box- Cats know exactly where they should go, but depending on their attitude towards you they may just choose to do their business on the bed. This is not a sign of a contented kitty cat.
• Chewing, scratching, or biting- If your cat begins to have a problem keeping its destructive impulses confined to the scratching post, they may be suffering from separation anxiety.
• Loss of appetite or nausea- nervousness and anxiety can cause your cat to eschew its food and even retch. Be on the lookout for this unfortunate behavior.

Katten zijn, zoals altijd, een beetje ingewikkelder dan honden. Als zodanig zijn de trucs die je moet gebruiken om je kat te laten gedragen terwijl je weg bent ook een beetje complexer.

Separation Anxiety Solutions:

• Counter-conditioning-You’ll have to be extremely repetitive with your actions before leaving the house in order to reduce the amount of stress a cat has when it sees them. Cats pay a lot of attention to detail so anything that you do regularly including:
  • Picking up your keys
  • Putting on your shoes
  • Opening up the door
  • Carrying a purse/suitcase
  • Packing a bag


• All of these should be repeated 10 to 50 times in a clear line of sight for the cat.
  • Use catnip- Toss some in your suitcase so the cat correlates the bag with fun rather than you leaving, or leave some on the ground when you leave to keep kitty busy.
  • Leave the TV on the nature channel or other cat-centered programming
  • Leave harp music on the radio. Apparently, harp music is shown to have a soothing effect on felines. Who’d have thought?
  • Toys- Just like dogs, cats can be easily distracted.
  
  Apply these cat tactics, and the anxiety problems should cease fairly quickly. But if your cat’s behavioral problems persist, it is advisable to consult your vet for further professional council.