Is the Coronavirus Changing Your Pet’s Behaviour?

Is the coronavirus really affecting your favourite fur ball or are you simply taking more notice because you are spending more time together?

Various Responses

On animal forums, people from different countries tell stories about how their cats and dogs are currently modifying their normal habits, something quite strange for them, as they usually feel much better in a strict daily routine.

A professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at Ohio State University says that pets can respond very differently to any change. Some will revel in the fact that their owners are constantly around, others won’t notice while a third group can be disrupted by the change and live this as a stressful experience. An online pets magazine is a great way to learn and understand your animal better and their daily behaviour.

Animal cognition research has looked into this before, but such a globalized quarantine of humans and their pets has never taken place, so it is still unclear how much the confinement is creating anxiety for them. According to specialists, one thing that could explain these sudden changes is called "displacement behaviours."

However, we should also keep in mind that although it’s easy to think that our animal is changing because we are more present, it might just be that we are finally noticing some of their behaviour. This is not something we can simply test for, for example with a pet dna test kit or a trip to the vets, this is learning about animal behaviour.

Animals Displacement Behaviours

Dogs and cats may adopt displacement behaviours when new factors of stress enter their lives. These can come out through pacing, mounting, scratching or vocalizing. In humans we would notice it on someone twirling their thumbs, playing with their hair or chewing a fingernail.

Yawning can also be displacement behaviour. It can be seen in cats and dogs but also in reptiles and birds under duress. It also applies to humans as we yawn more often when we are nervous. The reason might be that it increases the blood circulation which brings more air into the body and cools down the brain.

Why Would Animals Feel Stressed by the Pandemic?

Although they are also living through the coronavirus pandemic; they don’t know that they are. Yet, there could be a variety of reasons why this affects them as well as us. The first is that their regular routine has been disrupted by our additional presence at home.

To reduce that stress, it is important to keep as many daily actions (like feeding time) as it was before. A sudden lack of personal space inside the house may also affect them, so just listen to their needs and don’t overwhelm them.