Pampering
your cat might go down the wrong way if a new survey is to be believed,
as a study has revealed that being held or stroked for too long can be
very stressful for some cats.
According to the Cats
Protection's survey, more than half of cat owners are unaware of the
stress being mollycoddled can give their pet. Pet behaviour manager,
Nicky Trevorrow, said that space and peace is often what cats need. They
are not small furry humans, so what would comfort us will not
necessarily comfort them. Owners love their animals and want them to be
happy but the research has now highlighted a lack of understanding.
Watch out! You could be making these mistakes...
The survey also showed that owners still have a lot to learn about
them, as 55% did not realise living with another cat or dog can be
stressful. Here are other ways in which you might unknowingly be causing
your pet to get angry and throw a hissy fit...
Putting odd hours in the routine
Face it. Pets like to have their food on time and sleep in fixed times.
If you start to change that schedule to fit into your working hours,
you may land up with an annoyed pet. This also includes arriving home
from work at odd hours. So, always have established routines around the
pet.
Ignoring those barks
Don't continue
reading or walk away when your pet is trying to get your attention. Even
if you may think he's just excited, he could be actually trying to
sound the alarm over something or simply saying he wants to go out.
Staring at a cat
Don't gaze into your cats eyes, it will irritate him or her to no end.
Did you know that cats make use of long eye contact as a way to show
aggression. Instead, look at the cat then slowly blink, which will let
it know that you are not a threat.
Confusing the dog
If you are going to give your dog an old shoe to play with and chew on
and then get really annoyed with him for chewing on your new ones, it's
your mistake. Dogs are not able to differentiate between old and new and
getting angry this way with them will leave them stressed.
Forcing social interactions
Dogs are sociable animals, sure. But making them 'hold out their paw'
to new neighbours or interact with your friends is a no-no. They may shy
away out of being scared or uncomfortable around a new person, so give
them their own time to come around.
