The Stresses of Christmas on our Pets

Christmas is a busy time for many of us, but for our pets it can be stressful too. They don’t have to worry about catering for family visiting, and wrapping presents, but there are several aspects of the Christmas period which can be unsettling for pets, especially if they have a nervous demeanour.

Changing Routine

With Christmastime comes changing routines. Whether that’s the family being in all day, with no work and school, to being around at strange times. Many of us see a change in our routine around Christmas. Even if we’re keeping our usual working hours, the chances are we could be out late for Christmas parties or catching up with friends before the end of the year. Our pets are aware of our usual daily and weekly routines, and changes to this can leave them feeling unsettled. Your dog knows which coat you usually wear for a walk, and your cat will know when it’s time for dinner, so they certainly know when to usually expect you home or what is a usual day for their human. Enrichment toys can be great to keep pets occupied, especially those which promote licking and, in dogs, chewing, to help to promote calm.

Visitors

For many Christmas is a time when family and friends visit. Which from your pet’s point of view, could mean strangers in the house. Some pets love the opportunity for extra fuss and attention, but for other more timid pets, this is a scary experience. Be sure to provide your pet with safe spaces. This could be their bed, somewhere to hide (especially for cats) or another area, but it should be a quiet and comfortable spot where visitors don’t go.

Decorations

Whether this is reindeer outside of houses in the neighbourhood, flashing lights everywhere, candles or the tree we bring into the house, there are many decorations for Christmas. Decorations can pose hazards in themselves, especially if your pets are likely to try to eat or chew them, climb them or become entangled in them. Aside from this, filling our homes with decorations can be disconcerting for our pets. Change can be scary and this alone can cause stress for our pets.

Travel

If you’re travelling to spend Christmas elsewhere this year, and your pets are coming too, there could be a journey involved which is out of the ordinary for your pets. If your pets aren’t comfortable in the car, or however you will be travelling, this can be an activity which induces anxiety for them. Remember that around the bank holidays congestion means that journeys can take longer. Plan ahead and make food and water accessible for your pets throughout the journey, and make comfort stops at regular intervals where it’s safe to.

Noise

Excited children (or adults), carols, or Christmas parties can be noisy. Ensure to provide your pet with safe, quiet spaces to retreat to.

Look for signs of stress in your pets

Once you understand how to identify signs of stress in your pets, you are better equipped for it the causes to be avoided, or to help them feel more comfortable. We all want our pets to be happy and comfortable, but long-term stress is bad for their health. Leading to problems such as digestive upset, urinary stones, poor skin and coat condition, to name just a few.

There are subtle signs of stress, and those which are more obvious. For dogs signs such as trembling, cowering, tucking their tail between their legs, and a loss of appetite are some of the major indicators of stress. More subtly though, you may notice your dog yawning, panting, or pacing. They may lick their lips, have wide eyed expressions (showing the white of their eyes), dilated pupils, and pin their ears back flat against their head.

For cats, changes in behaviour can be seen to indicate stress which can vary from over-grooming, scratching furniture and more vocalisations and alertness. More subtle changes to behaviour could be hiding away for long periods of time, avoiding interactions, and avoiding going outside. You may also notice increased irritability or aggression toward people or other pets, and toileting in the house. Changes in a cat’s body language to indicate stress include flattened ears, licking lips or swallowing, and dilated pupils. They may also show rippling or skin twitching and tenseness in their body.

Measures to reduce stress

Providing a safe and quiet place is important to allow pets to retreat from any stressful situations to somewhere where they feel secure and comfortable.

Enrichment toys are a great tool. Food based toys can be especially effective, such as Lickimats, Kongs, as well as other examples. They require problem solving and patience to retrieve the food and are a great distraction tool. Lickimats and Kongs also encourages licking action, which in itself is a behaviour which promotes calming.

Calming supplements are available in many formats from plug ins, sprays and wipes to dietary additions like chews, tablets, powders and more. These vary in the active ingredients they contain but are a great way to support your pet through stressful periods. They can be particularly effective in conjunction with other measures to support your pet’s anxiety.

Maximum Animal Health Calming & Digestive Aid

The Calming and digestive aid developed by Maximum Animal Health uses active ingredients which support the gut to take advantage of the gut-brain axis connection. Gut and microbiome health are shown to benefit cognitive health and a reduction in stress, as areas of the body work together in tandem. Prebiotics and Probiotics are included alongside amino acids tyrosine, lysine, glycine and arginine. Ashwaghanda has potent anti-stress properties as well as being antioxidant, soothing and rejuvenating.

References

1. Mishra LC, Singh BB, Dagenais S. Scientific basis for the therapeutic use of Withania somnifera (ashwagandha): a review. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Aug;5(4):334-46. PMID: 10956379.
2. Fan Z, Bian Z, Huang H, Liu T, Ren R, Chen X, Zhang X, Wang Y, Deng B, Zhang L. Dietary Strategies for Relieving Stress in Pet Dogs and Cats. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Feb 21;12(3):545. doi: 10.3390/antiox12030545. PMID: 36978793; PMCID: PMC10045725.
3. Blue Cross. https://www.bluecross.org.uk. Pages: “Stress in Dogs” and “Stress in Cats”. Accessed 27/11/2024.