Monsoon and Your Pets: Surviving the Storm

The monsoon season in Arizona has begun.  Supposedly, it started in June, but I just don’t believe that.  However, we finally have gotten some big storms here in the Valley of the Sun and another large one is blowing in now here at Kaibab Animal Hospital.  Though many of us enjoy the Arizona monsoon season, our pets can be very scared of the lightning and thunder that comes along with the rain.  It is not uncommon for a client to call us to say their dog or cat is cowering underneath the bed, fearful that the world is ending when the storms approach.  To us a little bit of thunder and lightning can be an exciting and fun thing.  To our pets, that same experience is interpreted in a whole different way.  We can’t explain to them that the sounds are just in the distance.  They hear much better than we do.  They sense the changes in the temperature or air pressure different that we do.  And sometimes they become very afraid when these things happen.  When the fear becomes too much, we just want to help but what can we do?

Thankfully, there are many options to help our little friends through the scary storm.  Initially, we tend to try the non-medical therapies.  One of the most effective non-medical calming therapies for our pets is called a ThunderShirt.  The ThunderShirt is a vest-like piece of clothing that fits snugly around the body of your dog or cat.  This tight, ‘hugging’ action helps to calm our pets down and make them feel more secure.  For many pets, this is enough to get through the thunderstorm that is raging outside.  A bonus of this product is that it can help calm them in a number of stressful situations such as fireworks or if your pet is afraid of visitors coming to the house.

Another non-medical therapy that we have is pheromone support.  In dogs, a product called Adaptil is used as a calming agent for a variety of stressful and behavioral issues.  The pheromone in Adaptil is the same one released from glands on a mother dog’s abdomen while she is nursing her puppies.  The puppies react to this pheromone by calming down and relaxing, which allows them to put more energy towards growth rather than movement.  The same response happens in adult dogs that are exposed to this pheromone; they calm down and relax.  Because it is a pheromone, it is species-specific.  This means that the pheromone will not be detectable by you or any other non-dog animal in the house but to dogs it can be a wonder therapy.  Cats have a similar therapy available called Feliway.  Most of us have experienced a cat coming up to rub their face all over us and ‘love on us.’  What they are actually doing though is marking their territory; claiming you (or whatever object) as their own by spreading pheromones.  Though they are marking territory with pheromones that are mostly specific to themselves, there is one called the F3 Fraction that is common to all cats.  This pheromone helps to calm cats and make them feel more comfortable in their environment, as if they have already ‘marked’ it as their own.  Both of these therapies are available in a spray form or for use in a diffuser, allowing the pheromone to be constantly released into the environment, similar to an air freshener.

A newer way that we have been approaching stress-control is through diet.  Both Hill’s and Royal Canin brand pet foods have a diet formulated to help calm our anxious pets.  The ingredients in these diets work to calm pets and make them feel similar to how you would after eating a Thanksgiving dinner (well, minus the uncomfortable bloating).  Since our pets need to eat a well-balanced meal daily, these diets are a great way to help our chronically stressed friends and keep them healthy at the same time.

Whether using these therapies alone or in combination with each other, we can help calm our pets without prescription medication.  However, sometimes we need to intervene with stronger options.  In some dogs and cats, prescription sedatives are needed to help calm them down.  There are many different types of sedatives that can be used in our pets and though rare, they all have the potential for side effects.  If your pet needs additional help with calming down during thunderstorms, we can determine which medications will be best to use.  These sedatives can also be compounded into a tasty liquid so that you don’t have to fight to give them a pill.  If you think your pet would benefit from a prescription sedative during these stressful situations, be sure to schedule a consultation with one of our vets to discuss your concerns.