How to Keep Your Pet Anxiety Free

As an empathic (empathic means I feel others emotions) animal communicator, I always know when pets feel anxious. Having done this over twenty years, I have come to the belief that our pets are more sensitive to human’s emotions than the human is most of the time. If there is an argument going on between family members in the house, humans get quiet while a pet may have an accident on the carpet or chew up your favorite shoes. This is particularly true when a pet is a rescue and they have bad memories of being around strong emotions or being abused.

What took me more time to understand, is that often high anxiety can show up in pets as medical maladies. In the last month, I have talked to 14 cats that have had Urinary Tract Infections, all caused because the pet was upset or the owner was upset. Some owners had Urinary Tract Infections themselves. With everything going on today, from the Protests for BLM to COVID19 fears, you do not even need to be experiencing anxiety yourself. Many pets are empathic and they feel the free roaming anxiety coursing thru America. Top that with the Firework anxiety that many pets have, and it is a wonder that they aren’t hiding in a closet (I say this because I actually talked to a client’s cat who WAS hiding in the closet).

So how do we help our pets be happy during this stressful time? I have options that I want to share with you so that you can keep your pet calm and comfortable.

1.Most of the time I talk to clients, if their pets have anxiety, I clear the pet’s energy while I am on the phone with them. I am sharing how to do that with you here. (insert clearing a pet’s energy).

2. Ground your pets’ energy. It is important that they ground out negative thoughts and get them out of their head. If you have a way you do this, you can just insert your pet’s name instead of yours.

3. Clear the energy of your house, and then set the intent so that nothing that will harm you or them may enter. I have even walked my property with the salt boundary to protect my animals from stray energy and feelings. (attach clearing energy on a space).

You can use Sage to clear the energy in your space, or you can use an essential oil spray. I usually put a few drops in a sprayer with Crystal Clear, and Cosmic Cleanse comes ready made to spray. I don’t saturate the pet with them, just spray a light mist in the room or above your pet. I like to use these if I don’t have time to do a full cleansing on the house but want to get some funky energy out of the air.

Sprays. I use Cosmic Cleanse by Chakra Life https://chakralife.com/product/cosmic-cleanse-aura-spray-buy-2-get-3rd-half-off/?v=7516fd43adaa

or Crystal Clear by Petaltones http://petaltone.co.uk/products/essences/15-products/33-essences-for-space-clearing-and-aura-cleansing

You can also smudge sage over your pet, with varying success depending on how they respond to it. Some like it.

So the stuff above is what I always do with an anxious or ill pet. Here are other things that can be really helpful, and depending on the pet and situation make everything wonderful.

Ingestible stuff

CBD oil. I recommend Chill Paws because I use it on my own pets and have recommended it to clients for 2 years now. I know it is a great product at a great price that works incredibly well for most anxiety issues, depression and pain relief. At lower levels it works for anxiety, higher levels for depression and pain. Depression is something to watch our pets for now too. Again, they pick up on our energies.

There are over 500 CBD products for pets. I use Chill Paws because I have experience with it. I have tried over 40 different products. What I have found is that ALL THE TREATS I tested got hard. Then your pet won’t eat it, even if they would when it was fresh. This is something you are going to use on occasion, unless you are treating chronic conditions, so it has to sit for a while & then you use it again it’s hard as a rock. The only exception I have found is this freeze dried chicken liver CBD. https://www.cbddispensaryshop.com/?product=cbd-oil-freeze-dried-chicken-treats-for-cats

All 4 of my cats & my dog ate these, which is saying something, and since it is freeze dried it doesn’t get hard.

With a tincture, you can add it to your pet’s water, a treat that they love their food or place it in their mouth (Which is what I do because then I know they got the whole dose.)

I also use Tomlyn’s relax & calm. https://tomlyn.com/cats/calming-aids/

They are amazing chews that are shaped so you can break them in quarters. They contain L-tryptophan, an amino acid that is safe for your pets. They are another of the few treat choices both my cats and my dog will eat.

Comfort items

Just like a child may have a blankie, pets have comfort items too. Many times it is a favorite toy, something that can relax them, or a blanket or a stuffed pillow. Samson has a blankie that we travelled with for the first year of his life. No matter where we are, if Samson has his blankie, we are good. I will never forget our first trip to Global Pet Expo. We had been up all night flying, and then when I went to check in our reservation was lost and the hotel was full. I went back to the rental car to call the people who set the reservation up I was tired, hot, dirty and kind of scared that we didn’t have a hotel room. I was on the verge of tears. I looked in the rearview mirror to see Samson, kneading his blankie and purring at the top of his lung capacity. As long as Sam has his blanket, he can start his purring mantra and everything is copasetic.

Many pets ask for a stuffed toy or a friend with a heartbeat.

There is Snuggle Puppy-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0722XGRMB/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0722XGRMB&pd_rd_w=xqVUI&pf_rd_p=48d372c1-f7e1-4b8b-9d02-4bd86f5158c5&pd_rd_wg=fswlj&pf_rd_r=D0QS3XMQ6YD2T0J5K55J&pd_rd_r=70f46b9d-2db5-414c-9b28-f9c113695c03&smid=AI05SQOHSRAP6&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFQMjU2MlRIOFhXS0YmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyMTI5MzAxRjdZVEdXWFRSMERPJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNjc3NjZQRVlNTVE2TTJZRVYmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

a stuffed dog with a heartbeat. Or you can just get a stuffed heart with a heartbeat made to keep your cat and dog feeling calm and loved. https://www.amazon.com/Heartbeat-Pillow-Chocolate-and-White/dp/B07LFHNJWF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&hvadid=78340256070802&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=petzu+mother%27s+comfort+heartbeat+pet+pillow&qid=1594087208&sr=8-1&tag=mh0b-20

Many of the pets I talk to say this calms them, and several that had a heartbeat pillow shared with me that it helps them sleep better.

Comfort music.

It was proven years ago that certain music calms cats and dogs down. Lisa Spector did some of the first research on it, and I met her years ago at BlogPaws. She now has 14 plus albums for dogs and music for cats too.

Or calming music. If you don’t want to get something from Lisa, go online and download one of the many dozens of other choices for pet music.

There is also dogTV. https://www.dogtv.com/

I have not had any experience with that, but I know they have research that supports it. I know many of my clients leave the TV on during the day so that their pets don’t feel as alone while they are away.

So if you have tried all these things and your dog/cat is STILL freaking out? Than I am not above recommending going to a Vet to get an anxiety medication like Paroxetine (which I know the most about) or doggie Prozac. Also you can go to an integrative Vet and get Chinese Prescriptions. I have been very impressed with the results when I have used Chinese medications for my pets. It is another option available to you.

Your pet may not currently be anxious, but there is always the next thunderstorm, an out of the blue fight or an emergency forest fire. Try these many ways to make your pet feel more comfortable and more at home. Then when you do have an issue, they will take it in stride.