How to tell if your dog or cat are sad
Poor diet, the loss of a loved one or bad weather can affect the behavior of your pet.
EDITORIAL pets, like humans, can suffer depression. Changes in the environment, food or many other reasons can affect the personality of your animal.
Dogs and cats do not speak, but show their emotions through their body language and behavior. So whether your pets are sad it is simpler than it seems if you pay attention to some details.
The change of season, the weather, the arrival of a new member to the family, the death of a loved one or another pet, neglect, abuse or a poor diet are just some of the reasons that can lead to your pet to suffer from depression.
1. Loss of appetite:
One of the first symptoms to know if your dog or cat is sad is the loss of appetite immediately. Pets that are sad not eat, or at least eat much less than they did when they were in high spirits.
2. Facial expression:
Animals, contrary to what many believe, have a multitude of facial expressions. Numerous scientific studies have shown that dogs and cats show their emotions with the movements of the muscles in your head. If your pet has ears back, drooping eyebrows and muzzle down, chances are you are going through depression.
3. Lower your activity:
This is one of the easiest to detect symptoms when a dog or cat is sad. Animals with depression apathetic and unwilling to play. In general, a depressed animal loses the enthusiasm and desire to socialize with other pets or playing with its owner.
Apart from this general lack of interest, depression in dogs and cats you can also be noticed through their usual slower movements.
4. Changes in sleep:
If your dog or cat spends more time asleep than usual it is likely to be experiencing depression. Pets when they are sad typically spend more time lying or sleeping in. However, it is also possible to display a little worried, so they may also have trouble sleeping.
5. Strange Behavior:
There are certain patterns of behavior that added to other of the above symptoms can be recognized as part of a depression. Unusual behaviors as often mourn, consistently follow its owner, moving from side to side, or hiding under the bed a lot (especially in the case of cats) can also be symptoms of depression.
In the most extreme cases pets can get to show self-mutilation or self-destructive behaviors.
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