Hi Dr. Scarlett

My boyfriend has 5 year old German Shepard/Black Lab (I guess now I have him too!) who has severe separation anxiety when we leave him in the backyard. The last two times we moved to a new house he would take a few weeks to adjust to a new backyard after much noise and destruction. However with each move he has gotten progressively worse. We had animal control called because our dog would howl and cry non stop when we went to work. He also does not eat or drink, and chews off all the window frames, screens and door frames and tries to break into the house at any cost (broken off nails, bloody mouth). We keep him inside now where he is not destructive or loud but he still does not eat or drink and cries when we do come home. He is not usually home alone for more than 4 hours. If we leave in a group of friends or family then he will howl or bark inside.

We are desperate. Clearly he is miserable and it makes us miserable too. He get's plenty of exercise every day. We put him in the backyard when we are home and he still whines at the door non stop (he never did this until we moved 8 months ago). We ignore his wines and make him go to his bed and won't pay attention to him until he stops.

Please help! We can't afford to take him to a specialist. Our vet suggested anxiety drugs but again all of this costs a lot of money. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

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I play music even when I am gone. It is always on when I am home and I leave it on for her to give her a sense of continuity.

Hi Mary-

Thanks for volunteering at the SF SPCA! Here are a few tips for you, but let me start by saying that you should see your vet for a full check up to eliminate the possibility of any underlying health issues that could be causing the vocalization.

 Establish a routine. Make feeding and play time at the same time every day. Do not initiate feeding or play time immediately upon waking up or getting out of bed (lest the cats start to wake you up around that time each day), and make sure that Kaya and the other cats have a “cooling off” period between play time and when you leave for the day. The same goes for the evening. I recommend at least half an hour of play and interaction at least twice a day. Make sure that all the cats get some one-on-one time. Try to make play time really physical, using a laser pointer or something the cats will really run and jump after.

 Make Kaya’s daytime life more stimulating. It is important for Kaya to have ways to occupy herself during the day to help burn energy while you are away. Make sure she has plenty of fun toys available, and rotate them often so that the novelty doesn't have a chance to wear off. You don't have to spend a fortune - balls of crumpled up paper, paper bags, cardboard boxes, wine corks, and toilet paper tubes can all be great fun for a cat, especially if they have treats or other toys hidden inside. There are many interactive toys available online and in pet stores, such as motorized mice that roll around for a while when activated by pawing. Multi-dimensional space is very important to cats, so make sure she has a cat tree or other such perching spot she can call her own, preferably near a window where she can watch the happenings of the outside world. Hanging a bird or squirrel feeder outside the window makes the view a lot more stimulating! Some cats respond really well to the "video catnip" DVDs that loop video of birds, mice, fish, etc. Rather than leaving her daily food ration out in a dish or giving it to her all at once at breakfast time, you could try hiding portions of her breakfast around the house in spots accessible to her and letting her "hunt" for it, or putting it in a treat-dispensing toy such as a Kong or puzzle ball so that she has to work to get to it. You might also consider hiring a pet sitter to come and play with her for an hour or so each day while you're at work.

 Establish areas of the apartment that are used for play. Do not use the bed.

 Most importantly, ignore inappropriate attention seeking behavior. Do not get up to feed, pet, or play with Kaya when she is yowling, and don’t yell at, talk to, or acknowledge her at all. It is critical to be 100% consistent in this. You may need to try ear plugs, a white noise machine, etc. to cope with the noise until Kaya gives up.

 Typically, confinement outside of the bedroom is recommended. Obviously this is a challenge in a studio apartment. If you do decide to confine Kaya in the bathroom, you can apply Sticky Paws, double sided tape, contact paper with the sticky side out, etc. to the bathroom door to prevent scratching, or you could place an upside down carpet runner, nubby side up, in front of the door – or both. Of course, there is not much that can prevent yowling.

Good luck - hope this helps and please contact us again with more questions.

My block is if I’m out of touch with myself,survival knives then no amount of trying will let the story out in a way I’m happy with – have to just leave it and try another day.throwing knives

Hi Dr. Scarlett,

I'm one of many SF SPCA volunteers. My Moluccan Soda and my two little Shih Tzus volunteer as well. My biggest problem though is with one of my three cats. Kaya is a powerful female with a strong personality who does show love and affection to me. She probably sleeps most of the day while I am at work so no anxiety is present during the daytime, but she is very nocturnal her worst habit, which is causing me to lose one or two hours of sleep each night, is that as soon as I turn the lights out to go to bed, she starts yowling sporadically.

I have started feeding my cats their biggest meal in the evening and put more food in their bowls as I head to bed. This has helped with Kaya somewhat because I usually assumed yowling meant she was hungry and providing her food seemed to distract her for a wee bit. However, Kaya still wakes me up at 1, 2, or 3 in the morning, and sometimes all three timeframes. I used to live in a house with a basement and was able to put her in a kitty condo down there at night, which she did get used to. Now I live in a small, mostly open studio. The only room with a door is the bathroom but that's where I have the cat litterbox and where one of my dogs likes to sleep. I'm worried that if I confine her in the bathroom she would scratch at the door and yowl enough to wake my upstairs neighbor. (I have to admit I haven't tried this yet).

I'm wondering if there is some some version of "kitty Prosac" that might be effective in calming her down at night. She is as healthy as a small horse otherwise. To get my attention she will literally head-butt me by hitting her hard skull against my face. I actually had a contact displaced the last time she did this.

Any ideas? Should I bring her in for a vet visit? All of my cats and dogs have records at the SPCA Hospital. I am disappointed in myself for having one pet out of six that I just can't figure out.

Thanks for any ideas / Mary