Pet Stress – Renos While You Are Away

Renovations can take a long time and be very stressful.

We all want to get them over with as soon as possible. Renovations are bad enough when you understand what’s going on. The end product usually makes the disruption well worth it.

Our pets also find this stressful, even more so because they don’t understand why this is happening.

They only see their little world being torn upside down for no apparent reason.

It’s very tempting to have the workers in to continue or even start a project while you are away for a period of time to avoid all the problems and general stress. Unfortunately this is not usually in the best interests of our pets.

Your being away is very stressful in itself as well as someone else coming in to look after their needs. Adding renovation work to the scenario can really upset them. Most animals I look after are a bit stressed at the beginning of their guardian’s absence but soon integrate into my care program and do very well.

The presence of many strangers with erratic movements and all the scary noises can be a nightmare for them.

All of this along with your absence can push them over the top causing behaviour problems such as eliminating in the house, destructive behaviour and furniture scratching (in cats). They may have suppressed appetites or even stop eating all together. General stress can also lower their immune system and invite different illnesses.
It may seem like a good solution to our renovation problems but we need to think about the consequences our pets may experience before making this decision.
When planning renovation work avoid having it done just before a vacation. We all know many renovations scheduled for six weeks can easily turn into ten weeks. You deserve to have a great holiday. Our pets should also have the best time possible too.