Happy pills solution to animal anxiety

By REBECCA WALSH

Phoenix's problems started when Pharaoh moved out.

The Cornish rex "absolutely adored" the older cat and became despondent when he realised his friend had taken up residence next door. The situation wasn't helped by the addition of an exuberant new puppy called Clifford.

"Phoenix lost his joie de vivre," says owner Lauren Young.

"He used to be a bright, bouncy, funny cat that would suddenly put back his ears and run around like a mad thing. He stopped doing all that."

Two-year-old Phoenix became so anxious he wouldn't eat. He would pace up and down, "yell at the windows" and take off to the neighbour's. The St Mary's Bay woman would retrieve him and later tried "tough love", which meant he got fed only if he came home.

But it didn't work, he got thinner and she decided he needed help.

Phoenix has now joined the ranks of a growing number of pets prescribed anti-anxiety drugs. For the past six weeks he has been on a combination of clomicalm (an anti-anxiety drug which some vets refer to as Prozac for cats and dogs) and valium.

It is not just pets taking the happy pills. Auckland Zoo used Prozac for a bonnet macaque monkey, who had been anxious and irritable. More recently, it used clomicalm on an Asiatic Golden Cat.

Vets and animal psychologists warn the drugs are a last resort and need to be used alongside behavioural therapy programmes.

Dr Elsa Flint, a Devonport vet who specialises in behavioural issues and has prescribed generic forms of Prozac for animals, does not believe they suffer depression like humans, but says they definitely suffer from anxiety-based disorders, such as separation anxiety.

"There are a lot of animals that need help neuro-chemically and if you look at the number of people on Prozac in society, I don't know why they should find it so strange that animals might be on it too."

She says the drugs have for about 10 years been prescribed for anxiety and aggression - with behaviour modification programmes - and growing awareness that pets can be helped has increased that number.

Dr Flint says changes in the way we live may have also forced more cases to the fore. For example, it is now common for both parents in a family to work, leaving the family dog at home alone. Some dogs do not cope with that and start exhibiting separation anxiety behaviour, from crying all day to ripping up door fittings or, in extreme cases, jumping through glass to get outside.

The fact that properties are smaller and houses packed closer together means cats do not have the same territory to roam, which can make them anxious.

Animal psychologist Mathew Ward, who works at Mark Vette's Clevedon Kennels and Behaviour Clinic, says between 15 and 20 per cent of the cases referred would be prescribed drugs as an "adjunct" to therapy.

"The goal is to change their behaviour and reduce anxiety without pharmaceutical aids."

Dr Lewis Griffiths, immediate past-president of the New Zealand Veterinary Association, agrees that medication should be a last resort. He says it is important to check for other medical conditions first.

Dr Flint says people often "recoil in horror" and others laugh when she mentions medication for their pet. But she believes there will be growing acceptance of use of the drugs, as has happened for people.