What should I do if my pet is under too much pressure? ——Several methods for creating a comfortable home environment

Pets may not say 'I'm under a lot of pressure', but they can convey it through changes in behavior, body, and even health status. Long term stress not only affects behavior, but may also affect immunity, digestive function, and overall health. An important way to cope with stress is to create a comfortable environment, which means adjusting the home environment to meet the natural needs of pets and help them regain a sense of control.

Environmental abundance is a concept derived from animal behavior, with the core idea of meeting the innate needs of animals through diverse environmental design and interactive activities. Dogs are born to smell, chase, and chew, while cats are born to climb, ambush, hunt, and sharpen their claws. If these instincts cannot be satisfied for a long time, excess energy and frustration may transform into problematic behaviors, such as repeatedly licking feet, pouncing on people, causing trouble in the middle of the night, or damaging furniture. The significance of a rich environment is not only to make pets happy, but also to give them a sense of control, allowing them to choose where to go, what to do, and when to rest. This sense of control itself is an important buffer against stress.

Before discussing how to improve, it is necessary to identify the signals that may occur when pets are under stress. On dogs, common signals include barking, pacing, panting, trembling, tail clamping, ear sticking, and frequent lip licking. A study on working dogs recorded that in a training environment, 14 out of 16 dogs exhibited lip licking behavior, 14 had their ears pressed back, and 10 made vocalizations. These behaviors reflect physiological or psychological discomfort and are worth the owner's attention. Cats usually have a more covert response to stress than dogs, with common symptoms including hiding, excessive licking of fur, decreased appetite, urinating in inappropriate places, restlessness, increased aggression, and shortness of breath. Cats may also stop grooming their fur, and a cat that usually loves cleanliness suddenly has messy fur, which is worth noting. Dogs' stress response is usually more overt and easily noticed; Cats tend to be introverted, often hiding or stopping certain daily behaviors that their owners may not easily notice at first. Cats usually have stronger stress responses to unfamiliar environments than dogs, and are not easily resolved through comfort.

For dogs, a comfortable home environment can be developed from several directions. A fixed, self-contained space is important, which can be fenced or enclosed in a dedicated area to place its favorite blanket or bed, helping it have a place to retreat when the environment changes or it feels uneasy. Smelling is a natural behavioral need of dogs and an underestimated way to relieve stress. Research has found that in environments where dogs are allowed to sniff freely, their heart rate decreases and their behavior becomes more optimistic. A 2025 study published in Applied Animal Behavior Science also suggests that trainers participating in olfactory activities believe that olfactory activities are effective in reducing dogs' general fear, generalized anxiety, and overexcitement. The sniffing games that can be done at home include hiding snacks in different corners of the house for it to find, using sniffing pads, and putting food in cardboard boxes or tissue rolls for it to explore. Feeding can also become a brain teaser, hiding food in containers at home can stimulate a dog's hunting behavior, such as rolling out small snacks in plastic bottles, scattering food on the grass or floor for it to search piece by piece, or using a timed automatic feeder to release food at regular intervals. Leakage toys are especially useful when the owner is not at home, as they can shift the dog's attention from waiting for the owner to come home to playing with toys and snacking. A pet owner filled a leaky ball with frozen yogurt and dog food, and when they got home, they found their dog tired from playing and fell asleep. Frozen leaky food toys are more difficult and can help pets focus for longer periods of time. If a dog shows obvious anxious behavior after its owner leaves, it can also try some environmental adjustments, such as giving a leaky toy filled with food before going out, turning on the radio or TV to provide background sound, and closing curtains to reduce external stimuli. These methods can help alleviate mild separation anxiety, but if it is severe separation anxiety such as persistent howling, damaging doors and windows, or self injury, it is recommended to seek the help of a professional behavioral therapist.

For cats, vertical space is an important source of security. Cats have a natural preference for heights. A study found that under conditions of abundant vertical environment, cats' resting time at a height of 0.5 meters significantly increases, while their resting time on the ground is relatively reduced, indicating that cats can gain more sense of security at heights. At home, you can place a cat climbing frame or shelf by the window as an observation point, use a wall mounted cat jumping platform to expand vertical space, or leave a rest area for cats on the bookshelf. The cardboard box is one of the simplest storage tools. The attraction of cardboard boxes to cats is not just fun. A study involving 87 cats showed that after providing cardboard boxes, the heart rate variability of cats significantly increased, with an overall variability increase of 37.2%, parasympathetic nerve activity increase of 42.8%, and stress index decrease of 51.3%; The hiding behavior decreased from 3.2 hours per day in the first week to 1.1 hours in the fourth week, the time to explore new environments advanced by 2.3 days, and the frequency of active socialization increased by 2.1 times. The study also found that under the condition of an ambient temperature of 22 ℃, the daily average temperature inside the cardboard box is about 26.4 ℃, which is about 4 to 5 ℃ higher than the outside, and the relative humidity is 8% to 12% lower. This explains why cats feel comfortable inside cardboard boxes, as they provide a warm, dry, and wrapped small space. When used at home, at least one cardboard box can be placed in different areas, with a size of 1.3 to 1.6 times the length of the cat, and regularly replaced to maintain freshness. In multi cat households, resource scarcity is a common source of stress. It is recommended to add one cat litter box to the number of cats and place them in different locations. Food and water bowls should also be separated to avoid resource competition. Cats also enjoy regularity, and fixed feeding and playing times can help them establish a sense of familiarity and security, reducing anxiety levels.

An easily overlooked dimension is the owner's own emotions. Pets are quite sensitive to their owners' emotional states. Studies have shown that when dogs perceive the scent of human stress, their behavior is influenced by a chain reaction, becoming slower and more hesitant when approaching ambiguous stimuli. A study has found that the smell of pressure can make dogs slower when approaching blurry bowl positions. This indicates that the owner's emotional state may be transmitted to pets through pathways such as odor, affecting their behavior and emotions. Therefore, while helping pets relieve stress, managing one's own stress and emotional state is also a part of enriching the environment, although this part is much harder than changing a cardboard box or buying a leaky toy.

Environmental enrichment can help with daily stress reduction, but if pets experience stress signals that persist for more than two weeks without improvement, or engage in self injurious behavior such as excessive licking to baldness, biting oneself, or significant changes in appetite, water or excretion habits, or an escalation of aggressive behavior, or separation anxiety that seriously affects daily life, it is recommended to seek help from a veterinarian or animal behavior expert.

The core concept of environmental richness is not simply to make pets happy, but to give them a sense of control by satisfying their natural needs. When they can choose where to go, what to do, and when to rest, stress will naturally decrease. You can start with a few small things: arranging sniffing games, leaking toys, feeding and exclusive areas for dogs; Provide cats with cardboard boxes, vertical space, and a fixed schedule; The common practice includes placing multiple water bowls and food bowls in different locations, providing hiding space, and maintaining a relatively stable environment. A spacious environment doesn't require spending a lot of money. A cardboard box, a leaky food ball stuffed with snacks, and a walk that allows it to smell freely, these simple adjustments can be of real help to pets.