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While summer storms can be beautiful, they are also often loud. Cats and dogs can hear much better than humans can, which makes loud sounds even louder form. Together, let’s understand how thunderstorms affect pets, and the ways we can support our furry friends through them.

Storm Stress and Anxiety in Pets

Storm anxiety can develop gradually, suddenly, or not at all. Either way, a good strategy is to assume that your pet may feel fear, doubt, confusion, and discomfort when a storm is about to roll in.

Anxiety Symptoms Vary

Every pet interprets the sights, sounds, and smells or summer storms a little differently than the next pet. To understand what they go through, we have a few ideas regarding how thunderstorms affect pets:

• A drop in barometric pressure, paired with a buildup of static electricity, triggers an array of feelings, including a fight-or-flight instinct. These subtle atmospheric changes may be deeply unsettling in pets because they don’t understand what’s physically happening, but it could also be explained by previous negative experiences in storms.
• Thunder is characterized by deep, low-frequency rumbles that change in volume depending on distance. Since our pets have highly-developed hearing, they can hear thunder long before we do. Despite any distance, thunder sounds menacing and threatening because it doesn’t seem to be attached to any visual representation.
• Our pets are creatures of habit and storms are anything but predictable. Consequently, their reactions to thunder, lightning, winds, and rain may be quite dramatic.

Left alone, a pet’s stress and anxiety may develop into a chronic condition or phobia. That’s where we come in.

Effects of Weather on Pets

Storm stress in dogs and cats may include any of these symptoms:

• Pacing, chaking, or trembling
• Whining or howling
• Hiding
• Escape attempts
• Clinginess
• Excessive salivation
• Yawning
• Bathroom accidents
• Flattening the ears or tucking the tail
• Aggressiveness

Pet Anxiety During Storms

If you know a storm is coming, we recommend staying indoors with your pet. Be sure they cannot escape the room you’re in, encourage them to snuggle, play, eat, and drink water. Play some white noise to drown out the storm. Invest in a pressure wrap or pheromone products to help them relax.

If you cannot get home and your pet has access to the outdoors, ask a friend or neighbor to check on them and secure them indoors before the storm.

Desensitization techniques can be really valuable but require time and patience to help a pet gain new, positive associations with the scary stimuli. We can help you address your pet's behavior with prescription medication as well.

Summer Storms and Pets

If you have questions or concerns about your pet’s safety during summer storms, please give us a call at (407) 644-4449. Our doctors hope to make your pet’s approach to summer storms more comfortable and manageable for years to come.