Zooskool Pippa 14 - !free!

A dog who hides under the bed is not "being difficult"; he is exhibiting a survival instinct. A cat who suddenly refuses to use the litter box is not "spiteful"; she is likely associating the box with pain (such as from idiopathic cystitis or arthritis). The intersection of allows practitioners to decode these signals.

| Species | Behavior That May Indicate Medical Illness | | :--- | :--- | | | Panting at rest (pain, fever, respiratory issue), sudden growling when approached (pain, vision loss, hypothyroidism) | | Cat | Hiding more than usual (pain, nausea, fever), over-grooming one area (skin disease, joint pain), urine marking outside litter box (FLUTD, cystitis) | | Horse | Cribbing or weaving (often gastric ulcers or stress from management), tail swishing during riding (back pain, ill-fitting tack) | | Bird | Feather plucking (skin infection, heavy metal toxicity, Psittacine beak and feather disease) | | Small mammal (rabbit, guinea pig) | Bruxism (teeth grinding can indicate contentment OR severe pain), hunched posture with closed eyes (sign of critical illness) | zooskool pippa 14

When an animal is frightened, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the "fight or flight" response. Cortisol and adrenaline flood the system. From a veterinary standpoint, this is disastrous: A dog who hides under the bed is