Covid has been hard on all of us, but can you imagine what our animal companions are feeling? Kodi has always missed me when I leave, but he seems to react immediately when I leave now. When your cat or dog is used to you being home all the time, how must they feel when you leave?

But before anyone gets too concerned (it's obviously too late for that, lol), sometimes he'll grab his toy and meow like this when we're in the room. And Sho used to do it but not so much anymore. And then I have to say to him, "Yo, Kokobean, I'm right here!" And then he stops, sometimes. So maybe it's not exactly separation anxiety as much as that hunter call that cats do when they're bringing home their prey. "HEY, I've got some food, come and get it! Look what I got for you! I'm such a good hunter!" Take this old video, for example:    • Cat announces his kill  

Of course, every animal is different. Sho obviously doesn't give a hoot, nor does she want to hear any of Kodi's loud meows so she avoided him immediately lol! But of course, when I get home, Kodi gets lots of cuddles and he often doesn't leave me alone. I make sure he has toys to play with before I leave, and he always has clothes to lay on.

A viewer pointed out that his meowing could simply be a prey response because he usually has his toy when he meows like this. And I'm inclined to agree. Otherwise, I've tried leaving the tv on but Sho actually doesn't like the tv sounds and it stresses her out because of the unpredictable sounds. I guess I haven't left it on mute before so I could try that.

But it's a really important consideration for new "pandemic pet parents." For those working from home during the pandemic who adopted an animal, all that animal knows is their human being home all the time. What kind of stress will isolation bring them when the pandemic is over? What kinds of things can we do to ease their stress, keep them stimulated, and mitigate any possible behavioral issues that might arise as a result?

Is there anything special you do for your animal companion when you leave?

Hope everyone's doing well out there! Peace and purrs out,

Rob

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