How to spot if your pet is feeling jealous and how to change their behavior

When their owner gives attention to another animal or even a human being, or when a new pet is introduced into the household, some pets experience feelings of insecurity and jealousy.

Animals, like humans, are capable of experiencing a wide range of feelings, including unsavory ones like envy.

In addition, if you have a dog or cat as a pet, it is essential to be able to identify the feelings that your animal companion is experiencing, particularly the negative ones, in order to respond appropriately.

This time, we are going to talk about jealousy in cats and dogs, specifically what causes it, what the indications of it are, and what you should do if you find yourself in a scenario like this.

Why can animals have feelings of envy?

Jealousy is not all that uncommon in pets and can be brought on by a variety of different circumstances.

In most cases, cats and dogs will experience feelings of jealousy if a new pet is introduced into the household. This can also occur if their owner begins to give more attention to another animal or even another human.

Larger dog breeds tend to be more gregarious and more easily able to “share” their owners with other animals and humans. This is especially true of dogs that are larger in size.

On the other side, the majority of smaller breeds have a tendency to be more possessive, which might make their jealousy more obvious.

When it comes to felines, the reasons behind jealousy are often the same. However, because they are territorial creatures, males are often the ones that are capable of displaying more obvious signs of jealousy than females.

Both cats and dogs are capable of experiencing feelings of envy over seemingly little occurrences, such as another creature eating from their bowl.

How to tell if your pet is jealous and what to do about it

When there is a significant shift in the routine of their daily lives, dogs might develop feelings of jealousy. Be sure to pay attention to how your pet acts if you introduce a new pet into the house, have guests over who have never been there before, or any other similar circumstance.

Aggressive behavior

The majority of cats and dogs exhibit aggressive behavior when they are envious.

That is to say, if cats become envious of a human or another animal, they may begin to growl, snarl or meow at him, and occasionally they will even attack him.

They leave their waste all over the home.

If your cat suddenly starts defecating around the home, outside of the litter box, it is most likely because he or she is rebelling against something, but jealously can also play a role in this behavior.

The same is true for dogs; if they start defecating in unexpected places around the house when they haven’t done so in the past, it’s possible that they are experiencing feelings of envy.

They leave their mark in every room of the house.

We have already established the fact that cats are territorial creatures; thus, if they feel threatened or jealous, they may start marking their territory with their pee all about the house.

Dogs behave in the same way.

They don’t want to be apart from you under any circumstances.

Everyone hopes that their animal companion enjoys being touched, but if you’ve noticed that your cat or dog has started paying a lot more attention to you recently and doesn’t want to spend any time apart from you, it’s conceivable that they’re experiencing feelings of jealousy.

They demolish items located inside and around the house.

One of the ways in which cats and dogs try to catch their owners’ attention is by wreaking havoc about the house and destroying things.

It’s possible that your pet is acting out of envy if this mess has never been produced before and there is a cause for it.

What should be done in the event that the pet feels envious?

1. To begin, pay attention to the circumstances in which the pet exhibits indications of jealousy so that you can choose the most appropriate course of action.

2. If you have more than one pet, you should do your best to pay equal care to each of them. That is, you shouldn’t focus on just one of them and ignore the other.

3. Designate a space in the house that is exclusively the pet’s and where he will always feel secure and at home.

4. If you have more than one pet, make sure that each of them has their own dish, their own litter box (if they are cats), their own bed, their own toys, etc.

5. If you have a dog that is often jealous, you should constantly walk it on a leash when it is outside to prevent it from getting into any mishaps with other dogs.

6. As a reward for the jealous pet’s good behavior toward the other (or toward the person), offer it some food when it does so nicely.

7. And most importantly, do not strike your pet or shout at it in any manner since you will only make the situation worse for both of you. The problem will only become worse if you do one of those things.