Dealing With Pet PTSD

Aweh, guys!

So, when we decided to emigrate with our two devils rex, we thought we were pretty thorough. We dotted, our I’s, crossed our T’s and did our best to ensure that there would be no hiccups during the transition. We got our titre tests done, ensured all the paperwork was correct and there would be nothing to stand in our way of being together. That being said, they each had a different transition.

Little snugglebug

Ripley is his daddy’s boy. He is rather clingy, loves the sound of his own voice and enjoys all sorts of snuggles and to be honest, I was the most worried about him thinking that this would be the most distressing process for him. Then there is Spock, my independent bub who is the strong, silent type. He is happy to be on his own, only comes for tickle when it suits him and loves nothing more than beating up his brother. But it turns out, he was the one who suffered the most.

Mom! He’s touching me

To be honest, the change wasn’t really apparent when we first landed. He seemed so happy to be out of his crate and was purring loudly. He was also quite clingy for a few days, which was totally understandable, before he went back to being more reclusive which was expected. Then I switched on the vacuum.

Let meowt!

Spock turned stiff! He jumped on the counter where he knows he’s not allowed and refused to move. I switched it off and walked over to shoo him, but he wouldn’t budge. I then went to scoop him up and I was shocked at this stiffness. I could have knocked him over and he would have remained with all four legs in the air. Admittedly, I thought it was kind of funny, so I put him away from the vacuum and continued with the task. Then the bedspockalypse happened.

My poor baby was so terrified that he found himself trapped on top of the fridge and we thought he had escaped so we were out of our minds with worry. We then realised that this was more serious than we realised. My poor baby had PTSD. I think the plane ride was traumatic and probably really noisy so the vacuum would trigger the reaction.

We decided to take it slow with him. I would softly play vacuum cleaner noises at increasing volumes over time to help him get used to it while giving him lots of reassurance and cuddles to make sure not to trigger him and it really seemed to help. I know that there are also calming collars and mild tranquilizers available on the market, but luckily, we haven’t had to resort to something like that yet.

Since we’ve moved out of the AirBnB into our new flat, we still don’t have a vacuum but are planning on getting a Roomba which will hopefully be less invasive as we had something similar in South Africa.

Spock does seem to be more settled now although he now loves his hidey holes and feeling secure while remaining independent. He even still enjoys beating up his brother. I really hope this post helps someone going through something similar and just know that it is something that can be overcome.

I guess I’ll put up with you for meow