Depression in humans is no laughing matter, but I couldn’t help but giggle when I read an article in the Los Angeles Times: Fido’s little helper – Los Angeles Times. Apparently, pets that suffer from separation anxiety and other problems are being prescribed anti-depressants. In truth, I’m not sure how I feel about this.
With a human, you are able to talk to them, to find out how the drug is really effecting them. (Side effects from anti-depressants can be nasty.) But, with a cat, there is no way to know if they can no longer sleep, or have a bad taste in their mouth, or if they really do feel better. It seems that the general feeling is as long as the pet’s behaviour has improved, then everything must be fine.
I love my cat dearly, and I suppose I would do my best to make sure that she was happy. I’m not sure, though, that I would give her medication that was not approved for animals. But, she is so mellow right now that I don’t think I need to worry about her breaking into the medicine cabinet looking from some stale Zoloft.