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Devikia Ranjan takes a selfie with her cat, Aloo, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The rescue cat seems to be very comfortable with a slow-paced, high-attention pandemic life, Ranjan said. (Devika Ranjan via AP)
Devika Ranjan
Desi spends some alone time in her cage in West Lafayette, Indiana. "If we think how much time most of our pets prior to the pandemic typically would spend without people, being around us now 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it's quite a lot," said owner Candace Croney, a Purdue University professor who teaches about animal behavior. (Candace Croney via AP)
Candace Croney
Ross Hettervig and Kate Hilts say that their cat, Potato, a rescue who joined their household in March 2019, always seemed to enjoy attention from strangers but now hides from visitors. (Kate Hilts via AP)
Kate Hilts
Olivia Hinerfeld poses with her boyfriend, Ryan Shymansky, and their golden retriever, Lincoln, in Washington, D.C. When Hinerfeld is on a video call, Lincoln will fetch "the most disgusting" tennis ball he can find from his toy crate to drop into the lap of the Georgetown University Law School student. (Olivia Hinerfeld via AP)
Olivia Hinerfeld
Kursten Hedgis walks her dog, Bitsy, in front of her home in Decatur, Georgia. Bitsy's behavior has changed since Hedgis began working from home early in 2020. (Ron Harris/Associated Press)
Emily Benavides, a U.S. Senate staffer, is learning her cat's language. Humito, the 3-year-old rescue cat she's had most of his life, has different-sounding meows to communicate that he wants to eat, wants to nap or has knocked his toy under the refrigerator. (Mike Thom via AP)
Mike Thom
Changes, challenges: The not-so-secret life of pandemic pets
By Dan Sewall Associated Press
Olivia Hinerfeld's dog, Lincoln, and Kate Hilts' cat, Potato, have something in common: They both like to interrupt Zoom calls as their owners work from home.
"Sometimes it's better to preemptively put him on your lap so he can fall asleep," said Hilts, a digital consultant in the Washington, D.C., area.
Jealous of the attention that Hinerfeld is paying to her videoconference call, Lincoln, a golden retriever, will fetch "the most disgusting" tennis ball he can find from his toy crate to drop into the lap of the Georgetown University Law School student.
For many dogs, this is life as it was meant to be: humans around 24/7, walks and treats on demand, sneaking onto beds at night without resistance. Cats — many of whom, let's be honest, were already socially distancing before humans knew what that was — are more affectionate than ever, some now even acting hungry for attention.
Ten months into quarantines and working from home because of the pandemic, household pets' lives and relationships with humans have in many cases changed, and not always for the better. With this month's U.S. rollout of vaccinations offering hope for normalcy in 2021, long-term impacts aren't known.
"If we think how much time most of our pets prior to the pandemic typically would spend without people, being around us now 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it's quite a lot," said Candace Croney, a Purdue University professor who teaches about animal behavior.
While estimates vary on how many pets there are in the United States, there's general agreement that the majority of U.S. households have at least one pet, with dogs, and then cats, far outnumbering other pets such as birds and fish. There also was a surge in pet adoptions this year as stay-at-home restrictions took effect.
For all those tens of millions of dogs and cats, it's been an opportunity to teach humans a thing or two about themselves.
Croney has enjoyed watching how her long-hair cat, Bernie, and Havanese-mix dog, Des, play together. She finds herself getting "bookended" by the pair in bed at night.
"I've been learning things that I probably had been missing about how these two interact with each other and have found out that I need to take my cues from them," Croney said. "Which is funny, because I do this for a living and this is the kind of thing we tell other people to do, and clearly, I was missing some of it myself."
Emily Benavides, a U.S. Senate staffer, is learning her cat's language. Humito (Spanish for Smoky), the 3-year-old rescue cat she has had for much of his life, has different-sounding meows to communicate that he wants to eat, wants to nap or has knocked his toy under the refrigerator.
"I think the more time you spend with them, the more you can see them eye to eye," she said. "The pandemic has brought us closer together."
Devika Ranjan, a theater director in Chicago, wanted pandemic company and got a rescue cat she named Aloo during the summer. The formerly feral cat is believed to be around 3 and seems to be very comfortable with a slow-paced, high-attention pandemic life.
"My working from home, I think he loves it," she said. "I think he is just ready to settle down in life. If he were human, he'd probably sit on the couch with a PBR and watch TV all day."
The pandemic hasn't been positive for all pets, though, such as those with owners who are struggling financially.
Veterinarians and owners report that some pets are being medicated for anxiety, and others are being put on diets because of too many treats and not enough exercise in parks that humans may be avoiding because of virus concerns.
Hilts said that her cat, a rescue who joined their household in March 2019, always seemed to enjoy attention from strangers but now hides from visitors.
Kursten Hedgis, a herbalist in Decatur, Georgia, said that her dog Bitsy, also a rescue, misses the attention from other humans on their walks.
"He got really bummed out because no one would talk to him or pet him," she said. "People would walk 6 feet around us. I think he took it personally."
Bitsy, a Yorkie, is 14 and has been with her six years after a life as a breeder in a puppy mill. He is blind in one eye and suffers periodic infections and incontinence. Trips to the veterinarian have been "really scary" because of the masks and reduced contacts, Hedgis said.
However, Hedgis and other pet owners say they have become more than companions in recent months — they provide emotional support to their humans.
Humito appears to sense when she is feeling stressed and will take the initiative to cuddle into her lap, said Benavides, spokesperson for Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio.
"It's a relationship built on mutual care and comfort," Benavides said.
As humans begin to return to work and vaccines roll out, the next year likely will bring a test of those relationships and new habits. Ranjan said of Aloo: "I hope he will take it in stride."
Croney said that she worries what will happen when she returns to work, and not only to her pets.
"I'm starting to worry a little bit for me," she admitted. "I'm becoming a little co-dependent of my animals."
HOW TO PREPARE PETS FOR A POST-PANDEMIC LIFE
Sometime in 2021, probably for many more than a year after pandemic restrictions began in the United States, most American workers and students will return to campuses, offices and other workplaces. Left behind will pets who have become accustomed to humans staying home with them.
Here are some tips on how to prepare them and signs of distress to watch for, from Candace Croney. The Purdue University professor has studied and taught about animal behavior for some two decades and consults with many veterinarians and others who work with household animals.
— Start practicing to give them a routine and sense of predictability, taking small steps incrementally.
— Provide them with toys and treats to focus on while you work in a different room.
— Take walks without them; don't take them on every car ride.
— Even if the weather isn't good for driving, pull your car out of the garage and sit for a while.
— If you don't drive, find another venue to create space.
— If you feel your pets will find it hard to adjust, consult your veterinarian to make a plan.
SIGNS FOR CONCERN AFTER RETURN TO WORKPLACE
— Changes in eating or drinking habits.
— For cats, common signs of distress are inappropriate urination or defecation outside the litter box.
— For dogs, excessive whining and barking, leaving treats untouched, changes in toileting habits.
— Destructive behavior.
— Acting abnormally frantic when you return home.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE PETS NOT ADJUSTING
— Call your veterinarian before things get worse.
— Use baby-type monitors to check on your pets remotely.
— Have a friend or paid dog walker stop by.
— Leave on soft music playing or TV talk shows (not the kind where they yell at each other).
Kursten Hedgis