OkcPets Magazine January 2021

14 OKC Pets • January/February 2021 Creating Our Environment and Other Things the Pandemic Has Taught Me WRITTEN BY: Eleanor Edwards, DVM, Cat Hospital of Norman W hat odd times we live in. Almost a year into this pandemic and we are still staying at home, social distancing and relying on our pets more than ever. There have been unexpected pros and cons from all this time spent at home. Luckily, people are spending more time with their pets, observing their behaviors and changes in their routines. They are also making improvements to their homes with their pets in mind. Some are even adding pets to their families. Unfortunately, the pets don’t always under- stand these changes. This extra closeness in some cases has led to stress on our pets that may come out as inappropriate behaviors. These can range from eliminating where they shouldn’t to inap- propriate play or general anxiety. It seems that now more than ever, it is important to evaluate our indoor environments and how we can make them more friendly to us and our pets. One result of this pandemic that has taken the veterinary profession by surprise is the huge increase in demand for our services. At a time when we are trying to keep ourselves and our support staff safe, we are also trying to navigate a new way of practicing medicine with minimal contact while increasing the number of pets we can help in a day. Because people are spending more time observing their pets, they are not only picking up nuanced changes in how they are chewing, moving or spending their day, but also hair coat changes, etc. This has allowed owners to find issues before