Animals Stressed Out, Too

Came across this interesting article -

The economy, the election, and myriad other problems are really stressing out ... pets.

When humans get stressed, often their pets take on that stress, too.

"Dogs and cats are very good at picking up stress in people, as are birds," said James Morrisey, a veterinarian at the College of Veterinary Medicine of Cornell University in New York. "I've worked with a parrot who lived with a woman who had a seizure disorder, and the parrot could tell when she was about to have a seizure and warn her."

In addition to carrying the burdens of people, animals — especially wild creatures — have plenty of their own to stress about. Animals will even seek out "comfort food" when they're all wigged out. And stress in animals, as with humans, can be a good or a bad thing.

"In general, the more intelligent an animal is, the more psychological stress it can undergo," Morrisey said. "The less you're thinking about things, the less psychological stress you can potentially be under."

Complete article at - LiveScience.com