Pet house owners farts are turning Brit cats and canine into nervous wrecks

Pet owners who fart are turning the nation’s cats and dogs into nervous wrecks, boffins have warned.

One in five furry friends – some 19% – are left feeling anxious when people pass wind, a new study found.

And more than one in 20 (7%) become agitated from the noise made by someone opening the fridge.

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Their owner kissing or cuddling another person leaves 12% of pooches and pusses fretting, while nearly two in five (37%) are frightened of the noise of a vacuum cleaner.

The number one noise that disturbs our four-legged companions is fireworks, with 47% petrified of loud bangs.

Going to the vet results in more than two fifths of pets (41%) shaking with fear, while meeting new people (34%), sudden movements (32%), balloons (25%) and boiling kettles (9%) are also top triggers for animal anxiety, according to the survey of 2,000 cat and dog owners.

Pet care website labrador.fyi, which conducted the research to promote the launch of its new at-home lateral flow tests for pets, found anxiety affected almost half of dogs and one in three cats – with animals now showing more signs of stress than during the Covid lockdowns.

The firm said its test kits, developed in collaboration with TV vet Dr Scott Miller, enabled owners to check for common ailments like diarrhoea or colds to reduce anxiety-inducing trips to the vet.

Dr Miller, who has appeared on ITV’s This Morning, said: “It’s been great to be involved in the development of a product that can help dedicated and intelligent owners take control of their pets’ health, using technology that we have all become used to during Covid to understand the causes of illness in the comfort of their own home.”

Owners who are concerned their dog may be suffering from anxiety were urged to look out for common signs including being more needy, constantly whining, barking or howling and shaking or shivering.

Dr Miller said miserable mogs tended to hide, do their business in new places or eat less.

Labrador co-founder Michael Hodnett said: “We as a nation love our pets, some even more than our friends and family, but unlike our loved ones, our pets can’t communicate how they feel, meaning pet owners are left to rely on costly visits to the vet if their four-legged friend is acting out of sorts.”

Top actions that make pets anxious:

1. Loud noises such as fireworks (47%)

2. Going to the vets (41%)

3. Vacuuming (37%)

4. Meeting new people (34%)

5. Sudden movements (32%)

6. Balloons (25%)

7. A person’s flatulence (19%)

8. Owner kissing, cuddling (12%)

9. Boiling a kettle (9%)

10. Opening the fridge (7%)

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