Emotional Trauma in Animals Psychosocial studies have determined that, in humans, the most severe sources of emotional trauma and stress-induced disease include loss of a spouse and loss of job, among others. Companion animals evolved from very different social structures. Wolves, like people, are gregarious and live in groups. However, sexual relationships and raising of young are accomplished differently from humans. Wolves raise litters of pups that become independent by the time the next year's litter arrives.
Humans invest a great deal of energy in fewer children over a longer period.
Social interactions for wild felids, then, should be viewed differently, if not as less important, than in humans. Thousands of generations later, our domestic pets retain some of these characteristics, while domestication changed many of them. For instance, loss of a child or spouse should not be given the emphasis in working up a domestic animal's case. These questions require a working knowledge of animal behavior to determine which pets are emotionally traumatized and which are exhibiting normal responses. There is no room for anthropomorphism here.