However, the situations that are stressful to pets are not always obvious to their owners. Because of this many animals live lives where they are under continuous stress when the stress is severe enough or goes on long enough, illness results. Many situations cause this response in both people and animals during normal daily living.
Problems arise when stress levels become too high.
The ability to feel stress is necessary to survival because it enables us to react quickly to situations which could be a threat to our well being. Many common situations that seem normal to us cause this reaction in animals. A few of the less obvious ones include allergies, fleas, travel, breeding, separation from owner, moving, addition of a family member, addition or loss of another household pet. Regardless of the cause animals experience stress in the same way. Stress in animals becomes a problem when it is continuous without breaks in between.