LEAVING A STRESSED PET HOME ALONE

right as you close the door.
"Your cat knows what's coming when you go outside, so she's already anticipating being alone in the house," he explained. "By giving her something to do, you're distracting her. She looks around later and thinks, 'Oh, where's Mom?'"
You can step things up a notch by turning the goodbye treat into a game.
"If your cat likes treats, sprinkle them around the house and have a scavenger hunt," he suggested. "Make it really easy at first, then start making them harder to find so they have to search for them."
Van Winkle said that for his dog, he throws treats all over the house whenever he leaves for work.
"She was spending her time searching while I left, and that was our little game."
Change Up Your Routine
This anticipatory fear can also be triggered by a routine that indicates you're about to leave. You might trigger your pet if you always do things in the same order—like getting your coffee, then your keys, and then putting

on your jacket. So try changing things up. Get your keys and put them in your pocket early. Have your coffee a little later.
Your dog or cat's fear works much like any fear—even a human's, Van Winkle explained. He gets anxious about a visit to the dentist if he has time to think about the appointment.
"Leading up to the dentist is the worst thing," he said. "I have four days to think, 'This is terrible.' With cats and dogs, it's not any different."
Try Crates or Diffusers to Build Confidence
Sometimes a crate is all a dog needs to feel more confident. Van Winkle said his sister-in-law's dog is much happier when left in a crate.
"She was not happy they were gone, but she was not trying to escape because that was her little den, and she felt safe," he said. "If they left her out, she'd cause problems