Chimp Attack Highlights Increased Drug Use Among Pets

Maryann Mott
for National Geographic News

February 20, 2009

Minutes before a pet chimp attacked a woman in Connecticut last weekend, he may have been given the anti-anxiety medication Xanax because he was agitated, according to statements by his owner that she later retracted.

The chimp attack raises questions about increased use of anti-anxiety medications among more common pets.

Demand for anti-anxiety medications for pets is growing, in part because of increased public awareness of the drugs' potential benefits, said animal-behavior expert Bonnie Beaver of Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

It's not known, however, exactly how many pets are taking such drugs, Beaver said.

Common side effects of anti-anxiety medications in pets include drowsiness or sedation, said veterinary behaviorist Melissa Bain of the University of California, Davis.

But in dogs, drugs such as Xanax can reduce inhibition, worsening aggression problems, Bain said. Dogs that are both fearful and aggressive, for example, may lose their fear and lash out.

"We use [anti-anxiety medications] with caution in aggressive animals, by all means," she said.

Other side effects of Xanax, noticed in dogs and cats, include excitement, irritability, and increased affection.

(See also: "'Puppy Prozac': Can Animals Benefit From Behavioral Meds?")

Increased Drug Use by Pets

As recently as the early 1990s, it was practically unheard of to treat animal behavior problems with drugs. Today it's routine.

Prozac, for example, has been used in a few zoos to treat wild animals, including Johari, an adult female gorilla at Ohio's Toledo Zoo that had been prone to violent fits.

But dogs and cats are by far the most common animals to be drugged to combat separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, aggression, noise phobia, and other issues.

The majority of anti-anxiety medications given to animals are the same ones used for people, although in different doses.

No Magic Pill

Before any drugs are prescribed by U.S. veterinarians, a general health screening, including blood work, is done to rule out medical conditions that may be causing the unwanted behavior, Texas A&M's Beaver said.

All too often, she said, clients show up wanting a "magic pill." But training and other nonmedical treatments are usually needed too.

"The owner," Beaver said, "has to be committed to do something besides give a pill a day."

(Related: "Animal Minds" in National Geographic magazine.)