OBJECTIVES

The objective of this work was to determine the incidence of behavioral problems on dogs and cats attended at the UNAM veterinary hospital that are not diagnosed as behavior alterations at the moment of making the standard clinical history.

MATERIALS

With this purpose they were designed two questionnaires of 29 questions, one for dogs and one for cats, applied to 111 pet owners during the period of two months (January and February 2001).

RESULTS

The results obtained were: 83.78% of the patients interviewed reported some behaviors considered as a problem. 88.28% were dogs and only 11.71% cats. 71.79% of the dog owners wanted to treat them, 6.59% were not sure and 23.07% didn't have any intention to solve the problem. 100% of the cats presented behaviour problems and only 84.61% of the owners wanted to treat them.

The behaviors found in dogs with larger frequency of presentation were as follows: Aggression toward other dogs, behaviors related with separation anxiety, aggression toward people, diverse fears include fireworks / thunders, inappropriate elimination. With a lower frequency: self injurious behaviour, nutritious disorders, reproductive problems, convulsions, predatory behaviour, escaping, digging, hypersomnia, hyperactivity, distrust and excessive barking in the owner's presence.

The behaviors in cats in order of importance, were: scratching and destroying plants and objects, stealing food, meowing in the owners' absence, hunting and eating their prey, itching, diverse fears, wool-sucking, eating any thing they were offered , hiding and lack of interaction, biting when caressed , aggression toward other cats, scratching, and demanding a lot of attention.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion it could be assessed that cases that are not diagnosed as behavior alterations at the moment of making the standard clinical history do exist. Aggression and separation anxiety were the most frequently reported on dogs and scratching and destroying on cats.