It seems pets of today are more likely to end up on the psychologist's couch than in the dog's house, writes Nikki Temkin

Gloria had been extra skittish of late. My cat had also stopped eating. Worst of all was that she no longer slept curled up at the foot of our bed. She'd taken to squatting on the floor, a menacing black blob. I could feel her glaring at me as I slept - restlessly, I might add. And she was balding, scratching her hair out compulsively.

A feline expert, our vet examined her thoroughly (provoking sadistic glances). "Well, there's nothing physically wrong other than that she's dropped a bit of weight. Has anything changed recently?" I nodded my head soberly. "Well, I had a baby and she's been acting strange since."

"I'm going to prescribe Anxitane for stress and anxiety," she pronounced, adding, "it's herbal. Give it two months and if there's no improvement then we'll start the hard stuff. Prozac." I sloped out of the vet, a veritable failure of a pet-owner. Okay, so Gloria had been usurped by a baby. It happens to the best of cats. But had she no coping skills? I mean, really, how difficult is it to be a housecat?

I shared the shameful news. "Well," proffered my dad, " imagine if you had a toddler chasing you around all day pulling your tail for fun. Besides," his tone lowered conspiratorially, "uh ... Merlin's been on Prozac for years." What? Merlin, my indestructible 16-year-old Burmese, was on the goods? Was he so down in the dumps that he needed medication to get through the day?

Evidently, the stigma of pet depression is such that my father had kept it from me. Just how many anxiety-ridden pets are there out there, unable to deal sufficiently with life's various demands? More than you might think, actually.

"I treated a cat recently whose owner stopped working from home and who was suddenly alone all day," says vet Dr Hannah Bailey. "She'd started spraying everywhere."

Have you recently gotten divorced, moved home, gone on holiday or introduced another pet into the house? Even being bullied by the tom cat next door can upset your cat. "Since they can't verbalise their feelings, they may inappropriately urinate, become hypervigilant, lose their appetites or over-groom," says Bailey.

Prozac (Fluoxetine), used to treat depression and anxiety in humans, also works in cats for certain types of aggression and obsessive-compulsive disorders. "Prozac often makes them feel better and no side effects have been documented," affirms the vet. "But I would first prescribe a herbal medication like Anxitane, made of L-Thiamine, an amino acid.

"(You can also use) a spray consisting of a universal pheromone which will make the cat feel bad if she has marked her territory. If these options don't work, we'll send the pet to an animal behaviourist," says Bailey.

Most of the drugs prescribed for "companion animals", as the pharmaceutical companies refer to pets, are human drugs. Few companies are willing to spend the money it takes for drug development and clinical trials. Yet the spate of recently approved canine drugs reflects the growing market for pet pharmaceuticals.

"Dogs are more prone to needing help," explains Bailey. "Cats tend to get on with things and be more adaptable."

Apparently up to 20% of canines can suffer from separation anxiety.

According to Technology Review, the latest anti-anxiety medication for dogs available in the US is Reconcile - reformulated Fluoxetine (Prozac), which is chewable and flavoured specifically for doggies. Clomicalm, also formulated for your furry friend's separation anxiety, is available in South Africa. Affected dogs may "bark, chew household items or urinate in inappropriate locations when left alone". Medications are being reformulated and sold in animal-friendly forms. Two other pet drugs, specifically made for animals, were approved recently: the first diet drug for dogs, Slentrol, and the first motion-sickness drug for dogs, Cerenia.

Well, two months after diagnosis and treatment, Gloria is back on the bed with us, eating her smelly food and continuing to carry out her plan of ridding the planet of lizards. She hasn't had to join the Prozac Nation yet. Half an Anxitane a day and she's back in business. But, whatever you do, don't try to share your medications with your pets or get high on their supply - the dosages are different.