Destructive Unhappy Pets
CANINES and FELINES
May often display destructive behavior, such as chewing furniture, scratching excessively, tearing items apart, or digging in inappropriate areas. These behaviors are often linked to underlying stress, boredom, lack of exercise, or separation anxiety.
Common Triggers:
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Stressful environments or sudden changes in routine
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Being left alone for long periods (separation anxiety)
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High energy breeds not receiving adequate exercise
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Boredom or lack of mental stimulation
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Territorial stress or frustration
Support Approach:
This natural, plant-based formula is designed to help promote calmness, emotional balance, and improved focus. When combined with environmental changes—such as providing chew toys, safe spaces, regular walks, or interactive playtime—pets often show improvement in behavior.
Practitioner Recommendations:
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Ensure pets receive regular exercise and mental stimulation.
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Provide safe chewing alternatives and enrich the home environment.
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Combine with calming nutritional support such as magnesium, B-complex (bee pollen granules), or stress-reducing herbs.
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Use alongside formulas such as Separation Anxiety Support or A Happy Calm Pet Support when anxiety is a driving factor.
Health Information
Unruly pets may sometimes become destructive due to a highly strung nervous system — a type of “hyper-activity.” Even with daily walks, some animals still carry an excess of nervous energy.
Signs you may notice:
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Pacing indoors when anxious
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Chewing objects or furniture daily
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Barking, digging holes, or restlessness, even after exercise
For younger dogs, this behavior often comes from not releasing enough energy during the day. Allowing safe, off-leash play and running can make a big difference. When their physical needs are met, pets are usually calmer and less inclined to destructive habits.
Important Considerations:
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Active breeds (including small terriers) need consistent outlets for energy — running, play, and interactive activities.
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Aim for at least 10 minutes of running or play once or twice daily, repeated as needed while they are growing up.
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Older dogs who show hyperactive pacing at night may benefit from veterinary testing for possible thyroid imbalances, which can affect both physical and emotional well-being.
Additional Support:
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Calming, natural plant-based formulas can help balance the nervous system.
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T-Touch body therapy (a gentle, hands-on technique) is also a highly effective and simple method owners can use at home to ease anxiety and reduce over-excited behaviors.
TTouch - Daily Ritual for Dogs (and cats, but leave out the Body wrap)
A daily grounding and connection practice for dogs who pull, bark, or become over-excited.
Morning Routine — Grounding & Connection (5–10 minutes)
- Arrival: Sit quietly with your dog before the walk. Breathe slowly, grounding your energy. Let your dog meet you in stillness before touch begins.
- * Clouded Leopard Touch: Begin at the chest and shoulders. Use gentle circular motions, 1¼ turns, just moving the skin. Continue down the sides. Loosens the shoulders and reduces pulling.
- Ear Slides: Gently stroke from base to tip of each ear, 4–5 times. Calms and sharpens focus.
- Body Wrap (optional): Wrap a soft bandage in a figure-eight around chest and ribs. Encourages
awareness of balance and reduces lunging.
- Balanced Start to the Walk: Hold the leash lightly. If your dog pulls, pause and wait for softness before continuing. Walk as a moving meditation of connection.
Evening Routine — Release & Reset (10 minutes)
- Full-Body TTouch: Use Clouded Leopard and Raccoon touches in slow spirals down the body. Releases tension from the day.
- Ear Slides & Muzzle Touches: Repeat ear slides. Add small circular touches around the muzzle and jawline. Soothes vocal and nervous tension.
- Heart & Rib Circles: Place one hand over the chest or ribs and make slow, wide circles.Encourages deep relaxation.
- Stillness: Let your dog rest beside you. Rest one hand lightly on them — no movement, just presence. End with silent gratitude.
Remember: This ritual is a conversation in touch, rhythm, and trust. Keep it soft, brief, and full of presence.
The Clouded Leopard -
Using the pads of the fingers lightly curved, do circles, keeping all three knuckles joints soft and moving as you make each circle.
Ear Slides
Sit beside the animal in a quiet place.
Hold the ear between your thumb (inside) and fingers (outside). Start at the base of the ear, where it joins the head. Slowly slide your hand along the ear toward the tip, using light, steady pressure. Repeat the stroke several times on each ear. Work slowly and rhythmically — the goal is relaxation, not stimulation.
Muzzle Touches
Gently rest one hand on each side of the muzzle.
Fingers along the jawline, thumbs resting lightly on top near the nose bridge. Hold softly for several breaths, allowing warmth and calm to flow through your hands. Optionally, make small circular strokes along the sides of the face. Continue until you feel the animal soften, breathe slower, or sigh.
Magnesium Deficiency & Agitation
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Clinical note: Low magnesium levels often manifest as restlessness, irritability, tension, or anxiety-like behaviors—in both humans and animals.
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Mechanism: Magnesium is essential for calming the nervous system, regulating muscle function, and balancing stress hormones. A deficiency heightens excitability, contributing to agitation.
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Reference (human research): Magnesium and Anxiety – Healthline
Suggested Use of Magnesium & Potassium 17-2 Powder
(Always consider species sensitivity and start low, observing response before increasing.)
-
Felines, Toy Dogs, Rabbits:
→ Sprinkle lightly over meals, approx. ¼ teaspoon per feeding.
-
Birds:
→ Stir in 3 drops or a very light sprinkle over seeds.
→ Add to water dish each time it’s changed.
-
Small Dogs or Small Animals:
→ About 7 drops or ½ teaspoon of powder.
-
Medium to Large Dogs:
→ About ½ teaspoon of powder mixed into food.
Notes:
-
Dosage is approximate and should be adjusted to body weight, diet, and health condition. Start off small amounts, gradually build up over a month.
-
Watch for loose can be a sign of excess magnesium if given a cheap type of magnesium or not well absorbed one. We use a well absorbed one that will not cause loose stools.
-
For delicate species (birds, rabbits), go lighter and build gradually.
-
Always ensure access to fresh water.
A little story from a customer .......I was signing papers to surrender my 'destructive' cat to the shelter when the intake counselor asked me one question that changed everything.
"How many hours a day does she actually sleep?" I couldn't answer. I just stared at the surrender form, Marley's name already written at the top in my shaking handwriting.
Six months earlier, Marley was perfect. But something shifted after we moved apartments. First, it was just the corner of the beige couch. Little pulls in the fabric I'd smooth down each morning. Then the dining chairs. All four of them, systematically shredded. The breaking point was finding a vintage armchair – the only thing I had left of hers – with stuffing spilling out like wounded cotton clouds. I'd tried everything every website suggested. Bought five different scratching posts. Marley would sniff them once, maybe drag a single claw across them, then walk straight to the couch. The double-sided tape turned my furniture into a sticky mess that collected cat hair and dust. She just found the gaps between strips.
Those pheromone sprays that cost $40 a bottle? My apartment reeked like synthetic lavender. Marley didn't care. I even rearranged all my furniture thinking maybe it was about territory or sight lines or whatever that cat behavior blog said. Nothing worked.
That night I found myself googling "aggressive cat surrender" at 1 AM.The guilt was suffocating. I'd adopted Luna as a kitten. Promised her a forever home. But I couldn't live like this – watching my belongings get destroyed daily, feeling my chest tighten every time I heard her claws hit fabric.
So there I was at the shelter. The intake counselor – was reading through my surrender paperwork when she asked about Marley's sleep.
"I... I don't know. Normal amount?" The lady set down her pen. "When cats destroy furniture this severely, they're usually barely sleeping. They're in a state similar to chronic insomnia in humans."
I must have looked confused because she pulled out a piece of scratch paper and started sketching. "Indoor cats have the exact same neural wiring as wild cats. Their brains need to complete something called a 'hunt sequence' roughly 10-15 times per day. Stalk, chase, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep." There is no such thing as an Indoor cat that can remain happy and balanced.
She drew little arrows between each word. "Without completing these sequences, their brain can't trigger proper sleep cycles. They become like someone who's been awake for 72 hours. Anxious, destructive, desperate for stimulation but unable to process it correctly."
I thought about Marley at 4 AM, racing through the apartment. At 6 AM, clawing furniture. At noon, doing the same.
"The scratching posts don't work," The lady continued, "because they're passive. There's no hunt. No victory. It's like giving an insomniac a really comfortable pillow. Doesn't address why they can't sleep."
Try the Ttouch Method:
Change the habitual cycle.
The cognitive challenge does. Their brain needs problems that change. Otherwise it's like forcing yourself to stay awake – eventually, you break. The Ttouch was gently applied once a day for 5 minutes, sometime less than 5 minutes.
A week passed. The armchair remained untouched. The couch corners stayed intact. Two weeks in, I was running my hand along the undamaged arm of my grandmother's chair, crying. Not sad tears. Relief. Marley wasn't destructive. She was exhausted. Her brain was literally starving for the cognitive patterns it needed to trigger sleep. The scratching wasn't aggression or spite. It was like someone with insomnia desperately trying anything to exhaust themselves enough to rest.
She never went back to the shelter.
That was eight months ago. My furniture has stayed intact. But more importantly, Marley sleeps now. Real, deep sleep. Multiple times a day. Sometimes I think about that moment in the shelter. Pen in my hand. Ready to give up on her. If the shelter lady hadn't asked that one question about sleep... I would have lost Marley thinking she was broken. When really, her brain was just desperately trying to complete the sequences it needed to rest. She wasn't a destructive cat. And I almost gave her away for it.
If your cat is destroying everything and nothing's working – maybe the problem isn't the destruction. Maybe it's what their brain needs to finally sleep.
My furniture? Untouched.Finally resting.
Note: An other option is to give them time outside to play and explore each day, if living on a busy main road, maybe install a outside cat run and enclosure. You will have a much happier cat)
... We hear many male cats locked inside the house or unit 24/7, and when and if they accidentally get out the door, (often due to stress and being unhappy lock inside all the time) will run off and spend a few days or so looking around on a little adventure. Avoid this and let me out each day for a few hours or so.
Natural pet botanicals are not intended to replace veterinary care or medication. Our formulas are offered as an alternative health support for your animal's condition and not as a cure. All our oral supplements are to be consumed voluntarily by your animal in food, treats or liquid.
SET OF 1
1. Destruct-O 6 formula
INGREDIENTS AND TRADITIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Formula 1
Star Fish (Asterias rubens 200C) is traditionally used for symptoms of nervous disturbance.
Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus 200C) is traditionally used for hysteria.
Potassium Hydrate (Causticum 200C) is traditionally used for anxious restlessness.
Phosphate of Potassium (Kali Phos 12X, 6X) is traditionally used for nervousness.
Acid Phosphate (Strychninum 200C) is traditionally used for fatigue and nervous weakness.
Valerian Root (Valeriana officinalis 200C) is traditionally used for nervous tension and over-excitability.
Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) is traditionally used for dissolving destructive patterns.
Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is traditionally used for erratic behaviour.
Impatiens (Impatiens glandulifera) is traditionally used for agitation and to support patience.
Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) is traditionally used for calming loss of control.
in 20% USP alc. in purified water.
TTouch Daily Ritual for Dogs and Cats * For cats leave out the Body wrap
A daily grounding and connection practice for dogs who pull, bark, or become over-excited.
Morning Routine — Grounding & Connection (5–10 minutes)
- Arrival: Sit quietly with your dog before the walk. Breathe slowly, grounding your energy. Let your
dog meet you in stillness before touch begins.
- Clouded Leopard Touch: Begin at the chest and shoulders. Use gentle circular motions, 1¼
turns, just moving the skin. Continue down the sides. Loosens the shoulders and reduces pulling.
- Ear Slides: Gently stroke from base to tip of each ear, 4–5 times. Calms and sharpens focus.
- Body Wrap (optional ): Wrap a soft bandage in a figure-eight around chest and ribs. Encourages
awareness of balance and reduces lunging.
- Balanced Start to the Walk: Hold the leash lightly. If your dog pulls, pause and wait for softness
before continuing. Walk as a moving meditation of connection.
Evening Routine — Release & Reset (10 minutes)
- Full-Body TTouch: Use Clouded Leopard and Raccoon touches in slow spirals down the body.
Releases tension from the day.
- Ear Slides & Muzzle Touches: Repeat ear slides. Add small circular touches around the muzzle
and jawline. Soothes vocal and nervous tension.
- Heart & Rib Circles: Place one hand over the chest or ribs and make slow, wide circles.
Encourages deep relaxation.
- Stillness: Let your dog rest beside you. Rest one hand lightly on them — no movement, just
presence. End with silent gratitude.
Remember: This ritual is a conversation in touch, rhythm, and trust. Keep it soft, brief, and full of presence.
- The Clouded Leopard - Using the pads of the fingers lightly curved, do circles, keeping all three knuckles joints soft and moving as you make each circle.
- For anxiety, pain, and all fearful animals
- Calming at times of thunderstorms; massage tail joint - for fear biters or animals who are scared of loud noises, e.g. thunder, gun shots etc.
Magnesium Deficiency & Agitation
-
Clinical note: Low magnesium levels often manifest as restlessness, irritability, tension, or anxiety-like behaviors—in both humans and animals.
-
Mechanism: Magnesium is essential for calming the nervous system, regulating muscle function, and balancing stress hormones. A deficiency heightens excitability, contributing to agitation.
-
Reference (human research): Magnesium and Anxiety – Healthline
Suggested Use of Magnesium & Potassium 17-2 Powder
(Always consider species sensitivity and start low, observing response before increasing.)
-
Felines, Toy Dogs, Rabbits:
→ Sprinkle lightly over meals, approx. ¼ teaspoon per feeding.
-
Birds:
→ Stir in 3 drops or a very light sprinkle over seeds.
→ Add to water dish each time it’s changed.
-
Small Dogs or Small Animals:
→ About 7 drops or ½ teaspoon of powder.
-
Medium to Large Dogs:
→ About ½ teaspoon of powder mixed into food.
Notes:
-
Dosage is approximate and should be adjusted to body weight, diet, and health condition. Start off small amounts, gradually build up over a month.
-
Watch for loose can be a sign of excess magnesium if given a cheap type of magnesium or not well absorbed one. We use a well absorbed one that will not cause loose stools.
-
For delicate species (birds, rabbits), go lighter and build gradually.
-
Always ensure access to fresh water.
Need more advice or have more questions? Contact us for a FREE consultation with one of our fully qualified practitioners.
FDA DISCLAIMER
The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from your health care practitioners. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act require this notice.