Cat and dog owners making false claims that their animals are sick or even deliberately harming them in order to seek attention from vets is likely to be a prevalent problem, scientists have said.
Some pet owners may exhibit a form of Munchausen syndrome by proxy involving their pets in order to gain sympathy from veterinarians, a study has suggested.
Unlike hypochondria, where people hold a genuine but mistaken fear that they are ill, Munchausen syndrome is a mental health condition that drives people to feign or even deliberately induce the symptoms of illness, despite knowing they are not really ill. The NHS website explains: “Their main intention is to assume the ‘sick role’ so that people care for them and they are the centre of attention.”
Some studies have looked at parents who lie about their child being ill or harm them in order to gain attention, but scientists have confirmed that the same behaviour can occur in pet owners — most commonly among those with cats and dogs, but also among those who keep rabbits, rodents and horses. It is known as animal abuse by falsification (AAF), noting that it is a separate issue from those who genuinely fear their pet is ill when it is not.
A study of around 90 veterinary surgeries in the Netherlands found that 83 per cent of veterinarians and technicians were familiar with the phenomenon. The...
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