Keep ’em Safe!

The holidays are here and friends and family are all gathering together to celebrate! With all the celebrating, it can also be a time of certain objects and food endangering our pets. To keep your pet safe, especially if you are attending/hosting any parties, here are some tips on how to keep your holidays festive and safe!

Decorations:

If you use a real tree for your decorations, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals advises the tree should be anchored down to prevent it from falling and injuring your pets. Also, by keeping it anchored down, any fertilized water for the tree will be unobtainable to your pets. Other plants to be mindful of, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, are Amaryllis, mistletoe, balsam, pine, cedar, and holly since they could be hazardous to your pet and even poisonous if eaten. If you are unsure if any plants you might have are poisonous, ASPCA offers lists of plants that are toxic to dogs and cats on their website. Lastly, potpourris should be out of your pets reach since liquid potpourris may contain essential oils and cationic detergents that can severely damage your pet’s mouth, eyes and skin. Solid potpourris could also cause problems to a pet if eaten.

If you use candles for decoration, the ASPCA recommends that you do not leave them burning unattended. Your pet could accidentally knock them over and injure themselves or start a fire. Wires and batteries could also cause problems if your pet chews on them. The wire can lethally shock them, and the batteries could burn their mouth and esophagus.

For your décor, try to avoid using tinsel if you have a cat that enjoys playing and nibbling on it. If swallowed, it could cause digestive tract, severe vomiting, dehydration and they will possibly need surgery. Glass or plastic ornaments should also be out of your pet’s reach. If broken, shards of the ornaments could damage your pets mouth or paws.

Food:

By both the ASPCA and AVMA, it is important that you keep all chocolate and anything sweetened with xylitol out of your pets reach, especially if your pets like to get into garbage cans.

Fatty and spicy foods should also not be given to your pet, even the scraps. These could be harmful since most foods that are healthy for people are poisonous to pets, including onions, raisins and grapes. This includes turkey as well if that is what you have for the holidays. Even a small amount can be life-threatening to your pet.

If you drink alcoholic beverages during your festivities, keep your pets from getting into the drinks. If ingested, they could get ill and possibly have respiratory failure.

Parties:

Lastly, if you are hosting a party or taking your pet to one, remember that their ears are sensitive. Give them an area that is away from all the activity where they can go to as a safe place. The AVMA recommends watching all exits, even if your pets are comfortable around guests. When people are entering or leaving a home, your pet may get out and get lost. In case this happens, please make sure your pet has identification tags and/or microchips with updated information.

This is a wonderful season to be surrounded by friends, family, and our furry friends. We hope this list helps keep those furry friends safe this season and all of us here want to wish you all happy and safe holidays!

References:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/holiday-safety-tips

https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/holidays.aspx?utm_source=prettyurl&utm_campaign=holiday&utm_term=holiday