Holiday Pet Care Tips

The holidays are filled with unique seasonal treats, baubles and activities. The following tips will help ensure the season is joyful and safe for all.

 

 

Food, Alcohol & Treats

 

Keep these items out of reach as they can make your pet quite sick. Fruitcake typically contains harmful ingredients such as grapes, raisins, currants and alcohol. Also potentially harmful are coffee grounds, tea, hops, salt, onions and onion powder, grapes and raisins, avocado, garlic and macadamia nuts. Finally — and this is a biggie — harming or killing pets every year: turkey or chicken bones or fragments can lodge in the throat, stomach or intestinal tract. Turkey skin and fat can cause pancreatitis, which can be fatal.

 

Guests & Stress

Pets can become overexcited, confused or frightened by visitors. Keep them in a quiet part of the house, watch for open doors and make sure your pets have ID tags and/or microchips in case they do get out.

 

Decorations

If you have a tree, make sure it is secure and the area around it kept tidy as needles can puncture your pet’s internal organs if ingested. Avoid adding preservatives, aspirin or sugar to your tree’s water, or keep it covered.

 

Keep away breakable ornaments, tinsel, string and ribbon. Ingestion can cause serious internal injuries. Light strands, loose wires and electrical cords are also hazardous, especially for puppies, who chew anything. Risks include deep tissue burns in the mouth and throat and/or electrocution.

Snow globes may contain antifreeze (ethylene glycol) of which as little as one teaspoon can be fatal. Signs of poisoning include acting drunk or uncoordinated, excessive thirst and lethargy.

 

Plants

Holly

Keep pets safe from holly and poinsettias. The spiny, leathery leaves of Christmas or English holly can damage the stomach and intestines of dogs or cats. The berries have mildly toxic properties but are usually tolerated by most pets. While not toxic, both American mistletoe leaves/berries and poinsettia plants can cause gastrointestinal upset if eaten.

 

New Pet

Holidays may not be the best time to get a pet. The excitement and deviation from normal routines can be difficult for a new (or existing) pet.

 

Pets as Gifts

Not a great idea. Pets are a lifelong commitment of time, energy and expense. Best to let folks come to the decision to get a pet and have control and ownership of this serious commitment. One note: robotic pets have proven to be a delight and a help for folks with diminished cognitive skills or who are isolated at a very advanced age. These lifelike pets often bring joy, companionship, and a sense of being needed.

 

 

Excerpted from Oregon Veterinary Medical Association