While you want all family members
to celebrate, pets can become overexcited,
confused, or even fearful of changes and
holiday guests. An emergency trip to your
veterinary hospital or emergency clinic
isn’t on Santa’s wish list. A bit of fore-
thought can keep everyone merry.
THE FAMILY PET
Pet-Safe Celebrations
Guests – Make sure your guests un-
derstand your house rules regarding your
pet. Keep in mind that pets’ behavior can
change with holiday guests, especially en-
thusiastic children.
Food
It’s hard to withstand those puppy dog
eyes any time of year and can seem next to
impossible at holiday meals. It can be even
more difficult for your guests to resist slip-
ping Fido and Fluffy a bit of food. For the
good of your four-footed family member,
don’t give in to temptation! In addition to
creating bad table manners for your pet,
they can easily become ill. A number of
foods can be especially harmful.
Sweets: Skip them all. You proba-
bly know to never give your pets chocolate.
You may not be aware that the chemical
xylitol, used as a sweetener in many prod-
ucts, including gum, candy, baked goods,
and toothpaste, can lead to liver failure and
death in dogs.
Table scraps: That juicy turkey
skin, gravy, and meat fat can cause life-
threatening pancreatitis. Fatty and spicy
foods, and especially bones, should be kept
away.
Happy Holidays –
Let’s keep it that way!
Just in case, keep the number for pet
poison control handy along with your vet-
erinarian’s emergency phone number.
Plants & Decorations
You’ve taken great pride in decorating
your house. Just make sure everyone can
enjoy it safely — including the family pet.
Lilies: Get rid of this deadly flower
immediately. It is highly toxic to your cat.
Even just a nip of the petal, stem, or drink
of water in its vase.
Fruits and veggies: They are great
for you, but raisins, grapes, and onions can
be deadly to your pet. Carrots on the other
hand can be beneficial for dogs. Mistletoe, holly and poinsettias:
When ingested these can cause pets nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, and other ailments.
Salt and Salty Snack Foods: Large
amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst
and urination, or even sodium poisoning in
pets. Avoid chips, popcorn, pretzels and
any salty foods. • Make sure it is securely anchored so
it doesn’t topple on a curious cat that wants
to climb or dog that runs by.
Yeast dough: Even small amounts can
cause problems including painful gas and po-
tentially dangerous and fatal bloating.
Alcohol: Your pet may be of legal
drinking age for humans but this can lead
to vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, difficulty
breathing, and possibly a coma leading to
death from respiratory failure.
For those who can’t resist giving your
pet a treat, stock up on your pet’s favor-
ites but give them sparingly. Try a Kong
or long-lasting chew treats or toys to keep
your pet occupied while you relax and en-
joy the festivities.
Make sure your garbage is put away
where pets can’t get to it — preferably in
the garbage can outside.
• Never leave your pet alone in an
area with a lit candle that could be inadver-
tently knocked over.
Watch exits – With lots of people
coming and going, it’s easy for a pet to slip
out unnoticed. Make sure your pet has an
ID collar and is micro chipped.
New Year’s Celebration – Noisemak-
ers, fireworks, horns, bells, and whistles
can be extremely alarming to the sensitive
ears of pets. Make sure pets are in a safe
place away from the noise. Talk to your vet-
erinarian about getting a sedative to help an
anxious pet. Keep in mind that strings of
thrown confetti can be cause for celebration
for your cat. However, if ingested, these
can cause the same issues as tinsel or string
used in wrapping presents. Again, watch
the food and alcohol that may be around.
Keep your veterinarian’s emergency
phone number handy and ASPCA Animal
Poison Control Center (888) 426-4435.
Christmas tree:
• Cover tree water (which may con-
tain fertilizers from the tree) and can cause
stomach upset for pets that are using it as a
water bowl.
• Make sure ornaments are firmly at-
tached so they aren’t eaten by pets or fall
off and break. Keep any salt-dough or other
food-based decorations out of pet’s reach.
• Do not decorate with tinsel if you
have a cat – if swallowed, it can lead to ob-
structing digestive tract, severe vomiting,
dehydration, and possible surgery.
• Lights, especially blinking ones, can
be a call to your cat as a play toy. Be sure
lights are unplugged when you go out, go
to bed, and when the room with the tree is
unoccupied for an extended period. Along
with lights, make sure electrical cords don’t
become a chew toy.
December 2018 WNY Family 69