A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY

With the holidays here it is important to take time out to make sure your home is a safe haven for your precious pets. There are many hidden dangers in all those pretty wrapped presents, decorations and holiday food.

TREES

Cats are especially drawn to trees and may decide to munch on them regardless if they are real or artificial. Tree branches, if eaten, may become impacted in the stomach or intestines causing a blockage, which may ultimately lead to surgery to correct. If they don't like the delicacy of the tree, they may find the tree to be a great jungle gym and climb it. They are in danger if the tree topples over causing injury to the cat or someone else in the way. Also, fires may arise due to a toppled tree. Lastly, those pretty, shiny ornaments look like a great play toy to our feline friends. If knocked over they may break causing severe cuts to the cat or human alike.

LIGHTS AND CANDLES

Candles pose the obvious burning danger. A quick brush of the tail or curious sniff with the nose may cause major burns. Lighting wires may cause electrical shock and death to that new puppy that likes to chew on things. Hide wires from pets!!

DECORATIONS AND WRAPPINGS

Don't leave ribbons, tinsel, yarn, bows or aluminum foil lying around. Pets see these as toys and may chew on them leading to choking or intestinal impaction, which again may require surgery to correct. It is not recommended to decorate your tree with tinsel if you own pets, as this is a number one offense, especially to cats. Plants are beautiful around the holidays, but can be deadly to our pets. These include the poinsettia berries, holly berries, and mistletoe. Eating them may lead to a toxicity, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea or, possibly, death. If you must have these plants for the holiday, try misting them with water and sprinkling them with cayenne pepper. Many pet stores sell a product called bitter apple that can be applied right to the plant with no danger to the plant or pet, but is offensive to the pet.

FOOD

The best part of the holidays!!! All of us love to include our pets in our holiday celebrations. But there are dangers in the foods we eat during the holiday. The biggest offense is the leftover turkey and fish bones. These are not good for your pets as they may cause choking, intestinal damage and impaction. The result is terrible pain and discomfort to your pet, which may require hospitalization. Fatty table scraps like gravy, steak, and ham, to name a few, are not handled well by our pets. Humans can handle excessive amounts of fat in the diet, but pet's bodies cannot process high amounts very well. It will lead to a very serious disease called pancreatitis. Pancreatitis will land your pet in the hospital for several days to weeks and may lead to death. Lastly, chocolate is wonderful to us, but highly toxic to animals. The worst culprit being baking chocolate, which may cause death. Even a small amount of milk chocolate in a small pet may lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and a very unhappy pet.

After a long day of celebrating and eating, we may reach for our Tylenol, Aspirin, or Aleve for relief. These too are toxic to animals, especially cats. Animals cannot break these products down in their system and it will cause toxicity and death. If you feel your pet is sick, seek medical attention from your veterinarian. If it is during the holiday or after hours, try to reach the closest emergency clinic for help.

I hope everyone and their pets have a very safe and happy holiday season. See you in 2005 with information about vaccines for that new pet Santa gave you!!!!

Sincerely

Theresa Taylor, DVM

Past Articles...
Spring, 2004