Holidays can be enough stress without adding on extra worry about a pet’s potential injury. And, during the holidays, we tend to overindulge ourselves and usually this leads to a little harmless indulgence for our furry friends too. With all the chaos, visitors and extra food, it’s no wonder your pets can get caught up in the festivities as well which can occasionally lead to ill effects.
Everything from candles, decorations and gifts to food and your indoor tree can intrigue your pet and cause potential threats. Below are 10 holiday perils for your pets.
- Holiday Plants: Several plants like mistletoe, lilies and holly may make your holiday festive, but they can be toxic to your pets.
- Chocolate: Chocolate has a lot of methylxanthines (caffeine-like stimulants) and fat in it that can make your pet ill and may even cause death.
- Candles and Potpourri: These two items can cause real harm to your furry friend. Even a couple licks can cause:
- Fever
- Tremors
- Difficulty breathing
- Severe chemical burns in their mouth
- Electrical Cords: The holidays increase the risk of electrocution and we all know dogs like to chew on things. Keep electric cords out of reach.
- Trees: A big fire danger is a toppled tree, even artificial trees. If you leave a Christmas tree and an unsupervised cat in the same room you’re asking for trouble. Make sure you unplug your tree before leaving the house.
- Ornaments: A lot of ornaments are made with glass and if eaten, may cause serious intestinal problems.
- Alcohol: Alcohol ingestion can lead to dangerous drops in blood pressure, blood sugar and body temperature. If your pet becomes intoxicated, they could experience respiratory failure and seizures.
- Visitors: Have your pets checked out by a veterinarian before the holidays for any hidden illnesses. When pets don’t feel well, their behavior may be more threatening around visitors they don’t know.
- Christmas Tree Water Additives: These are hazardous to your furry friends. Don’t add sugar, aspirin or anything else to your tree water when you have animals in the home.
- Snow Globes: Certain snow globes contain ethylene glycol (antifreeze). Even a teaspoon of this substance can be fatal to a cat that ingests it; one or two tablespoons for a dog, depending on its size.
The holidays are a magical and exciting time of year for your entire family. But, they’re also filled with potential dangers for your pet. By taking some precautions, you can keep your pet safe and stop a tragedy from occurring.
Since you can’t avoid all mishaps thought, it’s important that you have pet insurance since trips to the vet can get really expensive.
