PET CARE DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Christmas Trees The oils found in fir, pine and spruce trees can irritate a cat’s mouth and intestines often causing drooling and vomiting. If ingested, the oils found in many Christmas trees may also cause damage to your cat’s nervous system; this can result in seizures, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and depression. As well as the actual tree, the water can also be toxic to pets, especially if it contains fertilizer, bacteria and mould, which will accumulate in the water over time. Keep the water bowl at the bottom cleaned and put in fresh water daily, if possible, cover it so pets don’t have access to try drinking it. Tree Skirts that cover the bottom are often good for this. The needles themselves are also a real danger, as they can cause bowel obstructions or perforate the intestines of pets if they try to eat them and can also pierce pads on their paws. Let’s not forget how cat’s love to climb that Christmas tree!, make sure you have a good solid base or try fixing it to a wall to avoid having to rebuild it again and again or worse, your little friends getting injured when it falls. Even if you have an artificial tree, remember even these can be an issue if the plastic from the branches is ingested. When choosing ornaments, the real glass ones look lovely but firstly how long will they last? broken glass balls can be a real hazard to pets so maybe look for the shatterproof ones and avoid putting any decorations near the very bottom of the tree right in paws length and so temptation of the little guys. The lights are also a common cause of accidents with pets, small pieces of decoration on some lights can be ingested and let’s not forget lights are electric, it’s always best to invest in a set of safer low voltage LED lights. Secure the mains plugs and extension leads away safely in a box where little paws and sharp teeth can’t get at anything mains voltage. When choosing the decorations, think about your pets, things like tinsel are just so tempting to a cat but unfortunately the small shreds of plastic are also bad news if swallowed. We get some empty boxes and wrap them up and put them under the tree straight away and put them back once we take away the real presents to give to people so there is always something under the tree to stop our cats getting under there. We also fix our tree to the wall or radiator with a piece of wire, this has stopped the practise of having to sit and re- decorate the tree, sometimes at 3am after one of our five cats has decided to climb it and knock it over.

Christmas Plants

Christmas also is a time for Christmas plants and flowers, many of these are harmful to pets so take care firstly what you buy and where you put them so the little ones can’t get their paws on them.

Heather Glad shes having a stress free time at home with you both. Thanks for the photos, the girls love them.

Snow Globes Snow globes have been part of Christmas forever, kids love to play with them but sadly they often contain Ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in anti-freeze, it is sweet tasting and so attractive to pets to lick, sadly it is also deadly poisionous to them. If ingested you should immediatly get them to a vet for treatment. Christmas Food Oh, how we love nothing more than to indulge in lots of food over Christmas but let’s please not forget that many of the foods we like, although may taste great to our little pets, they often can cause issues with their more sensitive stomachs. Chocolate Who does not love chocolate at Christmas? but let’s remember the chemical theobromine found in chocolate is very poisonous to dogs. The darker the chocolate, the higher the levels of theobromine found in it. Small amounts can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, while large amounts can cause seizures, heart problems and in worst cases, even death. White chocolate Is highly unlikely to cause theobromine toxicity as it contains much smaller amounts than dark chocolate, it does, however, still have high levels of fat & sugar which, if eaten in large quantities, can cause stomach upsets. It’s best to keep all chocolate out of reach of your pets. Grapes & Raisins These fruits are a common pet hazard during the holidays. Candied raisins found in fruit cake, candy-covered raisins or grapes could be bad news for your pet. Just a few grapes could cause kidney failure in your pup, so keep these away from your pet at all costs and like with children these can also be a choking hazard. Don’t forget this will include food items that contain dried fruits such as Christmas pudding and mince pies. Bones It can be tempting to give your dog a bone from the meat you’re cooking. Unfortunately, most cooked, and uncooked bones are dangerous for dogs to eat. They can easily break and splinter, leading to an array of problems for your furry friend. Including broken teeth, gastrointestinal blockage, constipation, and Peritonitis. Artificial sweeteners Xylitol a sugar-free sweetener is found in many of the sweets we consume over Christmas, as well as chewing gum, mouthwashes, toothpastes, and supplements. It is poisonous to dogs and, although the amounts in different products vary, even one to two pieces of chewing gum can cause toxic effects in a small dog. It can induce the release of insulin in the body, resulting in low blood sugar and sometimes liver damage. Signs of poisoning can be rapid or delayed, and include vomiting, lethargy, convulsions, and comas. The prognosis is good if the low blood sugar is treated quickly.