Tips for a safe, hazard-free pet holiday

    

The holiday season means food and fun combined with lots of hustle and bustle. We’ve compiled a list of pet-proofing tips, including a few simple precautions that will keep your pets safe during the holidays.

 

 

Choose pet-safe holiday decorations

You can’t do holidays without decorations, but luckily, making pet-proof choices won’t reduce your cheer. 

If you put up a tree during the holidays, check out these tips for a pet-safe Christmas tree. 

• Choose shatterproof ornaments. Ornaments that fall and shatter can cause injury to pets and people.
• Hang smaller ornaments toward the top of the tree to avoid a choking hazard. 
• Keep salt dough ornaments out of reach. They might seem like a tasty snack to exploring pets but can cause electrolyte problems if ingested.
• Skip the candy canes or only hang them out of reach. 
• Avoid using tinsel on your tree. When it comes to cat-safe Christmas decorations, tinsel is definitely a no-go. Tinsel is often irresistible to curious cats, and if ingested, it can become lodged in the gut and cause serious problems, so it’s best avoided altogether.
• Consider wiring on tree lights. It’s no secret that some pets, especially cats and puppies, will sometimes try to chew on wiring. Unfortunately, this can lead to electrocution or shock injuries. If you will be wrapping your tree in lights, consider leaving the bottom portion unlit to prevent chewing. Only have your tree plugged in when you can supervise your pets.

Consider these other tips for pet-safe holiday decorations.

• Keep flames from candles out of reach. Your pet can cause injury to themselves if they get close to a flame. They can also knock candles over, which is a fire hazard.
• Keep decorations elevated away from chewers. Although decorations like a stuffed Santa add a festive feel to your home, they can be tempting to pets who like to chew. Decorations can be dangerous if your pet ingests them, so keep them out of reach.

Ensure your holiday foods are pet safe

With the holiday season comes a delicious variety of baked goods, chocolate confections and other rich, fattening foods. You can prevent pet poisoning by knowing which foods are toxic to dogs and cats.

Foods that can present problems for pets include:

• Fruitcakes, breads and cookies that contain grapes, raisins and currants, which can cause kidney failure in dogs. 
  
• Alcohol (or an item flavored with alcohol) is dangerous for pets. We doubt you have plans to give your dog or cat the eggnog, but sometimes these sneaky creatures like to try things out for themselves. Keep alcoholic beverages or treats that contain alcohol out of reach of curious dogs and cats.
  
• Chocolate and cocoa contain theobromine, a chemical similar to caffeine that’s highly toxic to both dogs and cats. Ingestion in small amounts can cause vomiting and diarrhea, but large amounts can cause seizures and heart arrhythmias.
  
• Sugarless gums and candies that contain xylitol, a natural sweetener that causes a life-threatening drop in blood sugar and liver failure in dogs. 
  
• Leftover fatty meat scraps can produce severe inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), leading to abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.
  
• Leftover bones from turkey or other meats can cause serious injury to your pet’s esophagus, stomach and intestines if chewed and swallowed. Cooked bones are more likely to shatter, increasing the risk that they could puncture something internally within your pet.
• Unbaked bread dough leads to trouble when the yeast heats up inside the stomach and turns into ethanol and carbon dioxide. 

Select pet-safe holiday plants

While plants can liven up any space, keep these safety tips in mind:

• Avoid lilies. Lilies are very toxic to cats, and even one bite can cause irreversible kidney failure. 
  
• Be careful with poinsettias. Poinsettias get a bad rap, but the stomach upset they cause is much milder than the symptoms associated with holly, mistletoe and amaryllis. 
  
• Although a Christmas tree is not toxic, its needles don’t digest well, and its water may contain bacteria, mold or fertilizer that you definitely don’t want your pet to ingest.
  

If you want a festive plant that’s safe for pets, you could consider a holiday cactus! These plants are safe for both dogs and cats.

Beware with holiday scents

Perhaps you like to spritz your tree with essential oils or put up a diffuser with your favorite winter scents. It’s important to know that some of these scents can be dangerous for your pets, especially pets with respiratory issues like asthma. 

The following essential oils may not be safe to use with pets in the home:

• Tea tree
  
• Wintergreen
  
• Sweet birch
  
• Citrus
  
• Pine
  
• Ylang ylang
  
• Peppermint
  
• Cinnamon
  
• Pennyroyal
  
• Clove
  
• Eucalyptus
  

Now that you know more about pet-safe Christmas decorations, our final bit of advice is to be prepared for all the holiday "what ifs" with free Live Chat* on the myVCA app, where our licensed veterinary professionals are always ready to answer your questions anytime, day or night.

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*Live Chat with a licensed veterinary professional is free for VCA clients through the myVCA mobile app, available at Apple's App Store and Google Play.