Holidays can be great to spend with your family and pets. But did you know these festivities can actually pose a risk to your pets? Fences for your cat may not be good enough to keep away all such risks. Here are a few things you may want to keep away from your pet, if you want make your holiday fun-filled and safe:
Hazardous Gifts
If you own a cat or a dog, you want to be extra careful when you receive gifts from your family and friends. Those special tags that your guests might add can actually be hazardous to your curious pet. Make sure you inspect everything that comes into your house. If anything poses a hazard, make sure you keep it away.
Bow, Ribbons, and Decorative Items
These are a few things that come along with your gifts. They may not exactly be hazardous unless your pet ingests them. So make sure you keep such stuff away as soon as you open your gifts. Use appropriate toys to play chase and fetch with your dog or cat. Ribbons can be dangerous, especially if your pet doesn’t know how to play with it.
Holiday Plants
Christmas is a time when some new plants can find space in your house. But did you know that some of these plants can actually be poisonous to your pet if they sniff and eat them? This is especially true with lilies, holly, mistletoe, poinsettias, and azaleas. Find out what is safe and what is not, before you bring any holiday plant into your house.
Holiday Meals
There may be certain ingredients in your favorite holiday meals that might be tastier to your palette but harmful to your pet. Make a list of such ingredients and avoid them as far as possible. If you can’t do that, you can at least ensure your pet doesn’t come anywhere near them.
Purses & Coats
Your curious pet might find the purses and coats of your guests, great places to explore. Your guests or you may not find this harmful; but what if they find a chewing gum, some medication, or any harmful item in them? To be safer, it is better to ask your guests to place their belongings in a closed-off room or a coat closet that is inaccessible to your pet.
There are a lot more such things that can pose risks to your pet. It is good to prepare for the worst; but make sure you always have your veterinarian’s number handy and understand the emergency procedure you need to follow, to make your holiday safe and fun-filled.