As Christmas approaches, it’s lovely to involve our pets in the festivities. This article mentions a few things to be aware of to keep our fur babies safe…
Real Christmas trees.
Whilst these look lovely and give an authentic Christmas smell, the needles can get stuck in paws or throats. Ensure you regularly sweep up any pine needles and consider closing the room so your pet isn’t left unattended with the tree.
Dangling tree decorations
These can be irresistible to pets – cats enjoy trying to bat them off the tree. However it’s no fun if the decoration falls, breaks and injures your pet. Also, chocolate is harmful to our pets so put these high out of reach.
Antifreeze
Strange inclusion in the Christmas list you may think, however antifreeze contains chemicals which can be harmful to pets so try not to spill any and always keep bottles out of pets reach.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…..
Whilst this sounds lovely, we need to be careful if we have log burners etc. Ensure pets are not able to get too close to investigate, burnt paws are very painful!
(Hopefully!) A busy house
Christmas is (usually) the time to gather with family and friends and whist we are enjoying the merriment, we may forget that this can be an anxious time for our pets with unfamiliar people and noises in the house. Perhaps plan in advance if you are having guests, make a safe space for your pet to escape and enjoy some alone time.
Fireworks….
Many people choose to let off a few fireworks over the Christmas and New Year period. This will fill some pet owners with dread if your pet doesn’t cope well, it might only just feel like we’ve gotten past bonfire night and here they are again. Try and prepare in advance, leave on some soothing background music, prepare a small ‘den’ your pet can hide in if they feel scared. There are also plug in diffusers available which may help with your pets anxiety.
Christmas plants
A lot of the plants we choose a Christmas can be toxic to our pets. This doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them in our home, just perhaps keep these up high out of reach of inquisitive paws.
Christmas lights
Ensure cables from Christmas lights are covered with cable guard or placed out of reach otherwise cats, rabbits and dogs may try and have a little chew!
Presents
If you know (or suspect) a present contains food, leave these in a place your pet cant reach rather than under the tree. You wouldn’t want these disappearing and potentially causing harm to your furry loved ones.
Keep up your pets regular exercise and feeding routines.
This will avoid adding any stress to your pets if other things are slightly different over the festive period. Long walks will also help to tire your dogs out so they won’t become bored or destructive.