How To Keep Your Pets Safe During Christmas
When we bring a pet into our household, we are adopting it for life. Along with several animal charities, we try to discourage giving pets as presents or buying a pet impulsively during the holidays. However, if you are a new owner, it’s important to know that you are taking on a very important responsibility and that you must allot time to connect with and take care of your pet. There are a few precautions that you must take to ensure you keep your pets safe during Christmas time. Read on below to find out some of the essential steps.
Be Sure To Keep The Connections And Wires Secure
Christmas is a special time when you have decorations and lightings all over the house, not to mention different toys and gadgets. This makes the whole house a big mass of electricity, having multiple cables wired all across the rooms. This is very dangerous as your pets might get entangled in wires while they run around. Some puppies and kittens have a habit of chewing on wires so you must ensure that your wires are kept well out of their reach to avoid a serious accident.
Keep Your Pets Away From Alcohol
One thing you must be aware of is that alcohol can be poisonous to animals. So you must be cautious to keep your pet away from any kind of alcohol. While it is easier to keep the glass of wine out of their reach, it is far more difficult to always pay attention to the many Christmas treats that contain alcohol. Fruit cakes and Christmas puddings may be soaked in Rum so be aware before letting your pet have it. If there is any unbaked dough left then the cooking yeast in it can cause alcohol poisoning in your pet.
Don’t Feed Your Pet Toxic Leftovers
You might know that the caffeine and theobromine that chocolates contain are poisonous to your pet, but you might not be aware of other Christmas food that might be toxic for your pet as well. A few popular desserts at Christmas time are mince pies and Christmas puddings. It’s normal to have a big meal during the holidays, hence not being able to finish the desserts. In this case, you must be sure to properly dispose of the leftovers in the safety bin or put them away to eat later. This is important as these desserts might contain alcohol, also the raisins and currents in them can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and in some extreme conditions, kidney failures in your pets.
You also need to watch out for regular foods containing sugar and nuts, extra spice, garlic, and onions. Avoid foods that are pre-packaged as they can contain granule-like particles of the sweetener Xylitol. All these are harmful to your pet so when feeding them make or bake the treats yourself. Instead of giving them extra treats, you can make them a healthier snack by giving them the biscuits that were allocated for them that day. This way they won’t be overeating and will be able to stay fit and healthy.
Give Your Pet Protection From The Cold
We love the magical snowfall in the winter, but the cold can be just as detrimental to the health of your pet as it can be for you. Exposure to extreme cold weather conditions can lead to Hypothermia, even death, so it’s really important to keep your pets safe during Christmas time temperatures. If you have a cat, a good option can be adding a cat flap to your door, as this allows the cat to come back in when the weather outside becomes too harsh. You can lock the cat flap if you want to keep your cat inside the house. In case you don’t have a cat flap, you need to construct an outdoor shelter where your cat can take refuge when the weather becomes too extreme.
You will need to take your dog out for a walk regularly to keep it fit and healthy. But if the weather is snowy, cold, and wet, be sure to outfit your dog with a waterproof and warm coat. This is more important with dogs who are ill, with short fur, or are older. You can provide extra bedding inside your pets’ hut to keep them warmer.
Don’t Get Toxic Christmas Plants
Christmas plants are great to decorate with and bring a festive look, but some of them can cause vomiting and diarrhea in your pets. Poinsettia, mistletoe, and holly can all make your pet sick. The lily is the most toxic, if your pet ingests the leaf or flower of the lily it can be very poisonous.
Be Alert With Your Christmas Decorations
Christmas decorations are the best way to bring a festive look into your house and to really liven things up. Although having pets at home makes the whole thing slightly trickier. The baubles may fall and break causing your pet to cut their feet when they run across, or far worse they can ingest the broken glass causing a serious health issue. Playful pets may jump on the tree and cause it to fall, not just breaking the ornaments but also posing a serious safety threat to the people around.
To avoid this, you need to secure your tree in place so there is no chance of it toppling over. You can also replace the glass baubles with plastic ones so they don’t break to pieces if they fall. Getting bigger baubles for the tree is also a good idea so the pets can’t swallow them. You need to make sure that all the decorations are out of the pet’s reach, replacing tinsel with bead or paper chains. If you cant make major changes to the tree, then it will be well advised to keep your pet out of the room and restrict its entry near the tree until it is taken down.
Beware Of Fire
A Christmas evening is made complete by an open fire or having some candles lit around the house. But they become particularly challenging to maintain when you have pets at home. To keep your pets safe during Christmas, you should put the candles inside a vessel and keep it out of reach. The fire should be surrounded by a fireguard. Although these measures will increase the safety of your pet around fires, still it is advised to have them in the room with a fire or candles only when they are supervised. Someone present will prevent them from having an accident with candles or open flames.
Soothe Your Nervous Pet
All the noise and activity of having a jolly time at Christmas is bound to make your pet nervous as it will not be used to the lack of privacy during Christmas time. Your pet needs me time too so it’s best if you can arrange a quiet room in a corner of the house where they can take refuge from all the activity. If you want to help your pet further in not feeling overwhelmed, talk to your vet about the measures you can take to relieve your pet’s nervousness. An animal behaviorist may also be able to help in this regard.
Be Careful While Wrapping Gifts
You need to keep your pet away at a safe distance when you will be wrapping presents for Christmas. The string, plastic pieces, ribbons, wrapping paper, and cloth are all causes for intestinal blockages if your pet accidentally ingests them. You need scissors while wrapping the presents so be extra cautious with them. Scissors should be kept off low tables and floors at all times. Also, it’s best not to leave wrapped presents under the tree because your pet might get to them and the end result may not be favorable.
Bringing a pet into your home is a great joy and the love and affection they can bring into your life is unique. But it is your responsibility to ensure a safe and secure life for them. This becomes doubly important during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday time. So follow the steps mentioned in the article and have the best time with your pet during this Christmas Holiday.
We hope you’ve found it useful reading our top tips on how to keep your pets safe during Christmas time. Have the most perfect festive season and Merry Christmas!
