Keeping pets safe and happy during the holidays 🐶🐱

[Marjo]

Hi guys, how are you doing today?

Christmas time can be a fun celebration for us humans, but if we're not careful, it can be dangerous for our pets. 😞 There are some obvious and some not-so-obvious treats that we normally have during the holidays that can actually be harmful to our cats and dogs if they happen to eat them. Apart from foods, there are also items that are potentially dangerous that pet owners should take into account to minimise risks.

These foods are bad for dogs, cats or both:

• Chocolate is poisonous to both cats and dogs
• All grapes and raisins are poisonous to dogs (mince pies and Christmas puddings!)
• Blue cheese is bad for dogs
• So are macadamia nuts
• Garlic, chives and onion
• Alcohol

 

These items should be used with caution around pets:

• Tinsel if ingested can cause blockages
• Snow globes - if a cat breaks it and licks the liquid, it can be fatal (it can contain anti-freeze)
• Candles left unmonitored can cause a fire if a cat or dog gets curious, and can of course burn their little paws or whiskers
• Fairy lights when chewed on or played with can burn and even electrocute a pet
• Some Christmas time plants/flowers are poisonous to cats and dogs, such as poinsettia and mistletoe. 
• Lilies can be fatal to cats
• As Cleoriff mentioned in another topic (thanks for the tip!), Christmas trees can also be a risk if your pet chews the branches (can cause obstruction)

 

Were any of these surprising to you guys? I wasn't aware of the blue cheese one. Do you know of any other foods or items we often use at Christmas time that we should be careful with around pets?

I found some instruction videos on the RSPCA website on how to make DIY cat and dog treats for Christmas, if you'd like your pets to have their own, safe, Christmas treats and want some inspiration! 🐶🐱

• Some more tips on the PDSA website on keeping pets calm during the busy holiday period
• Tips on the Pets at Home website for keeping pets safe during Christmas time
• List of 10 hazards for pets at Christmas time here

[Anonymous]

I look at this thread and I don’t feel old any more...

[Mi-Amigo]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I look at this thread and I don’t feel old any more...

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I`m not old... I`m a recycled teenager   

[Mi-Amigo]

Here is a whole load of "Things people did In the 60s & 70s with their kids, they could never get away with today" link here 

Amazing how many I remember my folks doing...  

[Cleoriff]

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@Mi-Amigo wrote:

Here is a whole load of "Things people did In the 60s & 70s with their kids, they could never get away with today" link here 

Amazing how many I remember my folks doing...  

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Yes and me...

I used to sit on my Mums lap in the front of the car with NO seatbelts.

[Anonymous]

Reckless!

[pgn]

Sleeping in the front passenger footwell... 

Head out through the sunroof, when weather afforded the opportunity...

In fact:

[welshsteve76]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

My cats love a little bit of cheese, though NOT blue cheese as I don't like it!

This part was interesting @Marjo 

Christmas plants may look pretty but poinsettias, mistletoe, holly, amaryllis, ferns and pine sap are poisonous to cats and dogs

However they missed one very important plant out of the list. Lilies (often sent in Christmas bouquets)

The stamen of lilies are poisonous to cats. What's worse, the stamen usually drop from the lily to the floor.

When I first learnt this I had lilies in my garden. I dug them all up. If I get a bouquet which contains lilies, I cut the stamen off when the flower opens.

Obviously the stamen are the brown orange stalks in the middle.

Apart from poisoning cats, they stain clothes and you have a hell of a job removing the stain.

The link below gives quite frightening info....

https://www.vets4pets.com/pet-health-advice/cat-advice/lily-poisoning-in-cats/ 

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Good advice @Cleoriff  Always wary of lillies.  They really do stain everything they touch.  I have an Alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily) flower plant in my garden, which is like a small lily plant.  These are nowehere near as bad and don't deposit anything.

[Cleoriff]

Although not as toxic @welshsteve76 the Pet Poison Helpline shows they do cause problems?

https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/veterinarians/free-resources-clinic-clients/no-lilies-for-kitties/ 

*These plants may cause more gastrointestinal irritation or upset (drooling, vomiting, and/or diarrhoea) than others on the list but are not expected to cause severe poisoning (i.e. kidney, liver, or nervous system effects).

So even though they are lovely and not as toxic, they would be a no for me as my cats eat anything!!

[welshsteve76]

Cats are funny creatures. Always getting themselves in scrapes.  My neighbours' cat vommitted grass balls over my fence a few months ago.  I'm a dog person myself