10 Things to Keep Away from Your Pets This Holiday Season

Pet Care
10 Things to Keep Away from Your Pets This Holiday Season

With the holidays well underway, it’s always a good idea to have a refresher course on holiday dangers to pets. The last thing you want to have happen during the holidays is for your furry loved one’s health to be at risk!

Here are some common decorations you should keep away from your pets:

  1. Mistletoe and Holly: According to the ASPCA’s website, if pets ingest holly they can suffer nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Mistletoe can be just as dangerous, causing possibly gastrointestinal upset or cardiovascular problems!
  2. 10 Things to Keep Away from Your Pets This Holiday SeasonPoinsettias: These beautiful flowers are popular plants around the holidays. There is a milky white sap found in them that contain diterpenoid eupherbol esters. Poinsettias can cause vomiting and drooling in pets. If their skin is exposed, redness and swelling could occur and if eyes are exposed, conjunctivitis could occur.
  3. Tinsel: Cats especially love this shiny decoration. My cats like to chase it like it’s yarn. This decoration can lead to an obstructed digestive tract if eaten. It could also cause severe vomiting, dehydration and possibly require surgery to correct.
  4. Lit candles: This is probably going to be one of the most obvious ones on this list, but it definitely deserves a spot here. I used to think that animals would instinctively know that fire was something to stay away from until Saya singed her tail on a candle’s flame. She wasn’t hurt, but it definitely spooked us both!
  5. Wires: These are really important to keep out of the reach of animals. If they bite into them when plugged in, they could suffer an electrical shock that could damage them internally.

There are also a number of foods to keep out of our companions’ paws. Sweets, fatty foods, spicy foods and bones are all no-no’s when it comes to sharing with Fido or Fluffy. There is a more complete list of foods to stay away from on ASPCA’s website, but here are a few to keep in mind:

  1. Alcohol ingestion can lead to death from respiratory failure, so make 10 Things to Keep Away from Your Pets This Holiday Seasonsure those cocktails are where your animals can’t reach them! 
  2. Some dog specific no-no’s are grapes, raisins and currants, as these can lead to kidney failure.
  3. Chocolate contains a substance called methylxanthine. When consumed, it can cause a number of health issues, from vomiting to seizures. Something interesting to note, which they address on their website, is that dark chocolate and baking chocolate have higher amounts of the substance and are considered more dangerous than white chocolate, which has less.
  4. Nuts can also cause vomiting in pets.
  5. Raw or undercooked meat is bad for us, so why would we ever feed that to our pets? If they do get a hold of it, however, ASPCA has a poison control number on their site!

Overall, there are a number of things to keep in mind that could be harmful to our furry or feathered companions. We always want to include our pets in the festivities and the huge meals that we prepare. That being said, it is extremely significant to pay attention to what we are feeding them and know what could make them sick.