Holiday Hazards for our beloved pets

Everyone loves when our holiday celebrations go off without a hitch, but does that ever really happen?!? West Ridge can't help in most regards, except that we can alert our clients to the myriad of hazards our pets face during this time...

Excerpts from Gina Spadafori's Seasonal Safety article:

The place to start? The Christmas tree. This popular sign of the season is full of hazards for dogs and cats. Tinsel can be an appealing target for play, but if ingested, it can twist up the intestines and may need to be surgically removed. This is a particular danger to cats and kittens, who seem to find tinsel -- along with yarn, ribbon and string -- especially appealing to eat.

Ornaments, too, are deadly in the mouths -- and stomachs -- of pets, and even the water at the base of the tree contains secretions that can at the very least cause a stomachache. Light strings are no good for chewing, and the whole tree can come down on the cat climbing in its branches. Some dogs may even be inclined to break the rules of house-training on a freshly cut tree -- why else, they reason, would anyone bring a tree into the house?

The best way to keep your pets out of tree trouble is by making the tree off-limits unless you're there to supervise. Putting the tree in a room with a door you can close is probably the easiest solution.

And how about holiday greenery? Holiday plants such as mistletoe may look intriguing to your pet, but they're also toxic, as are the bulbs of the amaryllis plant. (Long the poster child for holiday poisoning, the falsely maligned poinsettia can be safely welcomed into the pet lover's home.) Holiday food can be a problem, too (see sidebar).

The best way to keep your pet safe is to look at everything new that's in your house for the holidays and figure out the best way to keep it out of the mouths and paws of your pets.

And just in case the worst should happen, find the number now of the nearest veterinary emergency clinic and know how to get there if you have to.

Foods that are too rich, too fatty or too spicy -- or anything your pet's not accustomed to -- can trigger a bout of intestinal upset. For some animals, the treat can trigger a serious inflammation of the pancreas or intestine, and that means a life-threatening illness.

What to avoid? Anything that you wouldn't eat, your pet should avoid, too. And while a little bit of lean meat -- beef or poultry - can be added to your pet's meal, steer clear of the fatty parts and poultry skin. And no gravy!

And as for the sweets in festive holiday bowls? Put them out of reach, so your pets don't help themselves.

We hope everyone will have happy, healthy holidays this year- including all the cherished pets out there!