As the Holiday Season is approaching us fast those of us with pets need to not only think about shopping,cooking food and drink preparations for upcoming family parties and get togethers but making sure our pets are safe.
The Holidays can be a stressful time for our pets with strange people coming and going and all the activity that comes with getting ready for all those events, parties and of course the big family get togethers.
We need to give our pets a safe and quiet place where they can relax and sleep away from all the noise,and hustle and bustle.
A quiet bedroom with a cozy bed to sleep on with a litter tray, food and water for cats. A favorite dog bed and water with regular walks. Keep to their regular mealtime as much as possible and walks.To a pet their normal routine is just as important as a comfy place to sleep.
Most dogs and cats are happy to venture among visitors because that means extra attention and play time.But pets like rabbits, guinea pigs ,chinchillas and other small animals are easily spooked by strange noises,strange smells and lots of hustle and bustle.
They are prey animals and get easily stressed by it all. And remember some of them are nocturnal like pet hedgehogs (click here to see if you and a hedgie would make a good team) and chinchillas so being disturbed when they sleep during the day can stress them too.
Then there is treat giving. If you have a big family they all think it won’t hurt to give your cat or your dog a little tit bit which is fine when there are only a couple of you but when you have 20 people all giving a tit bit it can play havoc with their sensitive tums.
When your dog or cat ends up with diarrhea or vomiting a couple of hours later because they either ate too much or had something that is toxic that isn’t so much fun for you or your pet. And it’s even worse if you have to do a run to the emergency vet because your pet is unwell.
When you’re serving food to your guests put your pets in that quiet room out of harm’s way…..trust me you’ll be thanking me for it later.
On the subject of food here is a list of food substances that are toxic and to keep away from your pets during the holiday season….
- Alcohol
- Avocado if you have rabbits, birds, horses, donkey, and animals like sheep and goats
- Chocolate, Coffee and Caffeine
- Citrus fruits
- Coconut, Coconut oil and Coconut water
- Grapes and raisins…while rabbits and some small animals can have these, though only occasionally as they have too much sugar. But they can cause Kidney failure in dogs.
- Macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs
- Milk and Dairy products
- Nuts
- Onions,Garlic and chives
- Raw, undercooked meat, eggs and bones
- Salt and salty snacks
- Xylitol
- Yeast Dough
All of these can at the very least upset your pets stomach causing vomiting,diarrhea and bloating and at their worst can be fatal to your pets.
A friend of mine was giving coconut oil in small amounts to her miniature pet pig as a supplement and somehow it managed to get the whole container and ate the lot …unfortunately incident resulted in the pig getting very sick and ended up being fatal to the pet pig, which devastated the whole family.
Here’s my Himalayan Rex bunny Speedy donning a cute Christmas sweater without a care in the world.
Decorations during the Holidays can be a problem too with glass baubles that can break when they fall to the cables for your tree lights that your pet can tangle up in pulling your tree crashing down …and don’t forget a Christmas tree is a big temptation to a cat to climb in too.
And if you like to use natural foliage and berries these can be toxic if accidentally eaten by your pet.Think about where you are going to put your tree and decorations. Whether you need to close it off from your pets. Making sure it’s pet proof to keep your pets safe.
The holidays when you have pets gives us all a lot to think about to make sure that we all have a happy safe and stress free time with all our friends and family, including our furry and feathered family members.
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Rachel is the Mum of Speedy, a male Himalayan Rex Rabbit who is over 7 years old. She started his blog to help people find out more about rabbits and other small house pets.
Anything from how to welcome them into your home to how to feed and hold them correctly, Rachel is the one to ask!
