pet connection

The holidays are time for getting together with family, friends, sharing meals and giving gifts. But these festive times do present some “not so clear” but “very present” dangers to pets.

While you’ve heard about the dangers of climbing cats and falling Christmas trees (use two eye hooks and fishing line to secure), curious cats ingesting tinsel (the intestines bunch up like an accordian around swallowed tinsel, so don’t use tinsel in a house with cats) and dangerous plants (lilies are much more dangerous than poinsettias), there are a few threats you probably haven’t heard of or don’t know how to counter.

The first threat is outside your front door. Often, relatives drive for long distances and arrive at your house with a hot car that can spew out a little antifreeze after it’s parked. After you welcome people at the front door, give them hugs and take their coats, excuse yourself for a few minutes and go outside to make sure their car hasn’t coughed up a sinfully sweet antifreeze cocktail that may prove irresistible to your pets, the neighbors or strays. If it has, use gloves, clean it up with paper towels, dispose of them properly and wash your hands for good measure.

Secondly, if they’ve brought gifts, don’t hesitate to ask if they’re pet-friendly. Pet-friendly? We typically think of no chocolate, but we also need to think of products that contain Xylitol, grapes and raisins. If they answer “yes,” or don’t know, put them up until Christmas morning. If you give the gift of chocolate or any food product, put a small Post-It note on the package that says: Not Pet-Friendly. That will be your cue to put it up and away out of pets’ clever reach.

Lastly, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles often visit for the holidays. If they stay, they bring their prescriptions with them, and unknowingly, put their meds on the nightstand in reach of a curious, determined pet who wants see what’s inside. The plastic vials are no match for a dog who can crack a leg bone with those teeth, and if a dog ingests the contents he or she can suffer dietary upsets (you clean up a mess), serious side effects (your rush to an emgency room), or much worse. Ask guests to put any medications inside a drawer or in a suitcase that’s kept shut.