EXPERT ADVICE

HOLIDAY PET PERILS

by Jack L. Stephens, DVM
President, Pets Best Insurance

As the Holiday Season gets in full swing, it’s imperative that we take care to protect our animal companions from the potential hazards that this time of year presents.

Unfortunately, our four-legged family members seem to get into more medical emergencies over the holidays. With a little understanding and preparation many potential dangers can be avoided.

A few precautions can make your holidays better for you and your pets. Below are my top 6 suggestions for your pets during the holidays.

1. LOST PETS

If you are hosting a party or plan on entertaining during the holidays, secure your pets in a quiet room or carrier away from all the action. Place a note on the door of the room where your pets have been confined that reads, “Do Not Disturb: Pets Sleeping.” The sudden appearance of holiday visitors knocking on the door and ringing the bell can be very stressful for an animal and could lead to your pet escaping. This is especially true for cats and dogs who are not used to strangers. Despite every precaution, with doors constantly opening and closing, far too many pets can get injured or escape from home and become lost. Any time of year is the right time to make sure your pet is wearing a visible, current I.D. tag. It’s the first thing someone will look for. I like The Pet Protector System and use it for my own pets.

2. OVERFEEDING

The temptation to feed holiday treats to our pets is overwhelming. How many times have we heard, “But, they’re so cute,” “They want it so bad” and “I didn’t give them that much!” Ah, but if everyone is slipping them a treat it adds up and -- at the very least -- can cause gastrointestinal upset with vomiting and or diarrhea and -- at the worst -- pancreatitis, a serious inflammation of the pancreas. If you can’t resist treating your pets why not give them nutritionally complete animal treats rather than scraps from the table. That’s the proper way to “treat” your pet companion.

3. BONES

As the holiday meal is being put away some pet parents see the bones left over from the festivities as an ideal treat for the family dog. This seemingly “natural” treat could lead to a lot of trouble. “But they love the bones” and “we’ve fed our dogs bones all their lives with no problems.” Yes, dogs love bones, but when they are not used to eating bones they can cause problems that range from fragments of bone becoming lodged in their teeth and throat, to impaction from eating too many bones. Small breeds especially seem to have more problems with bones than large breeds. Bones that are large enough to chew on but not be swallowed are somewhat safer, but always use caution and supervise the situation.

4. STRING, TIN FOIL AND OTHER PACKAGING

String, tin foil, and paper packaging that has been used to wrap food, especially meat, are temptations that cats and dogs find hard to resist. These types of packaging are responsible for a large number of emergency visits during the holidays. Once ingested, these materials can cause strangulation of the intestines, impaction, or complete blockage of the intestinal tract. Many times expensive surgery is necessary. Be certain to place these items out of your pets’ reach and in a well-sealed trash receptacle. This brings me to my next suggestion…

5. TRASH

Holiday celebrations tend to generate excess trash, which usually means that bags of garbage are stored in containers that are all-too-accessible to our pets. Oftentimes, our pets find the incredible variety of smells irresistible and tear into the sacks of refuse. Having gained access to all the “goodies,” they then overindulge and consume food scraps, food containers, string, etc. Although it is the natural tendency of canines and felines in the wild to “gorge” food when available, that behavior in our domesticated pets tends to result in stomach upsets and could lead to even worse problems. So when it comes to disposing of trash during the holidays, remember to bag things up securely and away from your pets.

6. CHOCOLATE, TINSEL, ORNAMENTS & TOYS

These items, present throughout the holidays, can be extremely harmful for our pet companions. Most people do not know that chocolate is toxic to pets. One year, our dog Spanky got a hold of our daughter’s chocolate Easter bunny (which was nearly his size) and ate the whole thing! After an emergency visit, follow-up care, and over $1,000 in bills he came home -- an expensive Easter. Pets have a knack for finding wrapped cookies, cakes, chocolates and eating them when you are not looking. Place them where they cannot get them. Cats especially love to play with and even swallow tree tinsel. This can often result in vomiting and surgery may often be required to remove the foreign matter in order to save the cat’s life. If you have a cat you may want to hang the tinsel up high where your cat cannot get at it or avoid decorating with it altogether.

Take a little time to “animal proof” your home so you and your animal companions can enjoy a safe, comfortable, Holiday Season together.