Preparing Your Pet for the Holidays

As the year draws to an end, it is that wonderful time of year
when we get to be festive, eat too much, share good spirits with
family, friends and neighbors, and spend the rest of the
following year recovering from too much Halloween, Thanksgiving,
Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. It is also a time of year
when we get to put silly costumes on our pets (if they’ll
tolerate it) and parade down Main St. and put on Santa hats and
mug for the photos by the Christmas tree. But it is also a time
of year to be particularly attentive and careful with our furry
friends to keep them healthy and to help them avoid getting into
trouble.

Halloween is a night to keep all pets inside – dogs because they
are often disturbed by the sight of oddly dressed strangers
coming on their property and will bark or threaten “Trick or
Treater’s”; cats because some people take sick delight in
harming innocent felines. With all the candy lying around, a dog
could easily be tempted to gobble some goodies, resulting in a
pancreatitis (inflamed pancreas), evidenced by vomiting and/ or
diarrhea; or chocolate toxicity, resulting in an unsteady gait,
panting, agitation and an elevated heart rate.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas, one might think about slipping
the dog or cat some of the turkey and the trimmings; but hold
that thought. Mr. Pancreas and Mr. Gut can be made very unhappy
with turkey fat or even the meat, depending on your animal’s
constitution that may be more or less delicate. Don’t even think
about the bones – they splinter and pierce the esophagus and
stomach; if they don’t, they wreak havoc with the intestines as
they make their way down. People often insist that dogs and cats
in the wild eat bones all the time; don’t forget that a few
thousand years of domestication separate dogs and wolves and
cats and cheetahs. As for sweets, especially chocolate, they are
also to be avoided.

Other danger lies in those beautiful plants that color the
holidays – Poinsettias are toxic to cats and cause vomiting and
diarrhea. Christmas tree water can be toxic to some as well as
the pine needles that some cats insist on munching on.
Decorations of the tree such as tinsel and ribbons can wind up
in your cat’s intestines and cause an obstruction or even cut
through the bowel and result in peritonitis, inflammation of the
abdominal cavity as gut contents leak out.

Don’t think that because you’re not giving your favorite dog or
cat some yummy food off your plate, that you’re cruel. If you
give him/her the small bite of doggie cookie or a kitty pounce,
they’ll be just as happy and if they knew of all the
consequences listed above, they would thank you for avoiding a
trip to the vet.

The above is general veterinary information. Do not begin
any course of treatment without consulting your regular
veterinarian. All animals should be examined at least once every
12 months.