Be Mindful Of These Holiday Hazards Around Your Pet

From all of us at Great Neck Veterinary Clinic, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season! With our wishes come some tips that will help you keep your pets safe from potential hazards. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, we’re here to help!

Fire hazards should be taken seriously.

• A curious pet could knock over a burning candle, causing a fire, or could stick her nose near one and burn herself.
• Those tempting wires might look like a tasty or interesting treat to your pet, but they could deliver a potentially deadly electric shock when chewed.
• Prevent your pet from chewing a toy with a battery in it—punctured batteries can cause burns to the mouth and esophagus.

Keep your pet stress-free.

• Give your pets a quiet, calm space away from the craziness and noise of holiday gatherings.
• Use calming pheromone products, like Adaptil (for dogs) and Feliway (for cats) to mitigate anxiety. These products are available as plug-in diffusers, collars, or sprays.

So many things to ingest, chew, and swallow that can cause damage!

• Those shiny ornaments might look appetizing to your pet, but the broken pieces can damage her digestive tract.
• Cats love tinsel, but tinsel does not love cats. Swallowing tinsel and other stringy items, like yarn and ribbon, can lead to a bowel obstruction, vomiting, dehydration, and even death.
• Give your pup a new ball that’s too big for him to swallow. Regular-size tennis balls can get lodged in the throat and block the airway.
• If holly or mistletoe are ingested, your pet could suffer gastrointestinal upset. Mistletoe can also cause cardiovascular problems.
• Many varieties of lilies can cause kidney failure in cats.
• Christmas tree water could contain fertilizers and bacteria that can cause nausea, upset stomach, or diarrhea if ingested.
• Chocolate, artificial sweeteners (like xylitol), fatty or spicy foods, alcohol, grapes, and other human foods can, at best, cause an upset stomach, and, at worst, be fatal, if pets consume them. Keep the human food on the human table, and give your pets some special animal-friendly holiday treats instead.
• Human medications should be secured so pets can’t unknowingly get into them.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’re here to help!