Simply Sunday Evening: Keeping the Happy Holidays Safe for your Kitties!

Four more sleeps until Sandy Claws arrives, bearing gifts for us! Well, we hope we aren't getting lumps of coal, because we all think we have been more nice than naughty!

Along with presents and treats and holiday cheer, we know it's important to keep your pets health and well-being in mind, especially this time of year! Why, you might ask?

As a #BlogPaws Ambassador, it was brought to Teri's attention the importance of telling our friends who share their lives with pets, about the hazards of the holidays around the home and what better time than now, when hopefully you are all ready for Old St Nick to arrive!

Teri told us that since she has shared her life with kitties, she decorates the house with us in mind... No more tinsel on the tree and no more curling ribbon on the presents, either!

Both of those things are very attractive to us inquisitive kitties and ingesting either one could mean a trip to the emergency vet and worse!

And all the candles in our house are battery operated, so no open flames around us. No potpourri of any kind either. Nosy kitties can get themselves into trouble if they decide to nibble on dried potpourri or if it's the liquid kind, it can be toxic and caustic to our sensitive skin if spilled.

And no live plants reside in our house, at the holidays or anytime. Mistletoe, Holly, and Lilies are just a few of the seasonal holiday plants that can be harmful to pets, even causing death. Teri would rather be safe than very sorry because nothing is really out of reach from our paws!

We don't even have a live Christmas tree in our house any longer, as the needles can cause digestive upsets, and we just learned of a poor kitten who died after nibbling on a Christmas tree that had been sprayed with antifreeze, unbeknownst to it's owners!

And products that people add to the water to make Christmas trees last longer are also toxic to pets, so are not a good idea in homes with pets! Even stagnant water in the tree stand can harbor bacteria that can cause a gastritis to occur, requiring a trip in the P.T.U. to the V.E.T.

Unlike many doggies who sit under the dinner table and beg for some people food, or get into the garbage after a holiday feast is cleared away, we are pretty well-behaved when it comes to that. But people food that is toxic to pets includes chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions and Xylitol, which is in many baked treats and candies!

So it is very important to clean up after holiday meals and dispose of garbage where pets aren't tempted to 'Dig In' because gorging on fatty, spicy or rich foods can cause digestive upset (or the squitters, as Teri calls them) or even an attack of pancreatitis, requiring veterinary care!

The other Holiday happening that can be hard on pets is having guests and company staying over. The new scents can be upsetting to cats, causing them to even spray mark guests clothing and suitcases (umm... Disco can tell you about that).

Sometimes guests take over a bedroom that is the kitties favorite napping spot and their routine is disrupted. So, remember to keep your pets comfort level in mind when holding holiday parties or having house guests staying with you.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has provided holiday tips to ensure the well-being of your pet through all the holiday festivities, AVMA's Pet Safe Holidays Advice.

We encourage you to take a moment and visit their website  at www.avma.org to learn more about how you can help make this a Festive, Bright and Healthy Holiday for your pets! They have a cute, downloadable infographic about holiday hazards to your pet here: Holiday Pet Don'ts!

Oh, and HoHoMeow to you and yours!

Pee S: The AVMA has an informative brochure that explains many of the household hazards to pets, and it's well worth the read! AVMA Household Hazards to Pets Brochure. Also, if your pet is microchipped with the HomeAgain chip and you are current on your annual renewal, one of the benefits is one free call annually to the ASCPA Pet Poison Control Hotline. That saves you $65 and well worth remembering!