Many of us will get great pleasure from plying our loved ones with gifts and treats this festive season and that includes our furry family members too.
But not all that glitters is gold, so we have compiled a list of Christmas nasties to keep away from your pets, so everyone can enjoy these much-loved festive traditions, safely.
1.Decorations
Tinsel with all its glitz and fluffiness, can be attractive to both cats and dogs but eating it in volume can cause blockages, which can be life threatening. When broken, glass baubles smash into shards, which can lead to cuts or if eaten can cause irritation, perforation and blockages.
Try to use pet safe options and keep high risk decorations to pet free areas.
2.Festive Plants
There are many indoor and outdoor plants that can be poisonous to your fur-babies, but the Christmas culprits are Mistletoe, Holly, Ivy and Poinsettia. Keep Christmas foliage to pet free zones or well out of harm’s way
3.Mince Pies
Raisins, currents and sultanas can cause kidney failure in dogs, so keep mince pies, Christmas puddings and cakes well out of paws reach
4.Alcohol
While it may seem funny if your pet has a lick of your favourite Christmas tipple, they are more susceptible to alcohol poisoning than us humans are, making them very sick. Keep your drinks covered, if unsupervised and out of the way of greedy tongues
5.Xylitol (aka E967)
You may be thinking you’re doing your pet a favour by giving it a diet festive treat but this artificial sweetener can cause dangerously low blood sugar and liver failure in dogs. Xylitol is commonly found in confectionary, chewing gum and dental products, so be mindful of what you are feeding your pooch
6.Chocolate
The cocoa content of chocolate is the major issue here, with dark and milk chocolate being the main offenders. Our beloved pets can’t process chocolate the same way we do making it more toxic than treat. Whilst white chocolate is not considered poisonous like it’s counterparts, it should also be avoided due to its high fat and sugar content which can cause stomach upset.
Happily, there are many pet-friendly choccies available, so this is the way to go if you want to share your love of chocolate with your fluffy friends
7.Nuts
A common staple over the Christmas period and usually healthy for pet parents, nuts are not a healthy treat for your dog or cat.
Macadamia nuts are highly toxic for your pooch, notorious for causing muscle weakness, tremors and fever
Black walnuts are also super toxic to dogs and don’t be tempted to give your pooch or pussycat old or mouldy walnuts, either, for the same reason
Other offenders are raw cashews and pistachios. Make sure that nut bowl is out of the way of your four-legged friends
8.Cooked Bones
It is in our four-legged friends’ instincts to love a bone and whilst eating raw bones can be good for them, munching should always be closely supervised. Cooked bones, however, are a no-go. Once cooked, all bones become brittle and splinter easily. These splinters are very hard for the body to break down and can lead to serious harm to the digestive tract by causing perforations and obstructions. So, as tempting as it is to throw your pet a bone when clearing up the Christmas meal, it is to be avoided. Discard cooked bones into a secure bin instead
9.Batteries
Christmas shoppers spend 67% more on batteries than any other time, with one third of all battery sales happening during the short, festive season but these Christmas essentials can cause serious blockages, perforations and even burns of the gastrointestinal tract when wolfed down by our pets. Insert batteries into gifts before wrapping and keep any spares stowed away in drawers and cupboards, to avoid a supercharged mishap
10.Silica Gel
Commonly found in packaging to keep products dry, these little parcels are not toxic and may seem harmless but they are not easily digestible and can cause nasty blockages in a mischevious pet
11.Wrapping Paper
Unwrapping their own gifts, is very appealing to the destructive doggo but, whilst wrapping paper itself is not toxic, consuming large amounts of paper may cause an obstruction and lead to sickness or blockages.
If your hound is prone to a little unwrapping don’t put your gifts under the tree too early, supervise their unwrapping closely and dispose of any discarded wrapping paper quickly in an appropriate bin
12.Kids Toys
No matter how old they are our doggies are big kids at heart and boy, do they love a toy! Destroying a teddy or a plastic kids’ toy can be very fun for mischievous pooches and upsetting for their human siblings. Monitor the opening of gifts and keep new kids’ toys out of harm’s way. With plenty of pet safe teddies and toys available, everyone can still experience the joy of playing with new toys
As hard as we try to protect our fur-babies, accidents do happen, so if your pet does eat something that could be harmful remember SPEED is key:
S. Stop the pet from eating anymore suspected poison
P. Phone the vets (out of hours services are also available)
E. Emergency appointment
E. Evidence – bring labels/samples/vomit to the appointment
D. Don’t delay!
Wishing you and your pets a super safe festive season!
