Welcome back to the Acoma blog! We hope last time’s shopping guide gave you some inspiration on what to scoop up for your giftee, whether they be human or furry family! December is in full swing now, and it’s just a short amount of time until the holidays are here, people are singing in good cheer and eating delightful foods!
To that end, it’s time for our yearly reminder, a look at the potential dangers that your pets might find themselves in this year. We’ll look at the ones we mentioned last year a bit and others. Let’s get started.
Alcohol
This bears repeating every year, every holiday because people still don’t seem to understand. Alcohol is poisonous. The ethanol that is found in alcohol can induce alcohol poisoning in your furry friend at incredibly low dosages, you wouldn’t even think twice about it that’s how low. Our pets are so much smaller than us and their bodies and livers do not process alcohol the same way ours do. Just don’t even let them near the stuff (and if Uncle Jeff is back trying to do it again, he needs a stern talking too).
Medications
This might be the first thing on your list of forbidden substances but they should be. During the holidays family often come from out of town and with them comes their medicine. These bottles don’t have any permanent home in your cabinet and so they’ll sit out on the counters for your guests to use as they need. That’s fine and all, but they are made specifically for humans. If the meds are in an unsecure container or your pet gets ahold of them you need to tend to them quick! The only medicine your pet should have access to is when you give them their heartworm or other various prescriptions.
Decorations
During the winter months we all do love to decorate up our homes something fierce. Trees, tinsel, ornaments, all sorts of stuff to bring out the holiday cheer in ourselves and our guests. Of course, these are all things that need looking after.
Tinsel
Tinsel, that shiny, string strung about the tree or home is an instant attention grabber for most cats. They simply can’t resist it, it seems. But tinsel is sharp, thin, and if your cat gets ahold of it it can easily clump up in their stomach or intestines and cause obstructions. That’s obviously no good.
Trees
Christmas trees are a staple in so many homes this month. They’re great, aromatic, bring lively colors into your home. But, if not properly secured they can easily tip should a feline friend decide to go for a climb. We’re not telling you to never have a Christmas tree, if that’s how your family celebrates keep to it! Just make sure you take all the necessary safety precautions when putting it up. If you use a preservative to keep the tree looking green, make sure your pets aren’t drinking out of the base. That sort of thing.
Ornaments
Though they aren’t necessarily poisonous (like the other items on this list) ornaments and decorations like them have dangers of their own. On occasion they are done up to look like food, which can sometimes be too tempting for a dog to pass up! Think about the last time you dropped an ornament on the ground when you were putting your tree together. Remember how it shattered into sharp shards? Think about that going through your pet’s tummy? Yeah, no good. To prevent this, make sure any ornament or decoration is out of reach, and secured.
Electrical Cords
While not quite decorations, electrical cords and extension cables go hand in hand with them. Electrical cords should be safely handled, no matter what. Pet’s don’t know that within that chewy cord thrums the power of electricity and you don’t want any of your pets getting a fatal shock. Not to mention any chewing can cause damages to the safety of the cords and can lead to fires or burns! Electrical cords, like all sources of power need to be handled with respect.
All of this and we aren’t even mentioning the foods! For that, we can offer you directions to our other various blogs on the matter. Well, that’s it from us this year at Acoma! We wish you all the best this holiday season and we’ll see you next year! If you need to see your vet, as always contact us right away.
