I think the best thing
about Christmas is walking into a room and looking at the beautiful Christmas
tree filled with old and new memories in the way of how the ornaments are
placed on the tree, how the tinsels and lights twinkle just perfectly. I could sit in a chair, for hours, just
watching the twinkling lights and not having a care in the world. However, as beautiful as that tree may be,
it is also a danger to our pets. Cats
love to bat at the ornaments and dogs with happy tails (straight, hard tails)
cannot only knock over ornaments but the entire tree. Here are just a few tips on keeping your tree and pet(s) safe
during Christmas:
- Ornaments: Be careful when choosing your spot for the breakable
ornaments. The broken glass pieces
can be very harmful to your pets and they can choke on the small pieces
just as easily, possibly creating a blocking issue. Helpful Hint: Hang the lightweight, fabric, or felted
ornaments on the lower branches that can withstand the occasional whack of
a feline’s paw or a wagging tail.
- Tree Water: Do not allow your pets to drink out of this water. It can contain types of pesticides,
fertilizers, and preservatives.
For example some people may put aspirin in the water to keep it fresh,
however, aspirin is toxic to pets.
Also, pine needle resin that drops into the water stand and
dissolves is very toxic if your cat drinks it (see below). Helpful
Hint: Use the tree skirt to cover up the stand to dissuade your pets
from drinking it.
- Tinsel: Who doesn’t love to
decorate their tree with a lot of tinsel? Again, cats love to play with
tinsel. However, it can be very
dangerous due to the risk of choking or worse, intestinal obstruction,
which may require surgery. Helpful
Hint: Instead of hanging tinsel, try hanging a paper-mache chain rope
(you remember, the kind we used to make in elementary school)
- Electrical Cords: Be careful in placing your electrical cords
around the Christmas tree. Train
your pets not to chew on the cords.
Helpful Hint: Coat your cords with a bitter agent, bundle
your cords neatly and tuck them under a blanket or better yet, use a cord
cover.
- Pine Needles: Most people do not realize that pine needles are very toxic to
their pet(s). The pint tree resin
contains oils toxic to cats. The
oils can cause damage to the cat’s liver.
The liver cannot produce the enzymes necessary to detoxify the
substance. Helpful Hint: Immediately
clean up any pine needles that have fallen on the floor.
- Fire Retardant Trees: A tree that has been sprayed with fire
retardant materials can cause thyroid disease in cats that digest it. Helpful Hint: Some people like
to cut their own Christmas tree and some families have made it a yearly
tradition. When purchasing a tree,
ask the vendor if they have used the fire retardant materials on their
trees and try to go with one that doesn’t.
Bottom Line: Use these helpful hints in keeping your pet(s) safe
during Christmas. There’s nothing worse
while enjoying the holidays with your family, in which you find yourself
scrambling looking up an emergency veterinarian hospital because your pet has
an emergency due to eating something he/she shouldn’t have, ate through a cord,
choked on glass or tinsel, etc. As we
always baby proof our homes, remember to pet proof your Christmas tree. It will be more enjoyable for you and your
pet(s)
