Holiday Hazards To Watch For: Protect Your Cats! A Guest Blog By Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital

FROM  CAT CHAT: A number of us around the Pet Blog-o-sphere were contacted by Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital, asking if we would please post the top holiday  hazards that could cause harm to  our pets. You will see various versions making their way around the internet.  Because  I was seeing this post turn up in a few places I hesitated posting it. Then I did some important thinking. I view the safety of our pets as being a vital concern all year, not just at the holidays, but the holidays bring with them a totally different set of challenges that cannot be repeated ENOUGH!  I decided to post this after all:

Poinsettias fill homes with color during the holiday and we all hear how they’re life-threatening to cats. In fact, they’re not very toxic. While they do contain a milky sap that can irritate the mouth, symptoms from contact are usually mild. There are far more dangerous pet hazards during the holidays and the emergency veterinarians at VRCC Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital (www.vrcc.com) share with us one case and then the top things for you to watch for.

Hank the cat with needle in stomach

Take the case of a cat named Hank. He came into VRCC after swallowing a thread that was still attached to a needle. You can see it in these x-rays. Cats love to chew and play with string, ribbon and other objects that are used to make homemade holiday garlands and crafts.  Particularly appealing to cats in the shiny tinsel on the Christmas tree. If your cat is attracted to these objects, leave them in a drawer and decorate a simple tree foregoing the tinsel all together and placing the ornaments on higher branches to avoid the temptation to play.

 For Hank, it was a happy ending, courtesy of the internal medicine veterinary specialists at VRCC. They were able to remove the needle and string using an endoscope.

 Another tip? If you believe your cat has swallowed one of these objects, don’t try to pull it back out their throat yourself. Take them to your family veterinarian for an exam.
Other holiday hazards for cats include:

• Spray on snow/flocking, foil, plastic wrap/shrink-wrap, Styrofoam peanuts.
• XMAS Tree Food/Preservatives: Got a real tree this year? Watch out. Veterinarians at VRCC say sugar-based tree preservatives and tree food/water can harbor dangerous bacteria and a thirsty cat may decide to use the tree stand as a drinking bowl.
• Batteries: It may be great to have batteries for that new, cool toy, but chewing or swallowing batteries is extremely toxic. Acid burns are common from puncturing the battery through chewing causing the acid to leak out as well as cuts from the metal casing.
• Potpourri: The spicy smell can fill the house with a wonderful scent, but a cat can experience irritation and corrosion of the eyes, mouth, throat and esophagus if exposed to the liquid form.

(VRCC pet tips provided by Megan Rector, MS, DVM)

FROM CAT CHAT:  being Jewish I thought of another item that should be added to the holiday hazard list.


THE MENORAH: The Menorah  holds lit candles that from my experience never fit properly and teeter precariously in their holders. If you are using a Menorah keep it out of the reach of  your curious kitty, or better yet, if you own a cat you may want to consider using an electric Menorah. He could accidentally knock the Menorah over causing a fire or being attracted to the flickering lights he could singe his fur which could have dire consequences.

 Keep a close eye on your kitties during this festive season and you’re sure to have a safe holiday season for all your furry friends