Aspen the Yorkie

I’m not sure I want my owners to know all of this pet safety information, especially the part about food, but since I’m happy to eat just about anything, maybe it’s a good idea.  During the holidays, there are things around the house, and things that people eat, that are not good for pets.  Here are just a few health and safety tips:

• High-fat holiday foods that people enjoy can make some of us animals sick, especially little ones like me.  Fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis in pets, just like it can in people, only a little more easily because we are smaller.  This is a very serious thing for pets to get and will mean staying in the pet hospital.
• Chocolate, coffe and tea contain something that causes cardiac problems and problems with the nervous system in pets, which can lead to seizures and gastro-intestinal upset.  Dark chocolate is even worse than regular chocolate, which is bad as it is.
• If you have a party and serve alcohol, be sure that we don’t get tempted to finish off the glasses of drinks that aren’t finished by your human friends, that can be fatal, every year hundreds of dogs die from alcohol poisoning.
• The pretty plant, Holly, causes digestive upset in dogs and cats.
• Mistletoe causes heart problems and digestive upset
• Poinsettias cause blisters in the mouth and digestive upset
• Secure your tree if you have a cat, especially if it’s your first Christmas with the cat and you don’t know their habits.  They will sometimes climb the tree, and knock ornaments off the tree to play with.
• Cats might swallow tree tinsel, ribbon and other things that can cause obstructions inside that might require surgery.
• Don’t have batteries lying around or other little things that you dog might chew on and make them very sick because of the toxins inside.
• Macadamia nuts are not good for pets, they can affect the nervous and digestive system.
• Potpourri, the wonderful smell comes from oils, and those oils can be toxic to pets.
• DON’T GIVE PETS AS GIFTS unless you have planned well ahead for them…so many pets end up in shelters or out on the streets because the family isn’t prepared and gets tired of them, and that’s just plain mean and sad.

A lot of these tips came from a vet in a town not far from here, his site is newtonvet.com.