Are you excited to get your home ready for the holidays? Remember that if you have a cat, you will need to make special preparations to make sure they are kept safe. The holiday season is full of sounds, sights, and scents that are enticing to our inquisitive kitties. Cats adore exploring new objects in their space, particularly those that shine or are long and stringy. They may be captivated by the aroma of delicious meals cooking or frightened by the chatter of holiday parties underway.
Holiday decorations are the biggest risk to kittens or young cats. Older cats may be susceptible to developing a stress-related illness when there is too much noise happening within your house. Thankfully, you can still enjoy your holiday celebrations while you keep your cat safe, by following these tips.
1.Safety With Christmas Trees
Think about how excited your cat must feel when he sees a tree covered in what looks like cat toys. Sadly, for cats, there is danger in Christmas trees.
If your cat drinks the tree water, they may be drinking pesticides, fertilizer, and other chemicals, which can poison your cat. To prevent your cat from drinking the tree water, cover the bowl with aluminum foil.
Chewing or swallowing ornaments, artificial tree pieces, or decorations can result in a GI obstruction in cats.
Cats can try to climb your tree and could knock it over, potentially causing an injury to themselves or others.
Fragile ornaments and unsafe decorations should be kept out of your cat’s reach when you are decorating. If your cat insists on playing with or on the tree, you will need to keep him or her away from it when you are away. The safest way is to place the tree in a room where you can close the door to block off access to it.
2.Tinsel and Ribbons
If it is shiny or it sparkles, your cat is likely to be attracted to it. It is completely natural that your cat will want to play with ribbons, wrapping paper, tinsel, and string, for example. The problem is that if your cat swallows any string-like material, he or she will need surgery to have it removed from their body. For this reason, it is wise to decorate presents with thick, cloth ribbons or paper bows.
3.Plants and Flowers
Placing flowers and plants around your home during the holidays looks wonderful, however, your cat will become curious about them. The leaves are likely to become chewed, they may get knocked over, and your cat may even decide that your favorite plant would make a fantastic litterbox.
The real problem is that chewing on flowers and plants might mean you have to take your cat to the emergency veterinarian. Poinsettias are mildly toxic to cats, but mistletoe and holly are seriously toxic if eaten. Two flowers that are particularly dangerous to cats are amaryllis and lilies. To make sure your cat stays safe, choose silk flowers or non-toxic plants as an alternative.
4.Warmth of the Fire
Most cats delight in the feeling of a warm fire in the fireplace. The problem is that some cats might get too close to it, and their whiskers will get singed as a result. Using a fireplace shield will prevent this from happening.
Do you love to light candles? Be careful because your cat can knock it over and cause a fire. For this reason, candles should always be kept out of reach of your cat. Candles should never be left burning unsupervised.
5.String Lights and Electrical Cords
Basically, to your cat, anything that looks like a string is fair game. This includes extension cords as well as string lights. This is especially dangerous of course if your cat chews on an extension cord because of the risk of electrocution. Lights should be hung out of reach of your cat, and loose cords should be secured so that they aren’t dangling or sliding on the floor.
Follow these tips and you and your feline family can have a safe and happy holiday season!
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Excellent tips. There are so many dangers.