Thanksgiving is at hand, and the rest of the holiday season looms ahead. It's a busy time, but you need to make sure in the whirl of activities that you aren't ignoring any danger to your pets.
Every year at this time I offer a list of the most common holiday hazards for pets: feeding problems, foreign-body ingestion and accidental poisoning. The bad news is that many pets will end up at the veterinarian's office this holiday season. The good news is that yours won't be among them if you keep an eye out for these hazards.
-- Feeding problems. Your pet knows something special is cooking and he lets you know he's interested -- just look at those begging eyes! How can you resist slipping your pet a little something special: a big piece of turkey skin, a handful of chips with dip, some slices of salami? Resist, or your pet could be spending his holiday at the emergency veterinary clinic.
Foods too rich, too fatty or too spicy -- or anything your pet's not accustomed to -- can trigger a bout of intestinal upset. For some animals, the treat can trigger a serious inflammation of the pancreas or intestine, and that means a life-threatening illness.
What to avoid? Anything you wouldn't eat your pet should avoid, too. While a little bit of meat -- beef or poultry -- won't hurt and would be appreciated, steer clear of the fatty parts and the poultry skin, which also harbors fat.
No one's saying your pet shouldn't enjoy a special holiday meal, too, but limiting the kind and amount of special food will ensure that it is a treat -- not a trouble.
-- Foreign-body ingestion. Poultry bones may seem like the perfect gift for the pet who has everything, but do him a favor and save them for the soup. (Broth is a wonderful treat poured over your pet's regular food.) Even the largest turkey bones are prone to splintering, sending shards through the animal's intestines. Should one pierce through the lining, the result can be deadly peritonitis.
While cooked poultry bones are out, some beef bones can be safely substituted. Knuckle bones (for large dogs) and oxtails (for small ones) stand up to vigorous gnawing, providing your pet with hours of messy fun. Check at your meat counter for these inexpensive treats. Supervise your dog's chewing, and throw them out after a few hours of attention, or if they get broken into pieces that can be swallowed.
Some dogs prefer to eat bones rather than just chew on them, and if you've got one of those, keep an eye out to make sure the bones aren't causing internal problems. A pulverized bone can solidify like concrete in an animal's lower intestine, causing constipation and, occasionally, blockage that must be removed by a veterinarian.
The Christmas tree is full of hazards for dogs and cats. Tinsel can be an appealing target for play, but if ingested, it can twist up the intestines. This is a particular danger to cats and kittens, who seem to find tinsel -- along with yarn, ribbon and string -- especially appealing to eat.
Ornaments, too, are deadly in the mouths -- and stomachs -- of pets, and even the water at the base of the tree contains secretions that can at the very least cause a stomachache. Light strings are no good for chewing, and the whole tree can come down on the cat climbing in its branches. Some dogs may even be inclined to break the rules of house-training on a freshly cut tree -- why else, they reason, would anyone bring a tree into the house? The best way to handle the situation is by making the tree off-limits to your pets unless you're there to watch and keep them out of trouble.
-- Poisonings. Holiday plants such as mistletoe may look intriguing to your pet, but they're also toxic, as are the bulbs of the amaryllis plant. (Long the poster child for holiday poisoning, the falsely maligned poinsettia can be safely welcomed into the pet lover's home.) And before you share your holiday candy with your pet, be aware that chocolate is toxic to dogs, and may be deadly to the little dog who gets a good-sized piece. Again, the best cure is prevention. Keep all dangerous plants out of the reach of your pets, and keep the candy dish available to people only.
PETS ON THE WEB
Life-sized fiberglass cows are everywhere, painted in creative ways and raising money for charity coast to coast. Everywhere, that is, except Sun Valley, Idaho, where the folks took a hot idea and gave it a canine twist: The painted animals on display there are dogs -- Labradors, to be exact. The 35 slightly larger-than-life art pieces will be auctioned off Dec. 29, with proceeds going to charity. You don't have to be on hand to bid, or to look at these creative offerings: Just visit the Sun Valley Labs Web site at www.sunvalleylabs.net.
THE SCOOP
Some people have a much easier time deciding to spay their female pets than to neuter their males. While it's true that male pets won't surprise you by turning up pregnant, you'll find more than enough reasons to neuter your males, from both a health and temperament standpoint.
In dogs and cats both, neutering reduces the desire to roam, to fight and to engage in inappropriate marking behavior -- inside spraying for cats, leg-lifting for dogs. Health risks are also reduced. The tranquil, stay-at-home desire of neutered pets means you won't be paying to get them patched up after fights or accidents. And the overall risk of cancer is also diminished.
QUESTIONS FROM THE PACK
Q: We're considering purchasing a leather couch. We have two indoor cats who have completely destroyed our fabric couch. We have given them a scratch post recently and although they use it, they still use the couch. We do not deter them from using the fabric couch.
In regard to the leather couch, we have heard that cats don't like leather and won't scratch it. But before we shell out the money for an expensive piece of furniture, I wanted your opinion. -- M.B., via e-mail
A: While it's true that cats prefer fabrics, especially those with a course woven texture, I wouldn't bet the farm on them not touching the new leather couch. Before you make such a huge investment, make a determined effort to convert your cats to using the scratching post.
First, make sure the post is adequate. Your cats need something they can stretch out on and really dig into, and that they can't pull over on themselves. For these reasons, I prefer to recommend a cat tree rather than a scratching post. Trees are taller, less likely to fall over, and offer room for two or more cats to scratch, play and nap. The cover should be a nubby, loose-weave fabric or a rough rope, like sisal.
Then make your current couch less attractive to scratching. Since you're tossing out that couch anyway, you don't need to be careful about saving what's left of the fabric. So cover all the areas on the furniture where your cats love to scratch with something they'll hate to touch --the sticky side of shelf-liner such as contact paper. Peel back the protective paper to reveal the sticky side, and secure the sheets sticky-side-out to the scratched areas with double-sided tape. Don't scrimp: Go for full coverage!
Next, move the scratching post beside your cats' most popular part of the couch. The idea is to give them a nearby alternative to putting their paws on their former scratching post -- your old couch. Play games with your cats on the post, such as encouraging them to chase a string toy, and give them food and treats for scratching in an appropriate place.
Be patient, because cats aren't keen on change. Once you notice your cats using the post (and not using the booby-trapped couch), you can very slowly -- like a couple feet a week -- move the post to a less prominent part of the room. (But don't move it so far away that your cats lose interest -- basements and garages are out!)
When you get your new couch, you can booby-trap it without marring the leather by mounting the sticky paper to sheets of cardboard and leaning them against the sides, corners and back of the new couch. No, you won't have to hide your lovely new furniture forever. The cardboard is to keep the cats from trying out the new couch, and it can come down once you observe that the cat tree is getting all the action.
Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies," "Cats for Dummies" and "Birds for Dummies." She is also affiliated with the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or send e-mail to writetogina(at)spadafori.com.
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