BUDA — The holidays are a joyous occasion for many, but when decorating and celebrating, Buda Veterinary Care owner Dr. Sandra Ontiveros stresses that it's important to take steps to ensure pet safety.
Throughout her more than 20 years of experience, she has seen animals obtain external and internal injuries from broken ornaments and tinsel or simply food that does not sit right.
Though, the best option when wanting to include a furry friend in the festive activities is to shower them with love, as opposed to feeding them table scraps, Ontiveros stated that if an owner is adamant on treating their pet, foods with low fat and grease are the best option, such as carrots or green beans.
“You take a risk if you’re feeding them something that they haven’t had before,” began the doctor. “A lot of times where I see animals get into trouble and either get really bad tummy upsets or pancreatitis is after they’ve eaten a whole tray of turkey drippings. So, make sure when you throw those things away, that they’re in an outside garbage pan that the animal can’t get to.”
Other highly toxic foods to dogs include onions, grapes and raisins. Specifically, when it comes to the latter two, she noted that the fruit is highly unpredictable, as not every grape carries the toxic component, so it could be the dog’s first grape or its 200th that could cause the poisonous reaction.
“I’ve had a lot of dogs eat chocolate under the tree. Just ask if you get a gift, ‘Hey, it’s not chocolate, is it?’ Because you don’t know; it’s a surprise, but your dog can sniff it out and I’ve had a lot of dogs figure that out before their owner did,” she recalled.
“There’s pet poison control that you can look up [online] and they’ll ask you — especially if it’s a bigger dog — how much chocolate, was it milk chocolate or dark chocolate? And they can kind of tell you dose dependent, do we need to treat or not. So, often, that’s what I’ll instruct owners to do,” said Ontiveros in the event that a dog ingests food that is toxic.
Although highly fatty foods and others can be poisonous to cats, as well, the doctor noted that she typically finds that cats get into trouble when it comes to trees, ribbons and tinsel, as they like to play with them. According to the doctor, if a cat swallows tinsel or ribbon, it actually can cause intestinal damage.
“Often, they get hung up at the entry of the stomach and what happens is the intestines are trying to move it and they’re just kind of bunching up along the string or ribbon and going back and forth, back and forth. So, they start to kind of cut into the intestine,” she said.
Because there is no direct blockage, cats can still eat and drink, so key signs — if the pet has a history of playing with these items — to look for are lethargy, vomiting and general change in character. If these signs are present, a call to the vet and an X-ray will confirm the diagnosis.
When it comes to decorating, it's important to recognize the danger of ornaments, said Ontiveros, and either treat animals like children and move fragile, breakable ornaments toward the top of the tree or move to shatterproof decorations all together to ensure that pets do not step on accidental broken pieces.
Additionally, popular festive plants, such as mistletoe, holly and lilies, are toxic and pose a threat to cats and dogs.
“If you have a fresh tree, [make sure] that they’re not drinking the water out of the bottom because sometimes those preservatives that you put in the water, or even just the water sitting there, can have bacteria,” said the professional.
The holiday season not only brings dangers indoors, but outdoors, as “any [weather] that’s too cold for you is potentially too cold for them,” said Ontiveros.
She stated that the best option is to bring animals inside, but if that is not an option or they are not used to being indoors, insulation and giving them a warm place to sleep is a good alternative. Options of insulation include hay and blankets or sometimes building a new habitat all together. There are many instructional how-tos online, especially for kittens, noted the doctor. These animals attempting to find warmth where they can also often leads to them sleeping in engine blocks, so she encourages those to knock on the front of their car prior to starting it to ensure that any animals that may be resting get out safe.
“For traveling, talk to your vet about things for anxiety, if [the pet] is not a good traveler. If you’re driving, plan out the route and how long you’re going to be on the road, have a list of pet-friendly hotels if you’re stopping along the way [and] know where your local emergency vets are … Doing that research ahead of time can really save you a lot of stress and anxiety,” she said.
Similarly, Ontiveros recommends speaking with a veterinarian about your pets anxiety for fireworks at both New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July, as each dog has its own reactions and may have different needs.
Overall, Ontiveros emphasizes that it’s important to keep a watchful eye over any pets this holiday season to ensure their safety and that there are many more celebrations with them, whether it's checking on Christmas light wires to make sure there’s been no chewing or avoiding traditional festive plants.
For more holiday pet safety tips, visit bit.ly/4izoxZq.
