Keep Your Pets Safe By Knowing These Holiday Hazards

Pets are curious creatures, like children and some adults, and want to know what everything is, especially if it’s new. That’s why you need to know what is safe and what isn’t safe, for your pet, while unloading and preparing decorations. According to a recent article featuring advice and expertise from veterinarian, Jae Chang with Farr Veterinary Hospital tells us what to watch out for around our pets:

• Festive plants– holly and mistletoe are highly dangerous for your pet, causing gastrointestinal and cardiovascular issues. Poinsetta’s are dangerous too, but a large amount would have to be consumed as opposed to a smaller amount being ingested with holly and mistletoe.

• Real and fake Christmas trees– Decorations, including ornaments, can be detrimental for your pet, if they swallow any broken pieces, along with tinsel and ribbon. “Cats love those crinkly sounding things and then when they swallow them, it causes the intestines to plicate or crinkle up, almost like an accordion,” said Dr. Chang. While real trees are safe, it is absolutely necessary to keep your pet away from the standing tree water, because “the bacteria overgrowth that is associated with that stagnant water can cause more GI problems,” said Dr. Chang.

• Keep table scraps away from your pets– Table scraps also cause stomach issues, because dog and cat food doesn’t contain the same types of fats that human food does, so that requires a dog or cat’s digestive system to work three times as harder, causing “the pancreas to overwork and get inflamed,” also says Dr. Chang.

What else do you keep your pet’s away from during the holiday season? Let us know in the comments!

Source: http://www.kplctv.com/story/24071941/holiday-hazards-for-pets