You may be getting ready to implement your plans for the holiday, but are you sure these plans of yours are cat-friendly? The scents, sounds, and sights of the holiday season can be tempting to our feline friends who are naturally curious about everything.
Cats love to play with new things in their environment especially if the things in question are stringy or shiny. The noise from parties or visits might scare your cats, and the lovely new smell of festive foods may attract them to the kitchen.
Young kittens or playful cats can easily get injured by holiday decorations if they get tangled up with them. For senior cats, stress-induced illnesses may become common during festivities because of all the noise and chaos that comes with the gathering of people.
If you are wondering how to have all your plans come to life and still make your home safe for your cat, look no further as you have come to the right place for a solution.
The Christmas tree
Imagine how excited your feline would be when they see a nicely decorated tree in the house. The ornaments on the tree can easily be mistaken for cast toys which is another reason why your pet will be eager to get close and explore. However, the Christmas tree can cause more harm than good to your cat.
Your Christmas tree water may contain fertiliser, aspirin, pesticides and various other chemicals that can cause poisoning in felines. To keep your cat safe from your tree water, ensure that it always kept covered and out of reach.
The ornaments on your Christmas tree or even the tree parts may also be chewed out swallowed by your cat. If such occurs your cat may suffer from gastrointestinal obstruction, and that can easily be avoided by if your cat isn’t allowed to play near the tree.
Cats that love to climb can damage the tree you took your time to set up and decorate. Your tree can even be knocked down by your cat, and that may lead to injuries both for your pet and other members of your family.
To keep your cat safe when you have a Christmas tree in your home, find a way to restrict it’s movement to the areas where there is no tree standing. Also, make sure your cat has no access to the tree when you are away from home.
Some cats can be really stubborn and find it hard to resist the temptation of playing near your tree hence you must keep fragile ornaments out of cat’s reach.
Tinsels and ribbons
Have you seen how a cat behaves in the presence of anything shiny or stringy? these animals can go completely crazy if they do not get close enough to play with things like that. It is nothing weird that your pet wants to play around with the wrapped presents simply because of the ribbons and bows on them.
The danger with allowing your animal play with tinsels and other stringy items is that they can lead to linear foreign body obstruction and that may require surgery.
Opt for tinsel and garlands that are made from beads of thick cloth and ensure there are no loose ones around your home. If you must hang anything stringy, hang then high enough out of your cat’s reach. For presents, a paper bow or thick cloth is a better option in place of ribbon.
Plants and flowers
The holiday season has its special plants, and you don’t want to have any reason not to decorate your surrounding with at least one of these plants.
What may come to your mind at this point is the possibility of your cat knocking the flower pot over and messing your plant up, but you should be more concerned about what danger interesting poisonous plants can cause.
Plants like Holly, amaryllis, lilies, and Poinsettias are not safe for ingestion so keep your curious feline away from them or don’t keep These plants around at all.
Fireplaces and candles
During the cold season, a candle or fireplace can give off the kind of warmth that is inviting to cats. However, overly inquisitive cats or kittens may get to close to the flame and hurt themselves.
Always ensure that lit candles are kept in places where cats can’t reach them so that they don’t knock the candles over and cause a fire.
Never leave your cat alone when your fireplace has a flame in it. If you must leave your cat, make sure to guard your fireplace to prevent close contact that may lead to burns and injuries.
Household noise and guests
Everyone knows no holiday doesn’t bring families and friends together. Your house is very likely to be filled with guests once in a while, and all the laughs and gists are inevitable. Your cat may not handle these noises well because felines are highly sensitive to noise.
If you must have guests, play loud music, and have all the festive laughs and fireworks, ensure that your cat is locked in a quiet room. Provide food, water, a litter box and toys for your cat so that it has no reason will want to leave the room and fact stressors.
Tell your guests to stay away from the room where your cat is and also to keep doors closed behind them.
Travel plans
It’s not surprising that you may be considering travelling for the holidays. What better time to get away from your environment and see new places or reconnect with friends and families that live far away?
If you have decided to travel, then you must also decide what you want to do with your cat during This time. If your cat doesn’t do well with travelling, then you have no choice but to leave it behind or make plans to teach it to get used to travelling.
If your cat isn’t travelling with you, then you must decide where it’ll stay while you are away. You could take your cat to a hostel, but a better idea will be to get a pet sitter who will go to your home twice daily to feed your feline.
Some pet sitters are nice enough to stay a little longer and play with your cat or even text you photos of the animal every day.
Remember the festivities is not only your’s too enjoy but also your pet’s which is why you must make plans for them as you make plans for yourself.
