Christmas and New Years are a fun time of year but it can also mean greater health risks for our pets.

Food

Certain foods can be toxic to dogs and cats and fattier or richer foods can trigger gastroenteritis or pancreatitis. Be mindful that your pets don’t get the chance to overindulge during festivities. A small piece of sausage from everyone at a bbq can add up to a lot of sausage.  Other foods to avoid include certain nuts, onions, garlic, chocolate, alcohol, grapes and sultanas (this means fruit mince pies and Christmas cake too). Avoid the temptation to share the bone from your roast, cooked bones are associated with more health problems than raw.

Plants

Doing some landscaping over the holidays or like having cut flowers in the house? All lillies are toxic to cats and a list of other plants to be aware of can be found here

http://www.aecvets.com.au/docs/Common-Plants-Toxic-to-Dogs-and-Cats-NATIONAL.pdf

Decorations

Ornaments, tinsel and the like look great but can be a great temptation to play with especially for puppies and kittens. Ensure they can’t get tangled up in long strands of tinsel and watch that they don’t try and eat anything they shouldn’t and give themselves an intestinal foreign body.

Fireworks, kennels, catteries, visitors and holidays

Some pets manage a change in their routine with no problems at all but others can become anxious and stressed in certain situations, especially with the increase in fireworks and storms over summer.  Speak to us if you have any concerns as there are many ways to help our pets cope with anxiety. Consider a pheromone collar or spray for pets that are going into kennels or on holiday. Zylkene is a new over the counter capsule that is derived from a protein naturally found in milk that can help reduce anxiety and it is available at both our clinics.

https://www.vetoquinol.com.au/products/companion-animals/zylkene

Some animals may require more help or medication so please make an appointment with one of the vets if you would like to discuss it further.

Detailed information on training techniques and rewarding calm behaviour can be found at

http://www.allpetseducationandtraining.com.au/

Also remember that pets must be up to date with their vaccinations not only to give them continued protection but to allow them to go to boarding kennels and catteries.

And don’t forget the usual preventatives for worms, heart worm, fleas and it’s also peak tick season so speak to us about the best options for your pet.

Have a happy and pet safe holiday season!