Vets have more work during the New Year and Christmas holidays as compared to ordinary days. The number of new year patients sometimes increases three times. Vets even use a term "Christmas problems". "Cats and dogs are taken to us with ileus, acute dysfunction's of gastrointestinal tract, results of electric shock, acute poisoning" - says a well known vet Dr. Nikolay Valentinovich Loginov, director of the clinic of Yuri Kuklachov's Cat Theatre. - "And this is all the result of their masters' carelessness. Animals can't tell a holiday from a weekday. Unusual situation at home causes a stress in them. Besides, in a situation like this very often health and even life of a pet may be in danger".
Recommendations of WALTHAM Center (Great Britain), a leader in the sphere of pet care, will help you to celebrate the New Year with your pets cheerfully and without unpleasant consequences.
First of all, find a calm place for your pet where it would feel safe when children play or a party gets too noisy. Besides, among your guests may be people who do not like or are afraid of animals. Your pet should be isolated from them so that the party is not spoiled for anyone. If you don't think about it beforehand it may be quite possible that when you are going to wash the tablecloth after the guests have left you'll find a scared kitten in you washing machine.
Fuss in the kitchen when holiday dinner is cooked and meeting your guests is not a reason to change the usual routine of your cat or dog. Its usual food should be prepared in a secluded corner. But you should be wise enough not to give your pet fat or spicy food left in the dishes, however tasty it may be. A dog or a cat will be happy to eat it, but your generosity may lead to a poisoning or even death of a pet.
A few words more about the food. Dogs love the taste of chocolate. It is hard to restrain from giving a small piece to a dog when it looks at you with such begging eyes as you are unwrapping a colorful cover. Then remember that this is a poison for a dog. Even a small amount of it may cause a serious disorder. And the darker the chocolate is the worse it is for a dog. So hide the chocolate and make sure the chocolate coins in golden foil and other sweet decorations are out of reach of your dog. During holidays you can give your pet a special treat for dogs with chocolate smell.
A festive tree generously decorated with glass toys and tinsel is certainly very attractive for a playful kitten. Why not try these glossy things, - it probably thinks. Vets find it very difficult to deal with ileus when intestines are filled with parts of foil. The same may happen to those who like to try the pine-needles. Such feast often ends with jaws trauma or stomatitis. Think beforehand how to avoid it. Just in case, not to spoil your Christmas, better keep flowers given to you away from such "gourmets" because flowers may prove to be poisonous. Better distract the little adventure-lover with a special gift. There are all kinds of special pet toys available at the pet stores: in the form of a fish for cats, balls for dogs and even edible toys, tasty and good for teeth.
Another dangerous object is a decorated Christmas tree. There are electric garlands of colorful bulbs. Electric shock is a very common consequence of chewing wires. If you know that your dog loves to chew things you should better use low-voltage garlands.
And in conclusion we recommend that you try to plan the following in advance:
- make sure you have the phone number of your vet and leave it where you can easily see it;
- if your pet needs to take a medicine make sure you buy it in advance because most pharmacies change their working hours during holidays;
- if your pet's stomach is upset because of too much food don't feed it for a day, only give fresh water. If weakness and diarrhea persist for over 24 hours or body temperature is high call your vet.
We hope nothing will spoil your holidays.