This time of year can be full of fun holiday celebrations, quality time with family and friends, and yummy food. While our more extroverted pets enjoy the change of pace, many can find this time stressful or overstimulating! Fortunately, there are some simple things we can do the help this season be joyful for everyone.
Pets can sometimes be frightened or confused by the commotion of holiday guests. You can help by keeping your pet in a quiet part of the house or making sure they have a safe place to retreat to. Having food and water away from guests helps our pets have a quiet area to eat and drink without getting interrupted.
If your pup is more extroverted, give them more walks or exercise (especially before company comes over) to help them embrace the holiday cheer! So they don’t get lost in the hustle and bustle, schedule time in your day for time with them. You will both benefit from the exercise and time to yourselves!
Always supervise kids (and most adults) playing with pets. Guests do not always understand how to play and communicate with our pets, so keeping a close eye on things and intervening when needed will keep everybody safe!
If you are leaving town, have a pet sitter stop in (ask us for our recommended sitters!), or board your cat here with us! Your trip away for a couple days may seem safe enough for your pets but weird things can happen. Our motto with animals is, “Better safe than sorry.” You never know when they will knock something over and potentially get hurt by the debris, or knock over the water bowl and have nothing to drink. Make sure you have emergency numbers available, just in case.
If you are hosting or traveling, make sure your pet is wearing a collar with your current contact information and their microchip is registered correctly with your information. www.petmicrochiplookup.org will tell you if your pet’s microchip is up to date. More often than you would think, a pet will take an opportunity to sneak out when friends and family are coming and going. How often do you linger at the door with friends as they leave (in the traditional Midwest Goodbye) and wouldn’t notice if your pet slipped out?
We hope you and your furry family members enjoy the season and stay safe!
-Dr. Kelsey Ricci
