The festive season is fast approaching and while this time of year can bring anxiety for us (who doesn’t look forward to Christmas dinners with the in-laws?), it’s easy for pet owners to forget that the holidays can also be stressful for animals.

Please be mindful of the factors that impact on a pet’s health and state of mind during the festive season.

Here are some issues for pet owners to consider as well as tips from the expert team at the Johannesburg SPCA.

If you are going away on holiday 

• Ensure that your pets will be taken good care of. It is advisable to make prior arrangements with a suitable kennel facility. There are several kennel and boarding facilities that offer affordable services that include daily walks, grooming, cuddles and healthy meal options – you may be tempted to check yourself in for some R&R!
• Check that your pet is wearing a legible name tag including your contact details, before you leave town. Micro-chipping is recommended for quick and easy tracking of owners if Sparky does happen to stray off your property.
• If you have arranged a sitter for your pet, provide them with emergency numbers and contact details for your vet, as well as sufficient food, cash in case of emergency and other necessary supplies. Advise the sitter that despite Sparky and Smokey’s very convincing arguments, they are not permitted to have ice-cream for dinner.
• Should your pet go missing while you are away on holiday, keep in mind that you should call your local SPCA Lost and Found or Kennels Dept first, as your pet may have been taken into the facility already.

While home for the holidays

• In the event of fireworks close to your home, please arrange for your pets to be in a safe enclosed area with sufficient space for them to be comfortable, as well as enough drinking water.   Don’t forget to check on them occasionally. Further information on attending to Sparky and Smokey during the fireworks season can be accessed at the Johannesburg SPCAs website http://www.jhbspca.co.za/index.php/Latest-News/thunderstorms-and-fireworks-making-your-pet-go-moggy.html
• Exercise caution with Christmas decorations.  When decorating your home with tinsel, Christmas lights and other decorations, remember to place them out of your pet’s reach as chewing such items could cause serious injury to your animal. The bill for the X-ray of the Christmas Tree Angel smiling at you from Sparky’s stomach is further incentive to keep the decorations out of reach.
• It is not only the manmade decorations that you need to be wary of, because natural decorations, such as ivy, holly berries, mistletoe and poinsettia can all be poisonous to animals
• Many visitors can make pets anxious, so it is advisable to have a calm place of refuge for him, or her, to go to if feeling overwhelmed. If the refuge area is big enough, you too can use it along with Sparky to escape Aunt Muriel’s halitosis.
• When entertaining you might need to rearrange your furniture, and this disturbance could stress cats which sometimes results in disruption of litter tray routines. Smokey has never been a fan of “Extreme Home Makeover” and will not hesitate to let you know in a very unappealing way!
• Most of us, despite promises to our weightloss support groups, over-indulge over the holidays but even when combined with irresistible puppy dog eyes, this is no reason to offer pets human food. Obviously, small treats don’t create severe damage, but remember to offer any treat in moderation. You should appeal to your guests to do the same, as certain foods should be completely avoided, such as chocolate, which can be poisonous, and bones, which can splinter and cause damage to an animal’s digestive tract
• Christmas trees can fall over, particularly when being climbed or used as a scratching post by a cat. Try finding a way to anchor the tree so that it remains secure. Asking Smokey to avoid doing that again is a fruitless exercise as we all know that cat’s do not take instructions from a lower life form.
• Cats also struggle to resist gnawing at beautiful ribbons on gifts under the tree. If you find that your cat tries to chew gifts rather remove the ribbons, as they can cause critical injury if wrapped around the cat’s oesophagus or intestines.
• Nothing can compare to a great South African braai. Sparky’s nose will go into overdrive with the tantalising aroma of peri-peri chicken wafting through the house. Ensure that your pet is kept away from the braai area to avoid accidental burns
• Ensure that refuse bins or bin bags are stored out of your pet’s reach. Even if Sparky is a pure-bred German Shepard with a bloodline extending back to the King of Prussia, he does not consider it beneath himself to rummage through the trash in search of sauce-covered paper plates, turkey bones or ice cream containers. Ingesting plastic or bones can cause serious injury or blockages in an animal’s digestive tract.

These are some of the main issues that your pets face over Christmas. To ensure that your animals remain happy and healthy, you should take extra care to keep an eye on your pets during the holidays. If your animals are safe, they can enjoy the festive season with the rest of the family.