Christmas Hazards for Pets: Hidden Dangers of the festive season

MyFriend Team
- December 13, 2022

We started the article off with such an ominous tone, almost seems like Halloween isn’t over yet!? 🙅‍♂️👻🎃

Because we humans are creatures that love festivities and celebrations, each year is filled with occasions that have varying themes with several types of decorations, cuisine, activities and even the types of gifts exchanged! Some things are appropriate for our furry friends, but we also have to remember that some are also potentially harmful.

🤶🎄 In order to keep Christmas a fun and enjoyable experience for every member of the family, MyFriend is here to warn everyone ⚠️ about the potential dangers that can come with this festive season. ✨

⚠️ Alcoholic Drinks

Alcohol tends to flow around during these festive periods 🍷 and it happens to be the number one danger! Only 30 milliliters can harm our smaller friends and cost them their precious lives. Alcohol can also cause comas in our furry friends of other sizes. Of course, we don’t expect you to pour wine into your pet’s water bowl, but leaving unattended glasses, spilling your drinks on the floor, or even accidentally dropping fruitcake crumbs can cause damage to your friend. Make sure to tidy up after yourselves and leave nothing that can harm your pet!

⚠️ Christmas Decorations

The lush and green Christmas tree, adorned with several sparkly ornaments, blinking with fairy lights and shimmery tinsels reminds us of all the wonderful feelings associated with this jolly time of year. 🎄 But wait! The fun all ends when our little friends start eating, pawing, clawing, and nibbling on these pretty decorations! It’s not just harmful to our little friends, but our beautiful ornaments are also now destroyed! Whenever you bring out the Evergreen tree (fake or real, it doesn’t matter) check the base to make sure it’s stable, to prevent any unwanted falls or collapse. Avoid using decorations that are fragile, unless you want a trip to the ER during the busiest time of year! Keep all pretty blinking fairy lights intact with the surface you’re decorating, because the lights can be extra alluring to our paw friends. Make sure it’s out of their reach so they can’t paw and claw, to limit the possibility of any short circuit or electrocution.

⚠️ Wrapping Paper

Decorative wraps, ribbons, and cards might not seem so delicious, but to our pets…the more the merrier! Like a moth to a flame, it’s the purrfect toy to shred to pieces! 🌪️ Our pets love to play, destroy, and conquer these scraps, but during the process, they might ingest one too many pieces! This can potentially cause blockages in their digestive system, requiring urgent and extensive surgery to remove. What is the best solution? Neatly put away all wrapping paper and avoid leaving it to marinate around the house!

⚠️ Cozy Sweaters ❤️‍🔥

Christmas and cozy sweaters go together like two peas in a pod. Although Thailand’s weather isn’t necessarily exactly Christmassy like other countries, we still love our winter fashion! ☃️ Our furry friends as well!…Right? Although the colder months might excite our fashionista pawrents, don’t forget that most of our pets aren’t used to wearing clothes! Especially thick sweaters and heavy scarves can cause major discomfort and overheating. If our friends are protesting their outfits by refusing to move, walk, or play, don’t force them! Let them roam free in their birthday suit.

⚠️ Leftover foods

Our dinner table during the season of giving is filled with delicious and extravagant dishes! It’s natural to have a lot of leftovers after the feast, and we might feel guilty for wasting so much food. Meanwhile, we will notice our little paw friends with their yearning eyes and think to ourselves “it should be fine to give them some of this.” 🍗 But stop right there! Don’t forget that human foods are not appropriate for our fur babies, especially foods that are filled with deliciousness, because they’re filled with spices and ingredients that might be harmful to our pets and disrupt their digestive systems. If you really can’t finish all of the food, don’t feel so guilty. Throw it out 🚮, Like we always say, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Although these warnings might seem petty and nitpicky, we shouldn’t forget that everyone just wants to enjoy this festive season! Animal hospitals and vet clinics might be extra busy or have odd operating times compared to the usual schedule. That’s why pawrents should be extra careful with whatever happens and check with the vet for their operating hours during this time of year. Finding a spare option (just in case) is also a good idea. Nevertheless, preventing accidents and potential injuries is always the best thing to do!

Speaking of parties, let’s prepare a party with our furry friends! For pawrents who have no idea what to get their pets, check out this list of Christmas-themed gifts for your pets here!!

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