The holidays are a magical time of year—even for pets. To them, there’s nothing better than batting a ball of tinsel or chewing up a misplaced wooden dreidel. But the decor that brings so much holiday cheer can also be harmful if you’re not careful. To have a great, safe holiday season, you need to know what decorations to avoid and what to get instead, how to properly secure your holiday trimmings, and—if the worst should occur—when to contact your local emergency vet.
Keep decorations away from your pets
Aside from keeping holiday items out of your home completely, our experts said there’s only one sure way to keep pets from accidentally eating your decor. “The best strategy is to do everything you can to keep decorations out of the reach of your pets,” said Dr. Douglas Kratt, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Common holiday dangers include string tinsel, lights, broken ornaments, potpourri, chocolate or sugar-free candy containing xylitol, and batteries from gifts and electronic decor, notes the Pet Poison Helpline. Dogs are also attracted to homemade salt-dough ornaments, which can cause salt poisoning if ingested.
Veterinary experts also warn that holiday plants are bad for pets to consume, and many of them, such as lilies and mistletoe, may be life threatening if eaten. But despite the urban legend that has led some cat owners to believe otherwise, poinsettias usually aren’t a concern. They can cause digestive upset, but they’re “not highly toxic,” said Kratt, who owns the Central Animal Hospital in Onalaska, Wisconsin. If you’re unsure whether something is harmful to your pet, consult a pet poison control list prior to bringing any plants, decorations, scents, or holiday treats into the home. Both the ASPCA and the Pet Poison Helpline maintain robust lists.
No matter if you use menorah twinkle lights or Christmas lights, you need to keep them secure and out of reach. Cable ties and sleeves can prevent pets from tearing down loose light strings, and LEDs—such as the GE Energy Smart Colorite multicolor lights or the white lights of the same line—emit very little heat, so your pet won’t suffer burns in case they do nab a strand.
As for cutesy costumes, it’s safest to avoid them entirely. Noël Duan, founder of the pet lifestyle brand Argos & Artemis, bought her dog Artemis jingle bells to wear around the ankles. “I turned my head to decorate some cookies [and] she decided to pull off all the bells,” Duan said. “I learned my lesson.”
If your pet does eat something unsafe, that decorative tinsel or ornament hook could cost you big time. Trupanion, Wirecutter’s main pick in our pet insurance guide, says it recently processed a claim for surgery to remove a foreign object from a cat. The total bill: $2,964.
Opt for pet-friendly decor
Our vet experts agreed that artificial decor is safer than the real thing. “Artificial trees and garlands are great because without the scent of the outdoors, they are less likely to draw the attention of dogs and cats,” said Dr. Zay Satchu, co-founder and chief veterinary officer at Bond Vet in New York City. Our experts also advised against flocked or snow-covered artificial trees, which can still pose a hazard to pets. (Most of the picks in Wirecutter’s best artificial Christmas tree guide aren’t flocked.)
Mikel Welch of Mikel Welch Designs believes you don’t have to spend a fortune on pet-friendly decorations. “Don’t be afraid to go to the Dollar Tree,” said the host of Quibi's Murder House Flip and former on-air personality of TLC’s Trading Spaces. Welch, who has designed a number of pet-friendly living spaces, recommends pet-safe decor such as framed scraps of wrapping paper and shatterproof seasonal ornaments or faux plants in a large vase. If the dollar store isn’t your vibe, Welch also enjoys Target’s Threshold holiday lineup, which usually has pet-safe options. (Check out these festive wrapping paper patterns that Wirecutter staffers love.)
Protect your trimmings with a few hacks
For both cats and dogs, never underestimate the appeal of a great toy to distract them from the shiny objects in the room. You can find the perfect puzzle toy for dogs or interactive cat toy for your best pal in our recent guides. Another way to save yourself a lot of headaches: banning your pets from decorated rooms with a dog gate or keeping them confined to a bedroom or a crate when you’re away.
Cats can easily squirm past any barrier, but there’s still hope for felines that don’t like to follow the rules. You can redirect a cat and prevent it from tearing up a tree skirt or decorative throw by installing a new cat scratcher in the same room. Or, consider covering the tree skirt in double-sided sticky tape; cats hate how tape feels, and after a few days, they should lose interest. We like Pioneer Pet Sticky Paws Furniture Strips because they’re more durable than standard double-sided tapes from stationery stores and don’t leave a residue behind. Similarly, you can deploy sticky tape or aluminum foil to keep curious cats off tabletops with holiday decor.
If you get a fresh tree, make sure to secure it properly. Our favorite Christmas tree stand, the Krinner Tree Genie XXL, has a narrow water reservoir opening that’s hard for pets to drink from. (It has kept my own curious cat at bay.) Although this stand is sturdy enough to keep most trees from tipping over, owners already know that there’s no guarantee with pets around. If a rambunctious kitten likes to play hide and seek in your tree’s branches, our experts said securing the tree’s top with a fishing line and hooking it up to the ceiling or door frame will add stability. Additionally, placing your tree on a box out of your pet’s reach (try hiding the box with a tree skirt) may keep their interest level low, said Satchu.
As for the tree water, don’t fill the reservoir with aspirin, sugar, or any other preservative, just in case your pet does take a sip. And wrap the exposed part of the reservoir and tree trunk in aluminum foil to keep curious paws out of the water. I also find it helpful to add a large water bowl in the same room as the tree to lure my pets away.
Although we advise using LED taper candles for a menorah or other candle decor, we realize that some people still prefer the real thing. It’s important to keep any open flame out of reach of pets and never leave it unattended. (This video might convince you.) To help keep lit menorah candles secure, we recommend using this special adhesive, which Wirecutter editor Courtney Schley prefers. Instead of holiday-scented candles, try an oil diffuser, a safer bet because it has no open flame. Just keep in mind that some oils are toxic to pets.
Have a safety plan
When you’re surrounded by holiday cheer, it can be difficult to tune in to your pet’s behaviors. But keep an eye on them and look for issues such as digestive upsets, reduced appetite, or listlessness, which are all signs that they could be in trouble, said our vet experts. “You know your pet better than anyone,” said Kratt of the AVMA, “so if you see your pet acting strangely, contact your veterinarian.”
Even if your pet seems healthy, if you suspect they swallowed something they shouldn't have, it’s best to play it safe. “There is the possibility that we can save them from abdominal surgery and use an endoscope to retrieve it,” noted Satchu. But you must act quickly.
Lastly, remember that during the holidays it can be challenging to make vet arrangements, and the pandemic has only made finding an available vet clinic even more difficult in some areas. Make sure to confirm your veterinarian’s holiday availability and to program the nearest emergency vet and pet poison hotline into your phone. I like having two hotlines on speed dial in case one doesn’t answer right away. Both the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 and the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661 offer 24/7 emergency assistance (they also charge a per-incident fee).
Sources
1. Noël Duan, founder, Argos & Artemis, email interview, November 9, 2020
2. Douglas Kratt, DVM, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association and owner of Central Animal Hospital, email interview, November 9, 2020
3. Zay Satchu, DVM, co-founder and chief veterinary officer, Bond Vet, email interview, November 9, 2020
4. Mikel Welch, interior designer and television host, Mikel Welch Designs, phone interview, November 12, 2020
The Link LonkDecember 08, 2020 at 11:05PM
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How to Keep Pets Safe From Your Holiday Decor - The New York Times
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