Have a Safe Thanksgiving with Your Pets

Guest writer – Sidehill Sitter Marshon Miller

Ah Thanksgiving… a time for family, friends and lots of great food, but this festive time may also come with added dangers for our furry friends.

 

Extra Visitors
Often we have more visitors than normal coming in and out of our homes, which can make pets excited and overstimulated.  Those extra visitors can cause our pets stress and perhaps bring out a nervous streak in Fido that has never been seen before.  Consider giving them some quiet alone time with a special treat if they show signs of stress and make sure everyone knows how to properly interact with your pup.

 

Door Dashing

Extra visitors coming in and out can leads to opportunities for our four-legged friends to make a run for it.  Keep an eye out when guests are coming and going and if you forsee a problem consider having your fur friends in quiet room until everyone has arrives.  This has the additional bonus of giving your pups a chance to calmly meet people without the excitement of a greeting at the door.

Kitties that are allowed to explore outdoors may be too scared to come inside when it’s time so consider keeping them inside for the day to prevent any problems.  For shy kitties a quiet room alone might be the best Thanksgiving present you can give them!

 

Tempting treats
Then there’s the Thanksgiving feast.  While plain sweet potatoes, pumpkin and carrots are okay for Fido or Fluffy, those delicious fat trimmings could cause an upset stomach, and cooked poultry bones can break and splinter causing obstructions and lacerations in our pets’ digestive tracts.  It’s important to be diligent when food is out so that it doesn’t “disappear” only to find our furry friend not feeling so great a while later.

Managing our visitors’ interactions with our pets, watching those entrances and exits, keeping our kitties indoors and making informed decisions on treats from the table can make Thanksgiving a safe and fun time for us all!