This year, try imagining the holidays from your pet's point of view: parties, neighbors and friends stopping by, trees, decorations and lights everywhere - even strangers singing carols outside your window.
Since veterinarians tell us dogs and cats crave routine, almost everything we love about the season creates stress for pets. In addition, the holidays can bring special hazards.Midwest Living magazine asked three Midwest veterinarians for their advice to help ensure a safe, happy holiday for the family pet.
Be careful with all that glitters. Cats love playing with tree tinsel, says Dr. John Kuenzi of Waukesha, Wis. But if your pet swallows a strand or two, internal injuries may result. Switch to a different decoration if you have rambunctious cats.
Both dogs and cats, Dr. Kuenzi says, may try nibbling on tree lights. To protect everyone from possible electrical shock, install a circuit breaker (sold in hardware stores) at the plug-in outlet.
Holiday visitors to your house can unleash deep insecurities in your dog. "Dogs are pack animals," explains Dr. Loren Will, who teaches veterinary medicine at Iowa State University in Ames. "They're continually attempting to understand their place in the pack."
When Aunt Ruth shows up for a few days, Fido tries to figure out how his place in the pack (your family) changes. Some dogs snarl or bark before guests even reach the front door. You can help curb this behavior by properly introducing each newcomer to your pet.
One way, Dr. Will says, is simply to hold your houseguest's arm as he or she pets your dog. To Fido that signals your acceptance of the new arrival. As a loyal member of your pack, your dog is likely to accept the newcomer, too.
Guard that garbage. Holiday cooking can prove an irresistible temptation to your dog or cat, says Dr. Russ Chapin of Wheaton, Ill. Around the holidays, he says, he treats lots of pets that have swallowed everything from string used to tie roasts to the foil that tops turkeys in the oven.
When you have finished cooking, take out the trash right away, he advises, and batten down the container to ward off neighborhood scavengers.
"Pets also can be very accomplished beggars," Chapin says, and feeding from the table typically encourages bad habits. But be sure you don't reward your pet's persistence with chocolate. It can be deadly to dogs, which can't eliminate one of the active ingredients in chocolate from their kidneys. If your dog "overdoses," it will become hyperactive, and its heart rate will increase in about three hours.
Know problem plants. Recent research confirms that poinsettias aren't poisonous to dogs or cats, as once was believed. But pets can become seriously ill if they nibble on holly or mistletoe. Keep both out of reach.
Respect your pet's privacy. Sometimes, all the commotion can be too much, particularly for older pets. Visiting youngsters who play rough with your pets add to the problem, too. When your dog or cat heads for its "den" beneath the bed or in the basement, veterinarians agree it's important to respect your pet's privacy.
If you want your cat to seek a safe spot that you - not your feline - choose, veterinarians advise placing a blanket and a couple of toys in an out-of-the-way location, such as a closet. Your cat will get the idea.
Give gifts to pets, but don't give pets as gifts. Present a new toy to your pet, and it's likely to act as excited as a child. But the reason, most veterinarians agree, probably is because of the attention being lavished on your pet, rather than the gift itself.
Veterinarians emphasize that the holidays are a bad time to get or give a new pet. Pets acclimate themselves better to new surroundings during a less harried time of year, when you'll also have more time to devote to a new pet's needs.