5 Tips For A Safe And Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Your Cat

With Thanksgiving upon us, we're sharing our Thanksgiving safety tips for you and your cats.  Lola, Lexy, and are so grateful for your friendship and your continued support of our blog. We I wish all of our friends who celebrate a blessed Thanksgiving full of happiness, and we give thanks to all of our friends and followers who make this blog possible. We appreciate you all. 

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, it’s important to remember a few tips to keep our kitties safe during the holiday. 

Five Tips For A Save And Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Your Cat

Centerpieces

Many people may not realize that our centerpieces can be hazardous to our furry children.  Lit candles can be a big danger to your cat as well as your house.  If you’re planning on lighting candles please make sure your cat is locked safely in another room.  And please don’t forget that certain flowersand plants are toxic. 

Food Packaging and STRING

Another thing to be mindful of is the packaging for the turkey and other food wrappings. Strings from the turkey can be very tempting, and dangerous as well.  Foil, wax paper and other wrappings can cause intestinal blockages.  It is important to make sure these items are securely thrown away in the garbage and kitty has no access to the garbage can.  

People Food

The smells of the turkey wafting through the house may cause kitty’s mouth to water, but all the fixings that go with it should be off limits.  It’s OK to give your cat a piece of turkey (with no skin and definitely no bones), but please hold the stuffing.  Stuffing often contains onions and garlic, both of which contain a substance that destroys red blood cells, thus causing anemia.  And hold the fatty foods, too (such as gravies and rich sauces.) These can cause severe gastrointestinal distress such as vomiting and diarrhea. 

Desserts

You should watch the desserts as well.  Chocolate and raisins can be toxic, and nuts and dairy can cause digestive upset.  If you’re unsure if your cat ingested something that can cause problems, the ASPCA has a poison control hotline that you can call. 

Intruders

If your cat doesn't like strangers, expected changes in their environment, or noise, give her a little bit of zen by setting her up in a quiet room with her litter box, food and plenty of water.  And don't forget her favorite toys and bed or blankie. It's also important to make sure the room is off limits to your company. (We don't want kitty trying to make a run for the front door because she's been spooked.) Many years ago (about 25, actually!) we had a cat who was very frightened of loud noised and a house full of people. We would set her up in a bedroom with everything that she could need, which made her a very happy cat. 

I hope these tips are helpful for you. I don’t usually cook Thanksgiving dinner at my house (mainly because my apartment is too small to fit my entire family), but I’ll make sure Lola and Lexy get turkey and giblets Fancy Feast. And of course, I’ll smuggle home some of my sister's juicy turkey for them to enjoy.

Are you having company for Thanksgiving this year? Do you have any plans to make the day stress free for your furry friend? 

Dawn

References: 
ASPCA
Banfield Pet Hospital
Pet Wave
North Shore Animal League

Photo Credits: 
Anna Maloverjan via Shutterstock
Michael Pettigrew via Shutterstock
Olesya Kuznetsova via Shutterstock
Steve Maskell via Flickr