Preparing for the Holidays: Decorations

I've been a little absent from the blog lately but trust me, I've been very busy with foster kitten related things! But now I am back and ready to talk about all things Holiday related!!!

So the holidays are a super exiciting time, but it can be a little overwhelming for pets! For the month of December I am going to talk about preparing for the holidays with kittens including topics like decorating, food, and family. 

Former Foster Kittens Lily and Olive Love the Christmas Decorations

After Thanksgiving everyone is getting ready for Christmas and decorating! Some decorations that are pretty to us can be dangerous to pets. 

Here is a breif list of common decoratons that may be dangerous for kittens.

1. Christmas Tree: As you can imagine, a Christmas tree can be seen as a fun toy for kittens! If you have a kitten that likes to climb and scratch it may be smart to keep your tree out of reach of kittens or teather it to the wall. After you first put up the tree keep an eye on your kittens and see how they react. 

Olive Had to Check Out the Tree!

2. Tinsel: Avoid using tinsel for decorating if you have pets. Kitties LOVE to play with anything shiny, so tinsel is gold for them. Unfortunately ingested tinsel can be very dangerous for kittens and require emergency surgery. 

3. Ornaments: Be mindful of what ornaments you hang on your tree. Anything breakable should be placed closer to the top out of reach of curious kittens. I also recommend using ribbon instead of metal hooks for hanging them. 

4. Lights!: Again, it depends on the cat, some cats love to chew on wires, so cats don't care. If yours chews a lot them keep wiring out of reach!

5. Holiday Plants: There is a lot of confusion when it comes to what holiday plants are poisonous; here is the scoop. 

     Amaryllis: Toxic

     Christmas Cactus: Not Toxic 

     Poinsettia: Not Toxic (I know a lot of people think so but no they are not) 

     Holly: Berries- Not Toxic, Leaves- Toxic 

     Mistletoe: Toxic 

Although some plants are not toxic they can still cause some GI upset, so you should still keep all plants out of reach, but don't panic if they happen to nibble on a non-toxic plant. 

If you have any questions or tips on kitty proofing for the Holidays leave a comment! 

Olive Thought the Christmas Town was Missing Something!