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10/22/09
 As Halloween approaches, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun of it and forget about keeping your pets safe. Here are 13 tips on keeping your cat safe and happy on Halloween, courtesy of PetSmart and The Cat’s Meow:
- To ensure that your cat isn’t part of any Halloween mischief or pranks, don’t let her outside unattended, especially at night. Even if your cat does normally go outside, remember that on Halloween, she could get spooked by the loud noises and costumes, wander off and become disoriented.
- Your cat should wear a collar and name tag with your phone number and address on it all times — if she does get out of the house, at least you can be contacted. Microchipping ensures that if the collar is lost, you and your cat can be reunited.
- Candy is a hazard:
* Never leave candy or candy wrappers lying around or put it where your cat can get them. Small candy and errant candy wrappers are choking hazards and can cause intestinal blockage.
* Chocolate can be toxic to cats, and especially dogs. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.
* Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to pets. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.
- Confine your cat to one room in your house during parties or high-traffic trick-or-treating times. This way, you’ll be at ease when opening and shutting the door. And, if trick-or-treaters enter your home, your cat will be protected from pokes, prods and loud noises.
- Lit pumpkins and candles can easily be knocked over and burn your cat. Curious kittens are especially at risk for getting hurt. Use a special battery-powered Jack-o-Lantern light or an electric candle.
- Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could damage her mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.
- Instead of sharing any of your trick-or-treating loot, celebrate Halloween with your cat by giving him goodies made especially for her. You could even find a cat-specific recipe for making homemade treats. Another way to get in the spirit is to switch out regular toys with some Halloween-themed toys.
- If you plan to put a costume on your cat, try it on her well in advance of Halloween to see how she reacts to it. If she tolerates it without fuss, make sure that it fits well enough to allow her to see, breathe, hear and move around unencumbered.
- Most Halloween costumes for cats are best used for photographing the cat, then removing. NEVER leave a costume on a cat unattended.
- Resist the temptation to take your cat to a Halloween Pet Parade, unless she is extremely comfortable around barking dogs, shrieking kids and other noise. For most cats, it’s a little slice of hell. It’s much more humane to leave her at home and enter her in one of the many online Halloween photo contests — the PetSmart Howl-O-Ween photo contest, for example.
- If your cat is mellow enough to attend a Halloween Pet Parade, keep her in a harness and on a leash at all times.
- Resist the urge to take your pets trick-or-treating with you. Dogs especially are prone to picking up and eating candy or wrappers that have fallen to the ground, and in the dark, you’re unlikely to see it happen. Cats can be easily spooked by the noise and chaos and escape.
- Because most cats dislike loud noises and shrieking, keep a television or radio on for your cats throughout the evening on Halloween to drown out the neighborhood sounds.
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09/04/09
Hydrate
If you have activities planned, it’s easy to forget to take care of Fluffy’s needs. Make sure she has plenty of fresh, cool, clean water, especially if she’s a senior cat. Older cats tend to sleep for long periods during the day and forget to wake up and drink, so wake her up periodically, and encourage her to sip.
Keep Matches and Lighter Fluid out of Her Reach
Certain types of matches contain chlorates, which could potentially damage blood cells and result in difficulty breathing—or even kidney disease in severe cases. Lighter fluid can be irritating to skin, and if ingested, can produce gastrointestinal irritation and central nervous system depression. If lighter fluid is inhaled, pneumonia and breathing problems could develop.
Don’t Deviate from Her Normal Diet
Keep your cat on her normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give her severe indigestion and diarrhea. This is particularly true for older animals who have more delicate digestive systems and nutritional requirements. And keep in mind that people foods such as onions, chocolate, coffee, avocado, salt, yeast dough, grapes and raisins can all be potentially toxic to companion animals.
No Citronella!
Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach. Ingesting any of these items can produce stomach irritation and possibly even central nervous system depression in your pets, and if inhaled, the oils could cause aspiration pneumonia.
Never Leave a Pet Alone in the Car
Traveling with your cat? Never leave her alone in the car, and always keep a harness on her in the car so it’s easy to secure here when you stop for breaks.
Apply Sunscreen
If your cat enjoys outdoor barbecues with your family, don’t forget to apply a PET FORMULATED sunscreen to her nose and ears, especially during the midday hours. As with people, the light-skinned cats are the most vulnerable, especially if they don’t have much fur on their ears.
Indoor Cat and Visitors? Lock her up!
If you have house guests this weekend, sequester Fluffy in a spare room so that she won’t escape as strangers enter and exit the house.
[LINK: ASPCA]
Don’t forget! You can leave a comment on this post for an entry in The Cat’s Meow’s giveaway of a custom oil painting of your cat by Linden Alley.
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01/05/09
The following recently appeared on Dogster’s For the Love of Dog Blog, and since it applies to cats as well, I’m reposting here. Although this was a warning specific to Wheaton, IL, coyotes everywhere are a threat to housecats, even in urban areas (there are coyotes in San Francisco).
Janice just barked this important information to me for Dogster readers in the Wheaton, Illinois area.
A warning has been issued by the Wheaton Chief of Police, Mark Field.
Coyote Alert
WHEATON, Ill. – The highly adaptable coyote continues to flourish in the western suburbs within populated areas, mostly because of the interesting menu available in the form of dog and cat food, or easy-to-open garbage cans.
Coyotes can survive on whatever food is available, from rodents to rubbish, from insects to fruit to carrion. They can be a threat to family pets. Although no attacks have been reported within the City of Wheaton, in isolated but tragic cases elsewhere, coyotes have attacked small children.
Essentially unimpeded by control measures, abundant food has encouraged coyotes to become accustomed to the sight and sounds of humans. Consequently, coyote populations and range have expanded in recent years in the western suburbs.
While coyotes are valuable in decreasing the rodent population, their presence in populated areas can be minimized.
DO feed pets indoors or promptly remove dishes when pets complete their meal outside. Store bags of pet food indoors.
DO clear brush and dense weeds from around property. This deprives rodents of shelter and reduces protective cover for coyotes.
DON’T leave domestic pet food outside. Wildlife will soon depend upon it.
DO use trash barrels equipped with tight clamping devices on the lids, which will prevent spills should they be tipped over by large animals.
DO try to educate your friends and neighbors about the problems associated with feeding coyotes. If you belong to a homeowner’s association or neighborhood watch, bring up the subject during one of the meetings.
DON’T feed or provide water for coyotes or other wildlife. This practice abnormally attracts coyotes and promotes increased numbers of rodents, birds, snakes, and other creatures that can provide major portions of the coyote’s natural diet.
TO PROTECT PETS
Keep small pets (cats, rabbits, small dogs) indoors. Don’t allow them to run free at any time. They are easy, favored prey. Some coyotes hunt cats in residential areas.
Large dogs should be brought inside after dark and never allowed to run loose.
DON’T leave domestic pet food outside. Wildlife will soon depend upon it.
Definitely some great advice for those that live in the area. Please be sure to pass this important information on to your friends and neighbors so they can keep their pets safe too.
* The beauty above, Yoat, actually lives on the property of a Dogster member.
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12/04/08
Buying a Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush this weekend? Today, PetPlace.com published “10 Steps for a Cat Safe Holiday Tree”, to help you ensure your cats are safe from the minefield of hazards that await them in your festively decorated holiday home. Here they are:
 1. Choose the Right Spot. Pick an area where the tree can be enjoyed by the family without becoming a “climbing toy” for your pet. The tree should be secured to the wall or ceiling, away from furniture that can serve as a springboard for your pet. Try to place the tree near an outlet so you don’t have to run electrical cords long distances.
2. Prepare the Area. Lay down plastic sheeting or buy a “tree bag.” This is an extra large trash bag used for live trees. Center the tree on the bag. When the season is over and you have removed the tree ornaments, pull the bag over the tree.This will catch the pine needles as they fall from the tree – and prevent them from being chewed or swallowed by your pet.
3. Secure the Tree. Cats – kittens especially – love to climb trees. Many a tree has been sent swaying with a happy kitten on top. Kittens can be injured if the trees or ornaments fall and break. Dogs can knock over a tree by rubbing against or playing under it. You can place the tree in a corner and secure it from two sides to small hooks in the walls. Another trick is to place a small hook in the ceiling above the tree  and use clear fishing line from the top of the tree to the hook. Apply gentle tension and tie. The clear line is invisible.
4. Hide the Cords. Electrical cords are a grave danger to pets – especially puppies and kittens that chew on anything. Cords can cause electrocution and serious injury or even death. Secure the cords by positioning them higher than the pet can reach or hiding them with special covers.
5. No Hooks. Check your ornaments and replace hooks with a loop of string tied in a knot. Ornaments often fall from the tree and pets may catch their mouths on or swallow the hooks.
6. Choose Safe Ornaments. There is no perfectly pet-safe bulb, as any ornament can be ingested and cause an intestinal obstruction. Pet “safer” bulbs would be plastic or wood. Glass bulbs on the lower limbs can be especially dangerous. If broken, pets can step on them and cut their feet or worse yet – treat the bulbs like a ball and chew on them causing them to break, resulting in mouth or throat trauma and bleeding. Many pet owners have learned the hard way not to place any ornaments on the lower limbs. Ornaments made of food may be especially attractive to pets.
7. Ribbons. Big red velvet ribbons are a lovely addition and may replace tinsel and garland that can be eaten by cats and dogs and caught in their intestine. Cats are especially attracted to the bright shiny tinsel. Ingestion of this material can cause intestinal obstruction that may require surgery.
 8. Presents. Dogs and cats love to investigate and most don’t understand that the presents are not meant to be opened before Christmas Day. Decorative ribbons and string can be ingested, gifts can be destroyed by a playful pet. Consider storing the presents in a safe area until right before the holiday or make sure your pet is always supervised while investigating and searching for his special gift.
9. Sweep and Water. Sweep up the pine needles. Ingestion of needles can cause vomiting and gastric irritation. Keep the tree watered and only turn the lights on when you are at home. Risk of fire is always there with a live tree. Do not allow your pet access  to the tree water to drink.
10. Supervise. The safest thing to do is to allow your pet access to the tree only when supervised. Pets that continue to want to bother the tree should be encouraged – using positive reinforcement – to leave it alone. Bitter apple can be sprayed on low branches for persistent chewers.
Consider these steps for a holiday safe tree. For other tips on holiday hazards, please click on Holiday Hazards.
(Have you taken your Catster Christmas stroll yet?)
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