The holiday season can be dangerous for pets for a variety of reasons, warns Dr. Amanda Cavanaugh, a veterinarian who runs the small-animal emergency service at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
The most common emergency issues she and her colleagues deal with during the holidays are from dogs ingesting things they should not.
That includes not only chocolate and raisins, which are toxic to dogs, but also Christmas ornaments, gift wrap and other packaging materials, Cavanaugh said. She urged people to avoid putting candy or other food items in wrapped packages under Christmas trees that are accessible to pets.
Ingesting wrapping paper, ribbons, packaging materials and Christmas ornaments can cause intestinal blockages in pets.
“Often times if people know what the material is that’s been ingested and they bring the dog or cat in right away, we can induce vomiting,” Cavanaugh said. “Sometimes, it does lead to needing to use an endoscope and putting the dog under anesthesia to pull stuff out, and if it’s been a long time since the material was ingested, it can cause a blockage that would require more extensive surgery.”
Dogs and cats have also been known to ingest glass-bulb ornaments, either full or broken, and wire and metal ornament hangers.
Other frequent issues Cavanaugh and other veterinarians with CSU’s small-animal emergency service see during the holidays are bites and cuts from dogfights among animals that aren’t usually kept together. These tend to occur, she said, when a visiting relative brings their pet with them to a home that has other pets, or when animals are left with pet sitters with pets of their own.
“Dog bites can’t just be bandaged, and you can’t just suture them to close them,” Cavanaugh said. “You have to disinfect them and then bandage them and eventually suture them. It actually turns into a multiday treatment that costs hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on how bad the bite is.”
Dehydration and kidney failure is another concern for pets over the holidays, particularly those left alone while their owners are away for prolonged periods of time. Cats are especially prone to these issues, since they are typically left alone more often and for longer period of time than dogs. Automatic waterers sometimes fail, she said, or cats have been known to accidentally lock themselves inside a room or closet by shutting the door.
Dehydration in cats causes their sodium levels to rise, which can lead to brain injury or kidney injury, Cavanaugh said.
People who choose to leave their pets at home while traveling should make arrangements to have somebody check on them at least twice a day, she said. Besides making sure they are being fed regularly and have access to water, it’s also good to make sure they have adequate heat.
Electrocution from biting into electric cords of strings of holiday lights is rare, she said, but occurs more during the holiday season than at any other time of the year. Cords dangling in places they’re not normally found can draw a pet’s attention, and if a dog or cat bites through their protective coating, it can cause severe mouth burns and sometimes even an electrical shock that alters their heart rate, causing arrhythmia.
“It’s best to keep electric cords up and out of the way and hidden from animals,” she said.
Although ingesting poinsettia leaves can cause vomiting and mouth irritation, Cavanaugh said lily flowers, more common for Easter than the Christmas holiday, are far more dangerous and can cause irreversible damage to cats.
“Even a small exposure to lilies, like drinking water out of a vase containing them, can lead to kidney failure in cats,” Cavanaugh said.
When to seek emergency services for your pet
After-hours, weekend and holiday care is costly and difficult to find for pets, Cavanaugh said. Waiting until your regular veterinarian is available is risky, though, because many health issues encountered by cats and dogs become significantly worse over time.
Most veterinarians, she said, provide a phone number people can call for advice concerning a pet emergency. The CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital has an emergency triage phone line, 970-297-5000, that is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A phone conversation with a veterinarian or assistant staffing that phone line and others like it can provide individualized guidance.
She suggests contacting a veterinarian or calling an emergency line whenever your pet has been bitten by another animal, ingests something it should not have, is vomiting or showing signs of pain. Even non-life-threatening issues like an ear infection can be mitigated with early diagnosis and treatment, Cavanaugh said.
Local emergency veterinary hospitals that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, include:
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CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 300 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins. Phone: 970-297-5000
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Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital, 816 S. Lemay Ave., Fort Collins. Phone: 970-484-8080
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Royal Vista Veterinary Specialists, 4630 Royal Vista Circle, No. 11, Windsor. Phone: 970-825-5975
Local veterinarians and their staff work regularly with each of the emergency hospitals, and the hospitals work with each other, to ensure pets receive the emergency care they need, Cavanaugh said.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, x.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CSU veterinarian offers tips to keep pets safe over the holidays