Safety First
Safety, it’s what Forest Security is all about. Keeping your home and business protected is what we do, every day, 24/7. Now that the Holiday Season is upon us once again, we’d like to offer some tips to help keep your pets safe among all the Holiday Decor.
No Tree Tipping
Christmas Trees in all their glory are beautiful to behold, but not if it is tipped over by a curious pet (or elf) Anchor your tree with fishing line to a hook secured in the wall or windowsill.
“Elf”: You never know who might try to climb your tree, so anchor it.
Water Your Tree, Not Your Pets
If you have a real tree that needs water, remember to keep pets away. Place your tree skirt above the water dish or wrap your tree base to pets out. The water can contain fertilizers from the tree causing nausea for pets.
Deck The Halls
Mistletoe & Holly – Great in the song, not so much in your pets. When ingested they can cause nausea and vomiting and mistletoe may even cause cardiovascular problems.
Lilies that so many of us get for Christmas are just beautiful, but keep away from your cats. Many varieties of lilies can cause kidney failure if ingested by kitty. Other Holiday plants that can be harmful to pets include:
- Amaryllis
- Azaleas
- Chrysanthemums
- Evergreens
- Holly
- Ivy
- Juniper
- Mistletoe
All That Glitters
Sparkling Tinsel makes for the most charming tree but Kitty thinks so too – So many sparkly “toys” to bat around and play with. Best to keep tinsel of the tree if you have a playful cat.
All Aglow
Making your home festive and bright with holiday candles is a beautiful way to add a warm glow to cold dark nights plus many candles add a lovely holiday fragrance to the air. Please remember pets are curious by nature. They can easily knock over unattended candles or knock over something into the candle flame. According to https://www.coverage.com/insurance/home/holiday-pet-safety-guide, an estimated $278 million in property damage was caused by candles between 2014 and 2018, not to mention pets could easily get burned by the flame or hot wax.
Essential Oils
There are so many hidden dangers for curious pets during the holiday season.
Other great resources for safety are:
https://www.medvetforpets.com/12-dangerous-holiday-pet-hazards/
