The staff here at Mountain View Animal Hospital wants you and your animal family to enjoy the cooler fall temperatures and winter festivities. We also want your four legged friends to be safe this holiday season. May we offer a few suggestions to keep in mind as you celebrate?

During the cold Utah winters it is common for animals to search for a warm place to sleep. Some outdoor cats will seek refuge in a car’s engine or even just underneath a parked car. Be sure to take a moment to pound on your car hood or check under the tires for a hiding kitty! These spare seconds can save their lives.

Another risk automobiles pose to our animal friends is antifreeze. Antifreeze has a sweet flavor, but it is extremely toxic. It can lead to renal failure and death. Please clean up any spills quickly and check your garage floor frequently for leaks. Keep antifreeze bottles out of reach, and limit your pet’s access to the garage area. These simple steps will help to keep your family healthy.


Halloween

Oh the joy of Halloween! The temperatures are a crisp relief from the sweltering summer, and we all get to dress up and search for candy. Who could ask for more? Even our pets enjoy eating candy. Unfortunately, candy can pose all kinds of risks for our little friends. The sugary concoctions taste great and are very tempting. Keep the trick or treat bag out of reach! Chocolate and gum are particularly dangerous. Chocolate can cause seizures or death, even in small amounts. Many chewing gums contain a chemical that dogs and cats cannot metabolize. This can lead to kidney failure. If you would like more information about candy toxicity, please contact us. We would be happy to share more details.

Halloween can also be very stressful for some pets. We see an increase in missing and lost pets this time of year. The costumes and constant stream of trick or treaters ringing the doorbell may scare them. If your pet appears upset you can try keeping them in a separate, quiet room. Be very careful when opening the door to guests if your pet is scared. Our pets can react in unpredictable ways when afraid, and may run out the door or even bite. By offering them a quiet place to hide from the revelry you can reduce these risks. You can even consider boarding them for the night or using natural stress relief supplements. Call us for more details.


Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year! All of the baking food and amazing smells are exciting for you and your pet. Please keep in mind that many of the foods that we love to enjoy this time of year are not the best treat for you furry family. Many of the foods we enjoy for Thanksgiving are too rich for a dog or cat’s stomach, and can lead to severe GI upset. This can mean ongoing diarrhea, which definitely puts a damper on the holiday. One more downside associated with sharing from the table? Doing so can lead to increased begging behavior.

Bones are a huge risk for dogs and cats. It is tempting to allow them to chew on left over turkey or ham bones, but please don’t! Bones tend to splinter when eaten. This can cause major internal injury or intestinal blockages. Turkey and chicken bones are especially prone to splintering, as they are fairly soft. It is best to skip bones altogether, and instead offer your pet a taste of canned pumpkin. Dogs particularly tend to love pumpkin!

Pets are often attracted to the sweet alcoholic beverages of the season. Keep any alcoholic or caffeinated drinks out of their reach! Animals are more succeptable to alcohol poisoning due to their smaller size, and caffeine can lead to heart trouble. There is no safe amount of either caffeine or alcohol.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our patients and their families! We hope your holiday is peaceful and fun!


Christmas

Christmas is an exciting time of year. The lights, decorations, presents, and food all add to the magic of the season. Even our pets love the holidays! Our furry family is often interested in sharing in the joy of a Christmas tree, and all the gifts underneath. Cats particularly like to chew on the electrical cords hanging from tree lights, and we have all had a dog tear up temping gifts from under the tree. Monitor your pets when around the tree. Chewing on cords can lead to burns or electric shocks. Some animals will even eat the bulbs of the lights themselves, and this can cause internal injury. Another overlooked danger of the tree? Ball ornaments and the wire hangers we use to hang them. Pets seem to like the feel of glass popping in their mouths, and will chew on these items. The pieces of ornament can cause intestinal blockage or injury, and some of the paint used to decorate them can be toxic. Even the water used to keep your tree fresh can be problematic. Stagnant water, or water with presevitives added can make your pet ill. Who knew a simple tree could be so dangerous?

Many of the holiday plants we bring into our homes for the season can pose a threat as well. They can be toxic to our pets if ingested. The most common offenders are: Poinsettias, Christmas Roses, Holly, Mistletoe, and all lilies. If you would like to see a more complete list of dangerous plants, please visit the ASPCA website. There you will find a comprehensive list of all poisonous plants, seasonal and otherwise.

Please enjoy your holiday season safely. Call our office if you have any questions about your animal’s health or wellbeing. We wish you a merry season!


New Years

Cold weather and fireworks are sure signs of the New Year. New Years is a holiday of new beginnings; it is a great time to make resolutions and improvements to our lives. New Years Eve can present some stresses for our pets, though. You may not realize it, but all of the noise associated with New Years parties can be scary for our pets. The loud music or fireworks, noise makers, and balloons are all common holiday items that tend to create a feeling of stress for our furry family. Make sure your pets are secure and comfortable while you celebrate. You may want to provide them a kennel to hide out in, or even just a quiet room away from the party. Remember, may of the foods and beverages enjoyed by humans on New Years are toxic to animals. Just another reason to tuck them away. If your pet is ready to join the fun, make sure to keep all food, drinks, and party favors out of their reach. This can help you towards you goal of less veterinary expenses in the new year!

Below is a small list of foods for your pet to avoid:
Grapes/Raisins
Raw Yeast Doughs
High salt and fat foods
Sugarless candy and gum
Macadamia Nuts
Avocados
Olives
Onions
Garlic
Chocolate
Caffeine
Alcohol

If you would like a more complete list, please visit the ASPCA website, www.aspca.org, or feel free to contact our office.


Summer

Summer is finally here! We are all ready to get out of our coats and into the sun, including our family pets. If you keep a few key points in mind, you can all safely enjoy the outdoors this summer together. Most important to keep in mind is the heat. Many animals cannot sweat as people do, and are not able to cool down as easily as we can. Rides in the car, while exciting, pose a significant threat. The temperatures in a parked car rise very quickly and can top 110 degrees. Just a few minutes in a parked car can kill a dog. Pedestrians and other motor vehicles can be very stressful to a dog in a parked car as well. Please do not leave your pet in a car unattended!

Summer also brings back the bugs. Make sure that you are using a heartworm preventive medication for your dog year round to protect them against unwanted parasites. If you are planning a family vacation in the woods, you may also want to consider tick prevention medications as well. There are also vaccines for giradia, lyme, and rattlesnake bites. If you would like any more information about any other these, please give us a call. We would be happy to discuss the proper preventive medicine for your dog or cat.