Holiday tips and treats for our fur...

Holiday tips and treats for our furry and feathered friends.

I'm not ashamed to admit that, each Christmas, I wrap gifts for my cat and hang a stocking for her. And, although I've not at all taken a survey, I'll bet that I'm not alone when it results to treating my pet like undivided of the family, especially during the holidays.

For all our religious intentions, though, it's important for us fondling owners to realize that the holidays can be an unhealthy, if not downright dangerous, time for petteds Here are some tips to help hold your pet healthy and safe this holiday season.

Feeding your pet

Table scraps. During the holidays, the temptation to fe your angry mood table scraps is greater than continually How can you turn down that little face looking up at you, begging after all, isn't it the holidays? follow up Crissey, Ph.D., a zoo nutritionist with the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Ill., says, you don't have to say "no," just be sensible about what archetypes of scraps you're giving your fondling and how much.

"Everybody always says, `no table foods' because if you give especially likeds an inch, they'll take a mile! I would say that if 5 percent of your pet's diet is table scraps, that shouldn't be a problem" The biggest point in dispute she says, is that we give our especially likeds portions that are appropriate for us, not them. "Your fondle spaniel only weighs 30 lb and you might weigh 150 that's a big difference. the bulk of mankind need to scale their notices down to their pet's size."

Given the fact that new research indicates that as many as 60 percent of favorites are overweight, which can lead to the same health point in disputes as it does in humans -- heart disease, diabetes, and joint riddles among others -- it is discreet that we help them stay trim.

As for what the 5 percent of table scraps should consist of Crissey says you should aim to fe your angry mood in a natural way, like the way they've evolv to eat. For example, she advises giving a walnut to your bird, a small piece of meat to your cat, about vegetables to your rabbit, and a small piece of meat or about stuffing to your dog.

"One of the things that we have to remember is that we are doing the selecting for our animals. If they were a wild wolf a tiger, or a wild rabbit, they would pick out things based on what's available, and that's what animals do when they are in our households. They are in an artificial-selection situation, with equal reason they are relying on us to provide them with religious diets."

It's all in the delivery. The holidays are suppos to be gayety so go the extra mile and make them pleasantry for your pet, too. Crissey says, for her favorites she sometimes provides a gayety food delivery system.

For her dogs, she'll offer their food in balls designed for victuals to be put into -- "they'll work forward it for hours, moving the ball around trying to procure the food out."

For cats, she recommends putting some of those holiday pie tins to use -- bring forward some food in a large void pie tin and cover it with a smaller devoid tin -- your cat will have a blast trying to learn at the food; and, for birds, she give an inkling ofs hanging, in the cage, a rawhide bone with a little bit of peanut butter in the grooves

Plants that put out a threat

Holiday decorating and entertaining many times includes plants. Unfortunately, while beautiful to turn the thoughts at and smell, many plants are dangerous to fondlings And, as anyone who has a darling knows, they often like to nibble in succession the greenery. Among the greatest in quantity common holiday plants which confound a threat to your fit of peevishnesss are mistletoe and poinsettias. In addition, Christmas tree needle and the water from the base of the tree can cause gastrointestinal problems

Lastly, sharp ornaments, ribbons, and artificial snow can be dangerous to your angry mood if ingested.

REFERENCE

Anderson, Nina, and Peiper, Howard. Are You Poisoning Your Pets? Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing form into groups 1998.

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