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1. Routine health care
It is important to continue to treat for internal and external parasites throughout the winter months. Worming needs to be carried out every three months (more frequently for puppies and kittens) and the frequency of flea treatments depend on the type of product used. Your vet will give you the dosage frequency at the time of purchase. Getting the right product for your pet is also very important, so please seek veterinary advice and purchase your flea and worm treatments from your vet.
It is also very important to ensure vaccinations are kept up to date, particularly bear this in mind if your pet is going into boarding kennels over the Christmas holiday period.
If you are introducing a new pet at Christmas, it is advisable to book an appointment with your vet to ensure vaccinations are given at the correct time and that the pet is healthy.
2. Shelter
Pets need to have a warm, dry place to shelter from winter weather. Clean, dry bedding and fresh food and water are basic requirements for your pets’ wellbeing, but unfortunately can get overlooked during busy times.
Very old and very young animals are particularly vulnerable as they cannot regulate their body temperature.
3. Diet
The number of cases of digestive upsets increases over the Christmas period. Rich human diets are totally unsuitable for our pets. Animals cannot digest the vast range of different food types that humans eat, so try to continue your pets’ diet as normal. A little piece of turkey as a treat on Christmas Day would suffice for most pets.
It is also important to remember that certain foods are toxic to pets, for example: raisins, chocolate (dark chocolate in particular), onions and garlic.
4. Poisons
Winter is also a time when we see an increase in accidental poisonings in pets. Over the past number of weeks we have treated several dogs with rat bait poisoning. Warfarin is usually the active ingredient in rat baits and prevents the blood from clotting. Treatment normally involves inducing vomiting (if the animal has ingested the bait recently) and administering Vitamin K.
Anti-freeze poisoning is another common occurrence, often in cats as they seem to find it particularly palatable. The outcome is often fatal in cases of anti-freeze ingestion, so it is important to keep these products in a safe place, away from pets.
5. Foreign bodies
This is a term your vet uses when an object has found its way into your pets’ body, usually having been eaten by your pet. This is often the case at Christmas, when a new toy or Christmas decoration has been investigated and eaten by a pet and becomes lodged in their intestine. The foreign body then has to be surgically removed. Obviously prevention is better than cure, so make sure to keep items out of pets’ reach where possible.
Jennie Milligan is a vet at Cavan Pet Hospital - www.cavanpethospital.ie
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