Halloween is right around the corner!
Are you ready to make an epic trick-or-treat run, gather loads of candies, and satiate your sweet tooth?
Halloween is a day jammed-packed with joy and fun for families, especially children; it can be a nightmare for our pets. As teams of children come knocking at our doors looking for candies, our pets get overwhelmed—our dogs start barking, and cats meowing to alert us that someone has arrived at the doorstep. And if our pets discover the stash of Halloween candies, it may make things real scary, real fast and lead our pets to the comma if they manage to eat candies or chocolates containing artificial sweeteners.
Read on our tips and tricks to make this Halloween safer and stress-free for your pet.
No Candies for Pooches and Kitties
Candies are a big no-no for dogs as well as cats. Chocolate is outrightly toxic to pets; sweet candies can upset our pets’ stomachs, and treats containing xylitol are life-threatening. More so, the swallowing of candy wrappers and tinfoil poses a choking hazard to our pets.
No Pumpkins for Pets
Pumpkins are not toxic for cats and dogs. In fact, in small amounts, pumpkins make a great treat for our pets. But if consumed in excess, they can cause an upset stomach. So, it would help if you kept the carved pumpkins out of your pet’s reach. More so, all the decorative-lit-pumpkins should also be kept out of pets’ reach. Otherwise, they may knock them over, burn themselves or cause a fire.
Put Glow Sticks in Pet-Proof Cabinets Away From Your Pets’ Reach
Halloween glow sticks make going through darkening streets more fun. But as your kids get home with their bags full of sweet candies, you should put glow sticks away; somewhere your pets cannot reach. If a pet, especially a cat, gets her paws on it and starts nibbling on it, she may puncture the stick and get a taste of the bitter liquid inside. This can make your pet hyper, drool, and run around the house like crazy.
Don’t Take Pets Out in the Yard
On Halloween nights, pranksters target family pets, especially black cats. Unfortunately, these pranks often take the form of cruelty-related incidents. More so, all the hustle and bustle out there can spike up the stress level of your pets and make them restless and anxious. Therefore, you should keep your pet indoors.
Keep Your Dog Away From the Door in a Quiet and Safe Place
Trick-or-treaters constantly knocking on your door and ringing your doorbell, and too many strangers coming to your house can be stressful for your furry friends. Overwhelmed with all the commotion or maybe spooked by some stranger kid’s costume or some noise, your pet may run outside the front door. So, you should keep your dog away from the door, somewhere safe and quiet.
Careful With the Electric Decorations
Halloween is incomplete without decorations. The electric decorations lighting up our homes and streets make Halloween night livelier, but the electric cords can be dangerous for our pets, for who everything is something to on. So, we should keep all electric cords and wires away from our pets’ reach.
Do Not Make Your Pet Wear a Halloween Costume if They Don’t Seem to Like It
Costumes are fun for us humans, but the same cannot be said about our pets. Costumes can be unsafe and itchy for our feline and canine friends. So, it is best that if they do not seem to like a costume, we do not force it on them. Moreover, it is advised that we try our pets’ Halloween costumes well before the big day arrives. If you have costumed your pet, you should supervise them all the time, and if they act unusually, you should take your cue and strip them. If your pet is not like the costume, you may try a festive bandana.
Never Take Your Pet Out for Trick-Or-Treating
Streets on Halloween nights are really spooky, more for our pets than us. Out on the streets on a Halloween night, our dogs may get too excited or get spooked and start running and jumping around and might bite someone. The same can be the case with our cats, and then pranksters may also target them. Therefore, we should keep our pets inside the home, where it is safe.
Make Sure Your Pets Are Wearing Their ID Tags
Our four-legged friends are unpredictable, and on a night like Halloween, with all the commotion in the house and out on the streets, expecting our pets to stay put would be a tad bit unrealistic, especially if we do not put them in a safe and quiet place away from the front door. Therefore, we should pet id tags and collars around our pets’ necks. It would be best if you also double-check your contact info and address on tags.
Use Calming Treats to calm your pet
The commotion of Halloween can make our pets anxious and stressed out. Therefore, we should offer our pets some calming treats to help them stay calm amid the commotion.
Stash the leftover candies in a pet-proof cabinet
Even when Halloween night is over, you should stash the leftover candies in a place where your pets cannot reach. If your cat or dog get their paws on the stash, they will get in serious trouble.
We hope these tips help you on Halloween. Wishing you a night full of frights and a bag full of delights!