Welcome to Monday 10th December’s advent feature! Christmas can be an unsettling time for pets with decorations going up, furniture being moved and the home often being busier with visitors and well-wishers. It’s usually noisier too as we get together to celebrate the festive season. It’s basically all change! Here are a few things we can do to try and ensure our pets stay happy this Christmas.
Safe places
To help pets stay calm, it’s a great idea to have a quiet room they can have access to so they can take themselves away if they become anxious. Cats often feel safest up high and may like to retreat to a bed on top of a cupboard or a shelf – but do make sure it’s secure and won’t accidentally fall off. Or try placing a blanket loosely over a cardboard box filled with cosy bedding where they can hide. For dogs, make them a little den with a familiar bed and toys. Introduce your pets now to their special quiet places so they know where they can go to feel safe.
Routine
Try to maintain your pet’s normal routines, especially with feeding and going out for walks or having exercise. This will help to reduce stress.
Be a friend!
Reward good behaviour, and don’t get cross if your pet doesn’t behave the way you would like. Keeping calm will help pass good vibes to our pet – if you are tense and anxious, your pet can sense this and it can make the problem worse.
Synthetic pheromone diffusers and sprays
Some pets respond really well to diffusers like Adaptil (for dogs) and Feliway (for cats) which, when plugged in, essentially emit ‘happy messages’ into the air to help pets stay calm and cope better with stress. You will usually see a change within your pet within the first week, and recommendation is that you keep diffusers plugged in for at least a month, if not on an on-going basis, to help your pet feel more at ease.
Give us a bell or pop into the practice to find out more – we have these in stock so you can take one home and put to use straight away! Take a look too at Adaptil and Feliway’s websites for more information on how the diffusers and other related products work, and for testimonials from pet owners that use them.