Keep Your Pet Safe this
Have you thought about how it will affect your Pet?
Halloween is a crazy and fun time for humans, but for our pets it’s a completely different story – they can become confused and scared by all the different goings-on in their house. Parents are busier than usual making outfits for their kids, preparing food etc., and the kids are hyped up by all this activity. Their anticipation and excitement heightens as Halloween night approaches. Of course, everyone is so busy and pre-occupied with the preparations that our pet is often neglected at this time; they cannot understand what’s going on, why everyone is so excited, and they feel very confused.
So what can we do to keep our pets safe and secure?
1. Keep your pet in a safe place to avoid him getting stressed – as far away from the front door as possible; a back bedroom would be ideal, or an upstairs bedroom would be even better. Close the curtains to keep out the noises of the front doorbell ringing constantly and strange voices – people’s voices get louder when they are in party mode!
2. Pets can knock over lighted pumpkins, so they should be kept out of your pet’s reach. As we all know, cats are very curious and may want to investigate a lighted pumpkin and run the risk of getting burnt, so instead of using a candle, use one of those luminous sticks that glow in the dark – a great idea – and a lot safer, both for our kids and our pets!
3. Chocolate can be harmful to animals, so don’t be tempted to give your pet a “treat” just because it’s Halloween! Be careful where you put any plastic candy wrappers or cellophane, as your pet could be in danger if he swallows them. Remember – if you drop anything on the floor, it’s like a magnet for your pet. He will lick it up or try to chew it – and worse, even swallow it – so teach the kids that anything to be thrown away goes straight into the rubbish bin – out of harms way!
4. Party lights are very common on Halloween night so make sure all electrical cords and wires are well out of reach for the sake of both your pets and your kids. If your pet chews on an electrical cord, the result could prove deadly.
5. Some people act quite strangely on Halloween night and do things they wouldn’t normally do – it’s been known for people to steal animals on this night, and sadly, black cats are a prime target because of the superstition that goes with black cats. Some people will tease or even injure your pet, so keep your pets inside where they are safe and therefore cannot be the target of pranksters. Sadly, many pets are injured on this holiday in thoughtless and harmful pranks.
6. Kids want to take your dog trick-or-treating? Definitely not! The flashing lights and sounds of fireworks are very frightening to animals, and often cause them to run away to find a place to hide where they feel safe. Dogs may become uncontrollable, and may bite because of their fear. Cats should also be kept indoors at all times for their own safety.
7. If you have a pet bird, throw a cover over the cage to keep out the noise of the fireworks and the bright lights; they too can become easily stressed by it all.
It’s not only dogs, cats and birds that are afraid of the noise and flashing lights from fireworks on this night – or any night for that matter – the same applies to horses, chickens goats, etc.
The overall rule is basically to keep all animals contained in a safe place on Halloween night – for their own protection.
They look to us to protect them, so let’s not let them down.
Then you can enjoy Halloween night knowing that your pets are safe and sound!
Thanks for the tips.
Here in India on the festival of diwali…when firecrackers are burnt in tons…these would definitely come in handy.
The sound of hundreds of firecrackers going off would be terrifying for any animal.
A very nice offering with a very positive edge to it
Androgoth Xx
Glad you popped in Andro!
Great tips! One of our dogs has a serious dislike for fireworks. He shivers a lot and hides under things. Our dog trainer told us not to pander to his fear with attention as he will expect that each time there’s a bang outside. Instead we show we’re not scared, play with him to take his mind of the noises and generally get on with things as normal, then he will see (in theory) that everything is just fine.
Our other dog, however, appears to love fireworks! She gallops around barking each time one goes off, wagging tail and happy face! Strange how they are so different.
Both of our dogs hate the loud noises that come with fireworks, and would try to hide in a dark corner of the house, and yet only one of them was scared of thunder and lightning.
I suppose dogs are no different to humans about how they react to things Dave Go figure!
our black cat came through without much trouble. she was hidden 6 hours in the book shelf (we had too much guests during my Halloween party …)
Cats are good at finding a safe, quiet hiding place frizz!
Not nagging but isn’t it time for another post??????
Hahaha – you’re right, it is – and I don’t mind you nagging one little bit!
I haven’t got my mojo back into gear since I returned from my UK trip. However, I do have one in the pipeline; it will be ready sooooooon!
Excellent and very informative article. It is important to keep your pets safe and it requires forethought
Thanks Rayya – I appreciate your input.
Thanks so much for taking time to post these very useful tips for everyone to see! For me personally, I live by these tips. Halloween can be fun for us humans, but can also be very scary for our pets. Halloween is big over here in the US. And these tips serve as a reminder that we can’t forget the rest of our family!
No worries, we just need to be reminded from time to time, being mere humans!
I have one black cat that I keep indoors and he was safe….I know that you care and I am so happy for your post…look at the comments….Love ya, Jackie
I’m glad you kept your black cat safe indoors on Halloween night Jackie -wish there were more responsible pet owners like you.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great advice for all festive holidays! Thanks for reminding everyone Barb.
Thanks shell – reminders are necessary with humans!
Great tips Barb.
Thank heavens Halloween is not such a big deal here though kids have caught onto the trick or treat thing.
I hate Guy Fawkes with an absolute passion.
Same here granny – Halloween isn’t a big thing in Oz, and Guy Fawkes is practically non-existent, thank goodness; I could never understand why it was celebrated in the first place. I guess we should be thankful for small mercies!
Excellent tips for everyone; especially for those who will celebrate Halloween or Guy Fawkes night. It will be quiet in these quarters as the snow clears up.
Sorry to hear you have snow so early Eliz. At least it kept Halloween quiet for you.
Wonderful information, thank you for sharing it
Thanks Cathy, hopefully it will help.
I wish every dog and cat family would read and heed this. We don’t have trick-or-treaters where we live and all our grands go to inside festivities so we don’t have to worry about anything happening with our fur babes. Great post! Hugs
Thanks Mumsy. Inside festivities sound like a much better idea all round!
Tigger loved all the Trick or Treaters . . . but our previous cats did NOT like unexpected visitors, so we kept them tucked away on Halloween . . . or I sat outside to meet and greet kids BEFORE they rang the doorbell.
Good tips, Barb!
You were very thoughtful to your previous cats need Nancy – wish more people were like you!
This is such great advice, Barb. I think lots of well-intentioned pet owners don’t realize the stress their animals can be under during the holidays. Halloween is the first in a long line of holiday “disturbances” for pets – right through to New Year’s, things get kind of crazy. Here in the States we also have Thanksgiving tossed in, and lots of people share holiday turkey with their dogs, which is also dangerous for them. Besides the dangers of the kind you mention, there’s also the weight gain issue for pets – so many of them pack on extra pounds during the holidays because of well-intended handouts from their families and dinner guests. Great topic!
Thanks RD, you bring out some more good points about the over-feeding of our pets at any big holiday whether it’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year. With all the extra food in the house, it’s hard not to give our pet some extra tid-bits as well – but not good for our pets.
I didn’t think Halloween would be as stressful as bonfire night but I guess any change can distrub them. Good advice!
Bonfire night will soon follow in the UK on 5th November and I remember it well – the noise of all those fireworks would be very stressful for animals.
Halloween is just as bad for our pets – the constant stream of ‘trick or treaters’ at the front door, voices raised with excitement, is very stressful to animals. Noises from fireworks, loud bangs – the list goes on.
Hi,
Thank You for the great tips, and Happy Halloween, I hope you enjoy your night.
Thanks Mags! Did you have a good night?
What I have noticed recently, Barb, is that many non-pet owners don’t have a clue how much stress they cause animals – or even that they cause stress at all – with the big bang fireworks and the rockets that explode in mid-air! It is up to us to get the scourge of noisy fireworks banned totally. It’s more than about time! Money going up in smoke with the price of food and necessities being what it is, is disgraceful!
My sentiments exactly Denise . . . and you are right – many non-pet owners don’t have a clue how much stress they can cause to animals – that’s why I wrote to post, as a reminder to us all to just think about how it does affect our pets.
Thanks so much for these helpful reminders to take extra care with our pets on holidays. I agree with Tilly Bud about editing and re-posting in December.
That is my intention, to edit and re-post for Christmas.
This is excellent advice, Barb; and some of it is relevant to Christmas, so it might be worth editing and re-posting in December.
Thanks.
Thanks Tilly!
I agree, some of it is relevant for Christmas, and I will be editing this one and re-posting in December.