Hello! I'm Simon. Welcome to Simon's Cat Logic.
We'll be finding out from a cat expert my cats behave the way they do. Today we're finding out about seasonal safety.
Well Christmas time must be quite confusing if you're a cat.
The humans bring in a great big tree from outside and they fill it for a lots of little dangling, swinging toys.
What could possibly go wrong?
The holiday season can be a fun time of year, but it can also pose some challenges for your cat.
Many owners wonder how to keep their cats safe over Christmas,
and for many cats the focus is the Christmas tree!
Although cats may be tempted to climb the Christmas tree,
we really recommend you don't let them them do this.
Make sure the tree has a sturdy base on it to prevent it from toppling over,
in case your cat decides to climb the tree whilst your backs turned.
It's worth remembering that some decorations can be hazardous and cause injury,
such as baubles or tinsel.
So it's worth keeping them out of your cat's reach
and making sure cat doesn't play with them.
Cats may be drawn towards ribbons
and particular unwrapped presents and gifts.
This can pose a danger if they chew or swallow them.
So it's always best to keep the presents out of your cat's reach.
[Other things to avoid]
It's not so commonly known that a number of festive plants are can be potentially
fatal to cats, such as Mistletoe, Ponssettia, Holly, Ivy and Christmas roses.
So make sure these are moved out the way as well.
You may be tempted to share some of your festive food with your cats
and it's okay to give them a little bit of cooked turkey, just make sure there aren't any bones in there.
Whilst your cat can have a bit of Turkey as a treat, it's best to
keep human food off the menu particularly chocolate as it's poisonous to cats.
[It's PARTY SEASON!]
During the festive periods you may well have lots of visitors around to the house,
including some people that may be unfamiliar to your cat.
If you're having a party or your household is busy and noisy then remember your cat may not want to join in.
There are lots of things you can do to make it less stressful for your cat.
Such as avoiding the use of party poppers, fireworks and
making sure there's a safe quiet room for your cats to retreat too, to avoid all the action!
[BANG!]
You can make their safe room more familiar to your cat by making sure
their food bowl, water bowl and litter tray are easily accessible to them.
As well as giving them somewhere to hide and get up high.
If you know they're going to be fireworks outside it's always best to keep your cat safely indoors,
before it starts to get dark.
Cats may find the noise of fireworks scary and stressful.
You can reduce the outside noise by making sure curtains are drawn and
playing soft soothing music in the background.
Of course if they're going to be kept inside, then they need to have access to a litter tray
to avoid any accidents.
[Going away for Christmas?]
If you're thinking of going away, ensure to get a trusted friend, relative or
professional pet sitter visits your cat daily to make sure they're okay and look after their daily needs.
Alternatively you may wish to consider putting your cat in a good reputable, cattery while you're away.
You may wish to buy a present for your cat too.
So something like a catnip toy mouse, or, even some feeding enrichment.
We put food on the top. Or, a fishing rod toy.
Any of these would make a perfect gift for your cat to enjoy.
The first Christmas after we got Hugh, we got a big tree from outside and brought in
and little Hugh who was a kitten at the time, was absolutely fascinated with this big tree
and all the little things hanging off it.
We soon found out he was a bit of a climber!
Well even though he was just a tiny little black kitten, he's still managed
to pull this huge tree down, with all the decorations crashing everywhere and
sending them flying here, there and everywhere!
So the year after, we decided to downsize.
And we got a little tiny Christmas tree,
which he still tried to climb but, not to the same effect.
So Hugh loves Christmas and he loves Christmas trees.
It's Hugh that's given me lots of inspiration for my Simon's Cat Christmas films.