5 Tips For A Safe And Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Your Cat | Lola The Rescued Cat
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

5 Tips For A Safe And Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Your Cat

With Thanksgiving upon us, we're sharing our Thanksgiving safety tips for you and your cats.  Lola, Lexy, and are so grateful for your friendship and your continued support of our blog. We I wish all of our friends who celebrate a blessed Thanksgiving full of happiness, and we give thanks to all of our friends and followers who make this blog possible. We appreciate you all. 

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, it’s important to remember a few tips to keep our kitties safe during the holiday. 

Five Tips For A Save And Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Your Cat





Centerpieces

Many people may not realize that our centerpieces can be hazardous to our furry children.  Lit candles can be a big danger to your cat as well as your house.  If you’re planning on lighting candles please make sure your cat is locked safely in another room.  And please don’t forget that certain flowersand plants are toxic. 


Food Packaging and STRING

Another thing to be mindful of is the packaging for the turkey and other food wrappings. Strings from the turkey can be very tempting, and dangerous as well.  Foil, wax paper and other wrappings can cause intestinal blockages.  It is important to make sure these items are securely thrown away in the garbage and kitty has no access to the garbage can.  


People Food

The smells of the turkey wafting through the house may cause kitty’s mouth to water, but all the fixings that go with it should be off limits.  It’s OK to give your cat a piece of turkey (with no skin and definitely no bones), but please hold the stuffing.  Stuffing often contains onions and garlic, both of which contain a substance that destroys red blood cells, thus causing anemia.  And hold the fatty foods, too (such as gravies and rich sauces.) These can cause severe gastrointestinal distress such as vomiting and diarrhea. 


Desserts

You should watch the desserts as well.  Chocolate and raisins can be toxic, and nuts and dairy can cause digestive upset.  If you’re unsure if your cat ingested something that can cause problems, the ASPCA has a poison control hotline that you can call. 


Intruders

If your cat doesn't like strangers, expected changes in their environment, or noise, give her a little bit of zen by setting her up in a quiet room with her litter box, food and plenty of water.  And don't forget her favorite toys and bed or blankie. It's also important to make sure the room is off limits to your company. (We don't want kitty trying to make a run for the front door because she's been spooked.) Many years ago (about 25, actually!) we had a cat who was very frightened of loud noised and a house full of people. We would set her up in a bedroom with everything that she could need, which made her a very happy cat. 


I hope these tips are helpful for you. I don’t usually cook Thanksgiving dinner at my house (mainly because my apartment is too small to fit my entire family), but I’ll make sure Lola and Lexy get turkey and giblets Fancy Feast. And of course, I’ll smuggle home some of my sister's juicy turkey for them to enjoy.

Are you having company for Thanksgiving this year? Do you have any plans to make the day stress free for your furry friend? 

Dawn

References: 
ASPCA
Banfield Pet Hospital
Pet Wave
North Shore Animal League

Photo Credits: 
Anna Maloverjan via Shutterstock
Michael Pettigrew via Shutterstock
Olesya Kuznetsova via Shutterstock
Steve Maskell via Flickr

Would you like to comment?

  1. Oh, Lola ... that first picture makes me want to reach out and pet you! You are such a pretty girl. Ellie reminds me of you ... she squawks at us when she wants to be picked up. This post is the perfect reminder for us humans - thank you for putting it together.

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  2. those are some pawesome tips and the photo with the turkey is my fave lol. We aren't having anyone here, we are going to my sister-in-laws and I am making 4 dishes to bring! Happy Thanksgiving! catchatwithcarenandcody

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  3. Thise are all good but extra whipped cream also helps!

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  4. Great reminders ! They can apply to many holidays ! Purrs

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  5. It's just gonna be da 4 peeps here - no strangers invadin!

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  6. lola N lexy....headz up.....de bass terd gobbler iz comin two yur houz ina manner of moe mintz......pleez pree pare....now ~~~~ ☺☺♥♥

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  7. Thanks Lola and Dawn. We hope you have a safe happy day and that your sister sends you home with plenty of leftovers.
    xxoo
    Maggie, Mickey Mouser, and Rufus the Red

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  8. Thanks for these reminders. Our peeps are going somewhere else for dinner, so we don't have to worry about a lot of these, especially intruders coming in our house.

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  9. Happy Thanksgiving. Glad L & L will get some mouth-watering turkey. Luckily our turkey isn't tied with string or I could floss with it.

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  10. Great tips! I had a Thanksgiving scare several years ago. It was cold enough outside that I had been thawing the turkey out in the garage. On Thanksgiving morning I went out to get it, opened the back door holding a 15 pound bird, and Angel Tara ran out the door! What was a cat mom to do but throw the turkey in the back door (quite loudly my dad told me afterwards) and grab the cat! It was quite funny after I had my heart attack.

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  11. Excellent tips, there are so many dangers. I hope you and your kitties have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  12. These are very good tips. I think it's a very good idea to set up a kitty in private room. We aren't having company, but if we were, I'd do just that. I also like your idea of the FF Turkey and Giblets. I hope you, Lola, and Lexy kitties have a happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. My human is popping over to a friend's house (with store bought pumpkin pies and whipped cream), so hopefully she will bring home some turkey! Well, she had better, MOL! There probably won't be a lot of dangerous stuff for kitties there because her friend is a responsible cat owner... but you know my human will keep her eyes peeled!

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  14. Great tips. We're fankful and blest to have ya'll as furiends. We're our furmily, so we spend all da holidays together, purretty much just like every other day. MOL And most of da time, holidyas are just like any other day. But fanks to furiends, we're all gonna have a bite of turkey tom lurkey. Have a happy and Blest Fanksgivin'. Big hugs

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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  15. Great tips! We rarely ever host Thanksgiving, so our cats aren't stressed on the big day. But at least they can enjoy the leftover turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  16. Most excellent tips! It is always a challenge with pets and holidays. Especially if they are new to your household, or there are changes - such as having the whole family come over instead of going to their place.
    Happy Thanksgiving
    Purrs
    Marv

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  17. Those are very important tips to keep us safe! We won't have guests over but our mommy is a worry wart so she took notes!

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  18. These are great safety tips, guys! Such important reminders to every pet owner. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! We are so grateful to have furiends like you!

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  19. Thank you for the great tips, Dawn! We are so grateful for you, and for your friendship. We love you guys, and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  20. Thanks for all the great tips!
    Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving...

    Noodle and crew

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  21. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend! :)

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  22. Well said! As someone who just helped nurse a kitty through a mysterious injury, I can say with confidence that one can never be too careful!

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

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  23. My cat is the most laid back cat in the world, but I'm going to share these tips with my mom for her foster kitty. I know that they will be helpful over the Christmas holiday too.

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