The Holidays are a special and wonderful time of the year, but also can present some very unique problems for our pets, some of which can be quite serious and even fatal.

1. Keep holiday decorations out of your pet’s reach. Pets are intrigued by the decorations and they often ingest them out of curiosity. Tinsel presents a serious hazard especially for cats that tend to play with it and ingest it. This can lead to a bowel obstruction and even perforation. The same applies to ribbon and thread. Although it is not as common in dogs they can ingest ornaments and tinsel. Also, snow globes and artificial snow can contain chemicals harmful to you pet.

2. Place holiday plants up high. Poinsettias, holly mistletoe, lilies, Christmas greens and other Holiday plants can be very toxic to your pets when ingested.

3. Parties and pets. We all love a Holiday party and so do most of our pets, although most cats will get away at the first sign of excessive activity. Put your pets in a quiet, safe location away from the crowd. It will protect your pets from eating "party food" or accidentally escaping when a door is opened.

4. Don’t feed table scraps and Holiday "goodies." All of the cookies, candies and other food we eat at Holiday time are just not good for our pets. And this applies to our pets year round, but there it is more likely for us to give our pets table food and treats during this time of year. Remember that the digestive system of dogs and cats is not used to these kinds of foods and serious gastrointestinal disease can result from the wrong kinds of food.