Give Your Kitty a Magical – and Safe – Holiday with Tips from Me and PetMD

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The holidays are here, and I hope you have lots of good things planned with your loved ones — including your cats! While many cats may not be fond of guests coming and going, or maybe some of their favorite furniture getting moved around, there are lots of fun activities that they will enjoy! Here are some ways you can give your cats a safe and happy time, courtesy of me and PetMD.

Let your cat help supervise your present wrapping! We kitties love wrapping paper, and we would be really disappointed to be left out of what many humans consider to be a chore! If your cat tends to micromanage the wrapping process, you can always let her have her own box, wrapping paper and tissue paper to keep her occupied.
Decorate your tree with lots of cat toys! The best part of using cat toys as ornaments is that not only are they colorful, they are safe for your cat if she wants to knock them off the branch! Also, it is a good idea to use a fake tree because real pine needles can make us sick, as can the water at the base of a live tree. Also never, ever use tinsel or any sharp decorations that might harm us.
Avoid dressing up your home with things that might be dangerous for cats. Lit candles can set a tail on fire, potpourri is toxic, and real mistletoe is poisonous. Here is an article from PetMD that lists more holiday dangers to watch out for.
When you are preparing holiday dinners, always make sure there are good treats for your cat too! When my human was growing up, it was a holiday tradition to cook the turkey giblets, liver and heart separately and cut some of it up for the cats (the rest went in the stuffing). Just make sure that anything you give your cats doesn’t contain anything really bad for them, such as onions, garlic, alcohol or chocolate. It is okay to give them something that might be just a teensy bit bad, like a taste of whipped cream (but just a taste). My human has been known to whip up some heavy cream from scratch, without sugar, just for us kitties. It’s the holidays, so it is okay to indulge a little! But be careful not to give your cat too much rich food, or too many treats they aren’t used to because it might give them a stomach upset!

Give your cats the right kinds of gifts! Meaning no outfits. I am okay with wearing outfits, but even I would think that was a bad gift. I would much rather have a new cat toy, or a cool scratching post or cat tree. Cat treats are always welcome too! If you want some cat gift suggestions, here are some from PetMD.
Also give your cat (and yourself) the gift of time. During the holidays, you may think you have less time to spend with your cat, but on the contrary, you should be hanging out with your kitty more. Quality feline time lowers stress and blood pressure, so it would do you good to schedule in playtime with your cat, and give her a nice rub down session and some skritches too. It will help you forget about all the holiday craziness, the short tempers and the crowds, at least for a little while.

I hope you and your kitties are having an awesome holiday season! If you have any more holiday suggestions for kitties, I would love to hear them!

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