This post is sponsored by Royal Canin. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Royal Canin’s veterinary-exclusive gastrointestinal diet, but all opinions are my own. Royal Canin is not responsible for the content of this article.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We are just days away from Halloween festivities, immediately followed by Dia de los Muertos, which my family has started to celebrate, and then it’s full steam ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is a time for much joy and laughter and family time, and that usually means that folks are either traveling to see you or you are traveling to see them.
As you make holiday travel plans for the upcoming months, I want to highly encourage you to take some measures to ensure the health and well-being of your pets. We had a very sick cat during the holidays last year, and in fact, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Rose the morning of the day we were leaving for our holiday vacation when the vet discovered that she had an incurable disease that she was already dying from. It was a horribly sad time, but we were thankful that our vet worked us in for an emergency appointment that morning because it ultimately meant that we were able to say our goodbyes and end Rose’s suffering and not cause our pet sitter to have to deal with a very sad situation while we were gone.
The holidays can be a very stressful time for pets. Many pets are keenly aware of when their owners are preparing to leave . If your pets experience separation anxiety, it can start even before you leave, with an upset stomach and diarrhea. But there are some steps you can take to help ease a pet’s anxious feelings and to help ensure their overall safety this time of year.
One important step you can take is to make sure that toxic pet foods are out of reach this time of year, especially the hazardous items like chocolate, unbaked dough and macadamia nuts. If your kids are going trick-or-treating, for example, it is SO important that they not keep their candy bags on the floor or on any other surface that a pet could easily access.
Another step to take is to be mindful of the impact your routine is having on your pets. The holidays often cause us to change our schedules, and sometimes rather dramatically, with trips and events filling up our calendars and our pets not seeing as much of us as they typically do. Take care this time of year to spend some special time with your animals and give them some attention and love, because they are missing you!
Should you notice irregular behavior with your pets, especially poor appetite or vomiting (or hiding all day in the case of cats; cats hide when they are sick), do not wait to take them in to the vet until it is almost time for you to go out of town, as it can lead to extra stress for everyone.
And finally, take particular care with the food you choose to offer to your pets. Royal Canin™ has a line of veterinary-exclusive Gastrointestinal™ formulas that provide multiple options for individualized nutritional solutions for cats and dogs experiencing gastrointestinal issues. If you know that your pets feel the stress of the holiday season, this is a great proactive step you can take to help ensure that the digestive tract is running smoothly. To learn more about GI issues, check out MyPetReference.com and you can ask your vet about Royal Canin.
I’m going to purchase some of this product specifically with my older cat, Hattie, in mind. If we leave the house for more than 24 hours, there’s pretty much a 100% chance that she will throw up while we are gone. I used to think of it as a weird little cat quirk, but now I realize that it’s evidence of the stress she feels while we are away. This product might help ease some of her physical symptoms while we are gone.
I hope your holidays are full of cheer this year! And I hope that your pets feel happy and at ease, too!
