Festive Cheer Without Pet Fear:
Caring for Pets at Christmas
The festive season brings joy and excitement, but it can also be overwhelming for pets at Christmas. Changes in routines, unfamiliar guests, and festive decorations can create challenges for dogs, cats, and parrots. By planning ahead and addressing their unique needs, you can ensure a safe and enjoyable Christmas for all household members—furry, feathered, or otherwise.
1. Creating a Safe and Comfortable Space
All pets at Christmas benefit from having a quiet retreat where they can relax when the festivities become overwhelming.
- Dogs:
Create a cosy space, such as a bed or an open crate, in a quiet area of your home. Add familiar bedding, toys, and fresh water. A DIY “doggy den” made from blankets, cushions, and a sturdy table provides an inviting place to escape. You could prepare this in advance in the weeks leading up to the festivities and encourage your dog to use it by providing a chew in it each evening and reading a book by the den yourself.
- Parrots:
Position your parrot’s cage in a calmer area of the house but still close enough to observe family activities. Cover part of the cage to provide security, and include favourite toys and perches.
- Cats:
Cats feel secure when they can retreat to high or hidden spots. Provide igloo beds, cardboard boxes, cat towers, or elevated pathways, such as along the tops of wardrobes or shelves, so they can navigate the house and feel secure – again set these up several weeks in advance. Use familiar bedding to make these spaces appealing. Keep Feliway Optimum diffusers plugged in and on several weeks in advance and then over the festive period, particularly in the room your cat enjoys hanging out in the most and the room where the tree will be. Set up extra resources for them in other spaces, i.e. spare litter trays and food and water stations.
2. Maintaining Routines for Pets at Christmas
Pets thrive on routine, and disruptions during the festive season can cause stress.
- Dogs and Cats:
Stick to regular feeding, exercise, and play schedules. A predictable routine helps pets feel secure, even amidst holiday chaos. - Parrots:
Keep feeding, handling, and sleep schedules consistent. Parrots are particularly sensitive to changes, so maintaining a routine is essential for reducing stress. Don’t forget that sleeping in a quiet, darkened room at set times is so important for birds.
3. Including Pets in Festive Preparations
Holiday preparations can be exciting for pets, but they also come with potential stressors.
- Dogs:
Let your dog “help” if they wish to by allowing them to sit nearby during decorating. If they get over-excited, provide a calming distraction like a stuffed Kong or a long-lasting chew. A walk beforehand can help them stay relaxed. - Cats:
Supervise cats around Christmas trees to prevent accidents. Secure the tree to prevent toppling and provide alternative climbing spots like a cat tree. Gradual introductions to rearranged furniture or decorations help ease anxiety.
- Parrots:
Gradually introduce your parrot to new decorations, allowing them to observe from a safe distance. Reward calm behaviour with treats, and avoid exposing them to loud noises or sudden changes. Alternatively, consider leaving the bird’s room undecorated – certainly not fairy-lights or tinsel around cages. Some birds can thrive as part of the preparations, so be led by your individual bird – give them a choice. If you’re not sure how to read their signs, keep them in a quiet space.
Decorating & Celebrating Safely
Holiday decorations and foods can pose hazards to pets, so take precautions to keep them safe.
- Decorations: Secure large and hanging decorations from curious critters. Avoid glass ornaments, tinsel, and fake snow, which can cause injuries or blockages if ingested. Protect wires and lights from curious pets.
- Festive plants & scents: Keep toxic plants like poinsettias, mistletoe, and holly out of reach. Avoid scented candles, essential oils, and air fresheners near parrots, as their respiratory systems are highly sensitive.
- Food and Drinks: Keep festive foods like chocolate, raisins, and alcohol far from pets, as they are toxic to dogs, cats, and parrots.
Keep birds out of the kitchen to prevent cooking fumes from adversely affecting their health.
Too much cheer? If your pet could be especially sound-sensitive, avoid crackers, party poppers and loud music.
4. Managing Visitors and Pets at Christmas
Unfamiliar guests, new things and increased activity can overwhelm pets. Always keep a door open, so your pet can choose to take themselves off elsewhere if they choose. If they do, discourage others from following them.
- Dogs:
Stick to their usual routine before guests arrive. Provide a safe retreat or distraction during gatherings, like a puzzle toy. If children visit, teach them to respect the dog’s space, avoid approaching while the dog is eating or sleeping, and never leave children unsupervised with dogs.
- Cats:
Allow cats to approach visitors on their own terms. Encourage guests to offer treats or toys from a distance to create positive associations – allow your cat to choose whether to approach your guests and initiate contact (not the other way around!). Use barriers, such as baby gates, to allow cats to escape from the commotion if they wish. Preparing your feline resources before any guests sleeping in their favourite spare room will again help.
- Parrots:
Keep your parrot’s cage in a quieter area of the home and limit access for visitors. Ensure doors and windows are secure to prevent accidental escapes when guests arrive or leave. Remember, they are sensitive to high-frequency sounds or electronic visuals, and we detect them in a very different way. So keep birds away from TVs and speakers.
Visiting Others with Pets at Christmas
- Avoid leaving your pet home alone for too long, whether furry or feathered. Booking a professional pet sitter or a familiar neighbour to pop in to check on your pet can help ease some of the stress. Just be sure to gradually introduce them to your companion long before your festive trip away.
- If you’re spending the day with friends or family elsewhere and your dog has been invited too, bring their familiar items with you, such as their bed and favourite toys. Some chews to help settle them in a quiet corner in amongst all the activity wouldn’t go amiss.
If your dog worries about new people and things, leave them safe at home.
We wouldn’t recommend bringing your cat or parrot with you to visit friends.
5. Managing Multi-Species Households
Extra care is needed in homes with multiple species or when a visiting friend brings along their pet.
- Safe Zones: Provide prey species, like parrots, with secure, predator-free spaces. Use pet-gates or mesh doors over doorways to separate dogs or cats from their retreats. Put up blinds around the bottom of their aviary to help them feel safer from other pets/small children. Keep everyone’s mealtimes separate. Litter trays should be in a space undisturbed by dogs.
- Supervised Interactions: Monitor interactions between species, especially during busy gatherings, and never leave unfamiliar pets alone together.
- High Routes for Cats: Ensure cats can navigate the house using high pathways, such as shelves or furniture, to stay safely out of reach of dogs.
- High Perches: Parrots will feel safer being higher than others. If they fly away or climb high, leave them to it and look at ways of giving them space from whomever may be startling them.
- Stress Management: Prey animals showing signs of distress, like hiding or freezing, should be moved to quieter areas. Redirect excitable dogs or cats with toys, or calming activities, such as chews.
6. Recognising and Managing Stress in Pets
Understanding stress signals helps you intervene before problems escalate. If you noticed sustained stress over the festive break, speak to your vet about what you can do.
- Dogs: Signs include yawning, lip licking, pacing, or turning away. Offer a break in their quiet space and a calming activity like a chew toy.
- Cats: Signs include dilated pupils, ears back, tail twitching or held close, excessive grooming, or inappropriate urination. Give them extra space from what may be worrying them. Pheromone diffusers, such as Feliway, can help reduce stress.
- Parrots: Watch for feather damage, excessive vocalising, hiding, feathers held close to their bodies, pinning pupils, or pacing. Provide familiar items and a calm environment to help them feel secure.
7. Emergency Preparedness
- Vet Contacts: Keep your vet’s contact details and travel carriers handy in case of emergencies.
- Stocking Up: Ensure you have enough food, medication, and supplies for all pets to last through the holidays.
Final Thoughts When Managing Pets at Christmas
By planning ahead and addressing your pets’ needs, you can create a festive season that’s safe, calm, and enjoyable for dogs, cats, and parrots alike. With a little extra care, your pets will feel secure and loved as they join in the holiday cheer.
If, however, you are worried that your pet will simply not cope or may not settle, why not plan on keeping holiday plans to a minimum this year? Then ask your vet for help, potentially by making a referral to a registered clinical animal behaviourist at Second Nature Behaviour. Our pet behaviourists cover the West Midlands, with hubs in Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Coventry.