10 tips to help your pets have an amazing holiday break

The holidays offer a great opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends – and that includes pets. But, it’s also important to remember that what we enjoy about the festive season isn’t the same for our furry or feathered friends. With a bit of care and consideration, though, you can make sure the holidays are a fun time for your pets too. These ten top tips for helping your pets to have an amazing holiday break will set you on the right track.

1. Turn down the volume

Christmas and New Year are noisy, with people, music and games all adding to the decibels. For cats and dogs, it may simply be a case of looking for a quiet spot, although many dogs will even be perfectly happy at the center of the party. Caged pets such as budgies, finches, parrots and small mammals, though don’t find it so easy to escape the noise.

If possible, cages should be placed in a quieter part of the house if there’s a party taking place in the main room. The Omlet Qute Hamster Cage is the perfect home for one Syrian hamster or two gerbils, with optional wheels to make moving their space from one room to another easy.

2. Forgo the fireworks

The biggest bang comes from fireworks. While some pets will simply head for a safe corner, others are absolutely terrified. If you’re the owner of a nervous pet, speak to your veterinarian as they may be able to prescribe medication to help them relax. For cats and dogs, you can also try pheromone diffusers a few weeks before the fireworks begin. Take a read of our pets’ guide to surviving fireworks blog for more tips on pet safety during this time.

3. Go easy on the treats

There’s lots of food around at Christmas. Your dog will be more than happy to eat leftovers and treats all day, given the chance, but this doesn’t make it a good idea. As far as your dog is concerned, it’s best to treat Christmas and New Year like any other day, perhaps with a simple treat such as a few slices of plain turkey with the evening meal.

The same applies to other pets, and you’ll also need to make sure that everyone knows the rules. A well-meaning guest might try to feed pretzels and salted peanuts to the hamsters and gerbils, or pieces of Christmas cake to the pet birds. These human snacks will bring no benefit to your pet, and some items are even highly toxic. You can find our series of pet-safe festive foods here:

Christmas foods to avoid giving kitty

Christmas treats for rabbits and guinea pigs

Holiday food do’s and don’ts for dogs

4. Hang on to some routine

During the holiday season, it’s easy to lose your routine. You’ll probably be in bed later than usual, enjoying a few too many lie-ins, and preoccupied with children and guests. With everything else going on, there’s a chance that daily tasks such as refilling your pets’ food bowls, closing the hen house door or even skipping the dog walk can fall off the radar. 

Most pets will already be thrown by a change of environment from all the Christmas decor, so it’s important to minimize stress as much as possible and keeping their routine as familiar as possible will help.

5. Visitor pep talks

Some dogs love crowds and attention from new people, but even the most sociable of canines need time to chill. Chances are, you’ll have plenty of visitors over the holiday season and some pets won’t appreciate all the extra fuss. 

Speak to guests beforehand about your pet’s temperament and what the boundaries are. If there are young visitors, be wary of potential cage-rattling and chasing pets. You also need to remember that birds like to have lights out in the evening, so make sure your late party doesn’t turn into an all-nighter for the budgies, finches and parrots, too. If the room isn’t too noisy, a bird cage cover might suffice; otherwise, relocating the pet cage will be the best option.

6. Keep the pets at home

If you’re traveling away for Christmas, arrange for someone to look after your pets. Consider a cat sitter or chicken sitter if you’re planning on an extended trip away. If this isn’t possible, look into local catteries and kennels.

You can consider taking your dog with you if you’re heading away for the holidays, though. Fortunately, there are many dog-friendly vacation spots available, meaning Fido doesn’t have to miss out on the fun.

7. Winter weather safety

If you’re planning on keeping your pets in another room for the Christmas party, or if they are kept in the backyard all year round, you need to take special measures to ensure they remain warm.

Cats and dogs will benefit from a super cozy pet throw such as the Faux Sheepskin Dog Blanket and Super Soft Cat Blanket from Omlet. Opt to place them on your bed or theirs for optimum comfort and warmth.

For smaller pets kept outside, take a read of our Will my rabbit be okay in winter? guide and our How to prepare guinea pigs for winter blogs. Chickens might be kept outside whatever the season and are hardy pets, but extra precautions should be taken over winter. A well-insulated chicken coop such as the Eglu Cube will go a long way in keeping your flock toasty but they’ll also appreciate an extra layer of protection on their coop from temperature protection jackets. 

8. Clean up time

The Christmas season tends to involve lots of pet hazards – wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, tinsel, and bits of plastic to name just a few. To avoid these items ending up in your pet’s mouth or wrapped around their legs, be sure to get everything tidied away once the presents have been opened.

9. Christmas tree watch

A Christmas tree can easily be bashed by wagging dog tails and adventurous cats attempting to climb. For one, it’s a good idea not to have heavy decorations high up on the Christmas tree, as these could easily fall and break, and nothing fragile (or valuable) should be kept within reach of an excited tail.

If your cat’s fascination with the tree doesn’t wane, get them a Christmas tree of their own with the Switch Cat Scratcher. Put simply, it’s the coolest cat scratcher since time began. With the help of tech and tireless testing from our in-house cats, we’ve designed a cat scratching post that your Christmas tree definitely won’t be able to compete with. 

With over 1,200 irresistible light modes, the Switch is attractive to our eyes as they are fascinating to feline ones. Plus, with a bamboo base that lasts indefinitely and 100% biodegradable sisal sleeves, your cat’s Christmas wish will be granted all year long.

10. New pet? No worries

You’re probably familiar with the saying that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas, but the same applies to any pet. If you’ve carefully considered that pet ownership is right for you and you have the resources to do so, bringing them in amongst the festive chaos isn’t the best time to put your plan into action But, if you have had a recent animal addition to the family in the past few months, navigating their first Christmas is something you need to account for.

First of all, make sure that new cats and dogs have been introduced to any other pets that could be joining you over the season to avoid potential confrontations. Also, ensure that your home is still pet-proof with any decorations you’ve added to your usual setup. This will likely be their first time experiencing a Christmas and New Year, so pay special attention to how they’re reacting, making sure to remove them from situations that are making them uncomfortable.

Omlet and your pet’s holiday

At Omlet, we know that pet ownership over the holidays isn’t always as glamorous as your festive family portrait might portray. Christmas tree chaos, gatherings and winter weather might be obstacles but with Omlet’s range of innovative pet products such as our Switch Cat Scratcher, easy clean Eglu Cube Chicken Coop and cozy Faux Sheepskin Dog Blankets, we can help make the holidays as smooth sailing as they can be.

This entry was posted in Christmas