The ultimate guide to reducing holiday stress for your pet
It’s holiday time. Time to celebrate and make merry. But with the joy and celebration comes one thing all pet parents dread, pet holiday stress.
Stressed pets during festivities will hinder you and your family from enjoying the celebrations. There are a number of things you are in a place to do in reducing holiday stress for your pet.
Why are the holidays stressful?
Holidays can be stressful for our pets as they encounter different guests invading their space. Animals have a heightened sense of smell and the different scents from your visitors may stress your pet.
Festivities come with lots of fun and activities. However, the increased stuff to do means your attention will be divided and your pet may not get all the attention they want.
How do you tell if a cat is stressed?
Tips for reducing holiday stress for your pet
Here are seven of my favorites tips on how to survive the holidays together with your cat. With slight preparation, you’ll be able to glide through the holidays without a hitch.
1. Control your stress hormones.
Animals have the ability to pick up on the emotions of their homeowners. So the top-of-the-line method to de-stress your pet for the vacations is to de-stress yourself.
By taking outings to relax, you’re also helping your cat make it through the holidays with less stress.
Finding 10 minutes for cuddles and playtime together with your cat’s favorite toy will help each of you zone out for a brief while and escape the pandemonium of the holidays.
2. Try to make your pet more comfortable.
If your cat has a favorite blanket or bed, place that in the separation room. It would also be helpful to put a Feline Appeasing Pheromone diffuser in an outlet of the room. This will supply your cat with a recognizable smell that can aid in her rest.
Try to take care of other routines too. Sneak in cuddles throughout the day to compensate for missed snuggle time. Cats use pheromones to assist them really feel protected and calm.
Managing your cat’s stress through all the modifications in the house during the holidays is way easier when you can mimic these calming pheromones.
3. It’s also essential to maintain your decorations as pet-friendly as possible.
All decorations should be produced from non-toxic materials.
4. Inform your guests early that you have a pet.
Make house guests know the foundations of your personal home. Particularly whether your cat is an indoor cat only or whether she’s allowed outdoors, so there shall be no accidents.
Informing your guests of your pet will also help in identifying if any of your friends are allergic.
5. Keep your pets away from your guests.
Provide a secure room for your cat throughout holiday gatherings.
Ensure your cat’s room is clutter-free and has your kitty’s litter box, meals, water, calming music, toys, beds, and a few places in your cat to lounge. This way she’ll feel secure, and you can monitor her.
Hiding locations are additionally important. However, we typically tend to forget this, so cats are left hiding the place they can, under beds and sofas.
Ideally, you can have this room set up all the time, so your cat just isn’t careworn about being in a model-new space.
6. Engage your pets and keep them busy.
Everyone knows canines can undergo separation anxiety, but do you know that some cats also turn anxious when their pet parents depart the house?
According to PetMD.com, cats are extra predisposed to developing separation anxiety if they are feminine or indoor cats, the only pet, or they expertise a change in routine.
To assist stop separation nervousness, attempt providing activities to keep them occupied while you’re out. Also, don’t make leaving or returning to the home a giant deal. Being around our pets can reduce our nervousness and make us even healthier.
7. Feed your pets before hosting guests for the holiday.
Feed your cat before you serve festive dinners to your humans so that she will not really feel compelled to try to get at your meals.
Holiday feasts and snacks tend to be excessive in fat, sugar, seasonings, and other components that can trigger severe digestive problems in pets. Refer to this list to see festive foods you can feed your cat.
Do cats get stressed when you go on holiday?
You may be wondering, do cats miss their owner? The answer is yes!
Pets have a tendency to soak up our stress, and we all know that the holiday season is one of the tensest parts of the year. Spending the vacations without our furry members of the family is, in a word, unimaginable.
However, the very last thing you want is to make the journey depressing on your canine or cat. Dogs and cats will not be in such a merry mood when their familiar surroundings and their routine are thrown into disarray.
What can I give my cat to relieve holiday stress?
Catnip can calm and soothe some cats.
As a herb, catnip is easy to grow at home. If you grow it, you may find your kitty indulging in it at intervals throughout the day and maybe even chewing on it. For the most part, it’s a fairly harmless indulgence.
Final thoughts on pets and holiday stress.
Finally, before having individuals over, think about how your pet takes to strangers, noise, and contact from individuals who aren’t household members.
If your pet has a history of poor reactions to strangers and events, plan for what to do with it whereas the celebration is going on. This will make sure your canine or cat stays secure, pleased, and stress-free.
It’s attainable that your pets will be utterly fantastic throughout your holiday celebration, by which case, feel free to let them roam around as they please.
For some pets, however, parties and enormous gatherings may be overwhelming at best and downright terrifying at worst.
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