Spooky ghost stories may not keep your cat or dog up on Halloween night, but the holiday does pose health risks for pets.
“Make sure they don’t get into the candy. That’s really the biggest thing,” said Mike Napier, clinical associate professor at the Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. He said chocolate, raisins, and artificial sweeteners like Xylitol are all harmful to pets. Xylitol poisoning can cause liver failure or hypoglycemia in animals.
“Fortunately, most kids candy is not going to have that in it,” Napier said. “But you’d be surprised where it turns up.”
Some types of chewing gum, mints, cough drops and peanut butter have Xylitol. Chocolate, as you probably already know, is bad for dogs, especially dark chocolate. Call your vet immediately if you pet gets into anything like that.
If they get anxious with doorbells or strangers visiting, make sure they have a safe place to escape indoors, which is especially important to cats.
Like 4th of July or Christmas, Halloween can cause anxiety for some pets.
“Halloween, the doorbell, the kids, they’re running around in costumes, you know, masks, things a dog’s not used to,” Napier said. “If your dog needs anxiety medicine, calling on the 30th is probably not the greatest time to do that. Now would be a good time.”
It also might be helpful to make sure you pet has a microchip, in case they get spooked by trick-or-treaters, loud music or a ghostly vision and run away.
Pets might look cute in costumes, but they can also be stressful. Napier recommends, if you decide to dress up your animal, a costume should fit correctly and not have any loose strings they can chew. And don’t leave your pet unattended while wearing a costume. Instead, give them plenty of love, maybe a healthy spoonful or two of baked pumpkin, which in moderation, is good for dog tummies, Napier said.
