Christmas is the least wonderful time of the year for companion animals

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Cat climbs Christmas tree and bingo
Cat climbs Christmas tree and bingo. Timber!!

Andy Williams sung many beautiful and popular songs one of which is "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Very often that is not the case for companion animals in Maine Coons (you see I got it in). Here are 10 facts which support the thought. The last one is about the cost of insurance.

  1. Christmas is a dangerous time for companion animals because more insurance claims are made for animal accidents and injuries than at any other time of the year.
  2. An online vet, Vetster, said that 54% of owners had pets that had been injured during Christmas.
  3. Eating baubles accounted for 17% of the festive injuries to pets.
  4. Eating food that they shouldn't because it's toxic to animals accounted for 14% of injuries.
  5. Climbing Christmas trees and falling over and destroying the tree at the same time accounted for 11% of the injuries.
  6. However, a pet insurer, ManyPets, said that accidents are Christmas are only slightly more likely to occur than at other times of the year with 16.5% of pet insurance claims for accidents over Christmas compared with 14.72% over other times of the year.
  7. A British Shorthair cat, Misco, ate some fake snow during Christmas which caused her to vomit all day long. Her owner, Tatiana Audi said: "She had ingested some fake snow from our Christmas tree, which caused her to throw up continuously. We were scared and thought it would be best to get an emergency vet appointment, even though we knew it would be tricky." She recovered quite quickly fortunately.
  8. Digby, a two-year-old pug from London injured his paw when he stood on some baubles. He was patched up by his owner before he saw a veterinarian.
  9. A two-year-old dachshund from Maidenhead, UK, Dixie, became sick after eating chocolate which had been left out by mistake. They travelled two hours to find an emergency veterinarian over Christmas! Not good.
  10. Luke Mangion, a pet claims advisor at the insurer More Than said: "Be mindful of what you feed your dog in the holiday season. Many common Christmas foods such as chocolate and turkey bones can be harmful. That's why it's important to stick to specially prepared recipes and treats that are safe and healthy for your furry friend." I have a page on toxic foods in respect of dogs on another page which you can access by clicking on this link.
  11. Pet insurance costs an average of £75 a year for a cat and £136 a year for a dog in the UK according to the consumer website Compare the Market. Let's hope you won't need it tomorrow. 😃💓

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