The most spook-tacular time of the year is finally here. Yes, it’s time for Halloween. We’re sure that you are all set to welcome the festivities and have your cadies and costumes in place. But if you are a cat parent, the festival brings you yet another reason to include your furry companion in your celebration and shower them with endless love. However, you shouldn’t overlook your feline’s safety amidst all the enjoyment.
To help you out, we’ve come up with this comprehensive guide for you to ensure your cat’s safety this Halloween. Read on to find out more.
Tips to Plan a Cat-Friendly Halloween
Let’s take a look at some of the effective ways to keep cats safe this Halloween.
1. Be Careful With Halloween Costumes
We’re sure that your cat looks adorable in its Halloween costume. However, as a pet parent, it is important that you determine whether your cat is comfortable wearing it. The following are some tips that will help you ensure their comfort.
- Recognize stress: Your kitty may end up getting stressed if it is not comfortable being dressed up. If you find them hiding or refusing to move while you’re dressing them up, stop doing it immediately.
- Ensure correct fit: While choosing an outfit for your cat, it is important to ensure its correct fit and that it doesn’t obstruct their breathing or easy movement.
- Eliminate unsafe adornments: Make sure that your feline’s outfit doesn’t contain any adornments that they can chew or ingest, as they can lead to gastrointestinal obstruction.
- Limit dress-up time: Dressing up doesn’t come naturally to cats. Therefore, if you’re dressing it up, you should do it for a limited time. The best approach would be to take the clothes off as soon as you’re done taking photos.
[Also Read] Easiest DIY Halloween Costumes for Dogs
2. Take Care Of Halloween-related Stress
Your feline baby can get stressed out by the constant ringing of the bell, spookily-dressed guests and trick-or-treaters. The following steps will help you keep your cat safe from Halloween-related stress.
- Designate a cat-safe zone at home: While you have your Halloween celebration going on at your home, it is important to keep your cat secured in a quiet room. Make sure to provide essentials like water, comfortable bedding, food and a litter box to keep your feline comfortable.
- Provide stress relief treatments: If your feline’s stress seems to go beyond control, you may consider administering anti-stress treatments to help it calm down.
2. Keep Your Cat Safe From Halloween Decorations
Though Halloween decorations are a major part of the celebration, you must see to it that they pose no health risk for your feline companion. Always keep your cat away from the following.
- Candles: A burning flame adds to your Halloween decorations’ spookiness. However, if you have a cat at home, make sure to keep the candles away from its reach to ensure complete safety.
- Animated Figures: Animated figures, especially the motion-activated ones, can scare your cat and get them stressed. Therefore, if you are a pet parent, you should be mindful of such decorations.
3. Ensure Your Cat’s Proper Identification
As cats often tend to escape and get lost, it is important to provide them with proper identification. This will easily help the authorities reunite your pet with you.
- Provide identification tag: Always ensure that your cat has a collar and identification tag featuring your name and updated contact details. The tag should be easily readable and attached firmly to your cat’s collar.
- Microchip your cat: It is important that you get a microchip implanted in your cat containing your name and contact details. It is a small procedure where a small, rice-sized electronic chip is implanted under the cat’s skin, typically between the shoulder blades. In case your kitty happens to go astray, a veterinarian or someone from the animal rescue centre can access the chip and help it reunite with you.
4. Keep Candies Out Of Your Cat’s Reach
Candies are an integral part of the Halloween celebration to keep the trick-or-treaters happy. However, they can be toxic for your feline baby. Make sure to keep the following food items out of your pal’s reach.
- Chocolate: Chocolates generally contain caffeine and theobromine, which are highly toxic for cats and can cause stimulation of the central nervous system and heart. It can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, muscle tremors, and seizures.
- Raisins: Raisins are highly toxic for dogs because of the presence of tartaric acid, a substance that damages the kidneys.
- Candy wrappers: Cats tend to play with wrapped candies and chew the wrappers. However, in case they end up ingesting part of the wrappers, they can experience gastrointestinal obstruction that may require surgical removal.
6. Keep Your Cats Indoors
The best way to keep your cat safe from Halloween pranksters is to make sure that they stay indoors. The following tips are sure to help you out.
- Secure your cat in an interior room: Cats tend to sneak out when you open your door to trick-or-treaters. Securing them in an interior room can help keep them safe.
- Inform your guests of your cat: If you’re hosting a Halloween party at your home, it is better to inform your guests that you have a pet cat. You may also request them not to play any kind of prank on your feline baby, as neither you nor your pal appreciates it.
- Keep your doors and windows closed: Cats are smart animals that are capable of discreetly sneaking out from open doors and windows. Therefore, do not forget to keep your doors and windows closed while you party so as to keep your kitty safe.
7. Be Mindful Of Community Cats
In most cases, communities tend to hide during the Halloween celebration. Still, as a Good Samaritan, you can consider taking the following steps to keep them safe and protected.
- Provide them shelter: You can set up a well-insulated, outdoor shelter to host community kitties from the potential frights during Halloween.
- Keep feeding areas tidy: If you have a habit of feeding community cats, make sure to remove food dishes within 30 minutes of serving to prevent attracting other animals and ensure a clean feeding spot.
Ending Note
Halloween is a whimsical start to the holiday season. However, it can be dangerous and frightening for our kitties. But with the help of the above-mentioned tips, we are sure you will be able to ensure a fun and safe holiday for you as well as your feline companion.
