Contents:
- Editor's welcome
- Kelly McVitty: Team UK's vice-captain wins big at Invictus Games
- Keeping pets safe this Christmas »
- Sweet potato, coconut and spinach curry with quinoa
- In Bloom awards: borough lands 24 golds and 3 wins
- New location for Local Studies Centre
- Hairdressing trend - 70s revival
- Graham Poole Road Transport
- Miles turned into smiles for orphaned Ukrainian children
- A short history of Hare Hill House: 1901 to now
- Health and wellbeing during Water season
- Sticky toffee pudding
- Italian restaurant Stocco opens in Norden
- Class of 2023 students celebrate at Hopwood Hall graduation ceremony
- Third time lucky as Re-use Littleborough is granted charity status
- New Springhill Hospice shop opens in Heywood
- Victims of crime
- Rochdale soldier’s memoir of the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign
- Comedy gig with Jason Manford raises £14,000 for Petrus
Winter 2023Keeping pets safe this Christmas
Nights are drawing in, the weather is getting colder and Christmas is just around the corner. Most pets thrive on the additional attention from visitors in the festive season, but some may be a bit more shy. Allow your pets to have an area that is their personal space to avoid extended family and friends if they want to.
With visitors, we also (hopefully) get gifts. If your pet raids the presents under the tree and chews a hole in your snazzy new Christmas jumper, that’s a bit inconvenient, but some presents can be more harmful to pets if they get hold of them.
Chocolates
All chocolate is toxic to dogs, but the higher the cocoa content (darker chocolate has more cocoa than milk chocolate) the more chance you will see significant side effects.
Christmas cake and mince pies
As well as the dangers from the dried fruit, some cakes may be quite alcoholic!
Plants
Certain plants such as poinsettia are popular gifts around Christmas, but these are highly toxic to our pets.
Batteries from toys
These are very dangerous and can cause burns if swallowed. If you suspect this, contact your vet immediately.
Essential oils for diffusers
These can be toxic to pets and can cause burns if they come into contact with skin. Fragrances can also cause irritation of your pet’s airways.
We humans have been known to overindulge at Christmas and need to be aware of where we leave our headache tablets. Many of our medications are toxic to pets, especially cats.
Owners often allow pets to join in with Christmas dinner. A little bit is a nice treat, but these foods can be quite fatty for pets and may cause stomach upsets. This is especially true if your pet is usually on a restricted diet for a medical reason. Also try to avoid highly salted foods and onions of any kind.
As the weather changes, we might start to see more snow and ice. Pets are just as susceptible to slips and falls as we are, so please take care where you walk. The gritting of roads and pavements can also create issues of skin irritation to pets’ feet and can even cause problems if excessive amounts of salt are consumed by the animal licking their feet. It is advisable to wash and dry your dog’s paws after a walk if you have been in gritted areas.
Winter is often a time when we top up antifreeze in our cars. If you spill any on the ground, please mop it up. Antifreeze contains a compound that is highly toxic to animals, especially cats.
We hope you have a peaceful holiday with no pet-related dramas, but it you do think your pet has eaten something they shouldn’t have done, please contact your vet as soon as possible with as much detail as you can.
About the writer
Clare Farnsworth qualified from Liverpool in 2003. She had a brief stint in mixed practice before settling into her small animal vet career. She has worked locally for the past 15 years before opening a new practice in Milnrow this year.