HealthyPets Blog

With the Holiday season creeping up everyone is gearing up for the next few weeks. Presents, decorations, and preparations are definitely part of the to-do list. However, if you have a feline at home, you need to do more than just to do advanced shopping and wrapping presents because you need to consider the fact that your cats might need special arrangements.

Not all cats are sociable and when your cat interacts with other people for the first time, it can be disastrous. Of course, you can always teach those fur balls to be nice to people but not all cats are social and it isn’t in their nature to be. So, what do you need to do with your pets when you have numerous events planned this holiday?

Here are 6 tips on how to make sure that your cats won’t feel left out while you are enjoying the holiday cheer.

Leave Cats With a Sitter

Are you planning to go out of town for the holidays? It’s not unusual to be asked by family or friends to spend holidays outside of your home. If you have been itching to accept an invitation but you are concerned that no one will be there for your cats, then you can look for a facility that will take your feline in for the holidays.

Unless you are comfortable with traveling with a cat and your feline feels the same, it’s possible to take it with you. However, for matters of convenience and safety especially during the holidays when people seem to be traveling somewhere, it’s easier to leave cats at home and focus on yourself.

Leaving your pet with someone can solve many problems. For one, you wouldn’t have to worry that kitty messed up the cat water fountain again and no one is there to fix it.

 

Ask Someone to Stay With the Kitty at Home

If your cat hates being outside the house and anxiety makes it sick and you need to leave, asking someone to house sit and watching out for your cat is an option. This way, your cat is in the comforts of your home. However, the person who is watching your cat needs to be in good terms with your pet or else they may not get along.

Even if someone is with your feline, they might still feel lonely especially if your guest is not much of a cat person. Nevertheless, this is better than leaving cats to fend off for themselves especially when you need to be away for a week or so. By having someone around, you won’t be anxious that no one can replenish food on the automatic cat feeder or your cat won’t be taken to the vet if it gets sick.

Have a Safe Room

Some cats are social, others are not. Whether your cat loves saying hello to guests or not, they need to have a place where they can take a breather. Hence, you need to design a room in your house that is exclusively for these animals.

Make sure that the room has everything that your cat needs. Move their cat tree in that room as well as their feeder and water fountain. This way, you will not worry constantly that the animals feel neglected over not getting the same attention that they get on normal days.

Also, make sure that the room is secured or else cats can go out. Despite how cautious cats are, they can still be involved in accidents.

 

Educate Your Guests

When there are many people at home, you tend to focus more on them than in your cats. Hence, having runaways could happen. If you don’t want to get stressed about this all throughout the holidays, you need to let your house guests know the basic rules when it comes to cats.

It’s important that you tell them what to do to avoid putting your cats in jeopardy. This is not just about keeping doors closed. It should also involve the rule on giving table scraps.

 

Avoid Decorating with Items That Are Not Cat-Friendly

Holidays mean decorating. Unfortunately, some items that bring holiday cheer are not cat-friendly including poinsettias and lilies. These flowers are poisonous to cats and you want to stay away from them as much as you possibly can.

Other harmful items include tinsel and other shiny objects that cats want to play with. Hence, you need to mind your décor if you want kitty to be comfortable and safe.

Set Aside Some Cat Time

This one is something that many people forget. Keeping your cats comfortable is not just about making sure they don’t go out. It should also include giving them some of your time.

Cats tend to get lonely and being left out of the celebrations is sad for these creatures. If some guests love cats, you can use your cat time to bond with your guests and your cats at the same time.

These are just six things that you can do this holiday to ensure kitty’s comfort. Do you have other suggestions on keeping your feline comfortable? Tell us all about it in the comments section and hit share if this article was helpful for you.

About the Author: Diana Hutchinson is the founder of Tinpaw.com. She is a pet lover, especially dogs and cats. “A home without a pet is just a house”.