Holidays with Your Cats and Kittens

Let’s jump right in and look at some of the hot topics about cats and holidays, and how you all can get through them safely and calmly!

Cats and Christmas Trees

If you celebrate certain holidays with cats and kids of any kind, this image probably resonates in some way or another. Decorations of any kind at all are of total fascination to cats and kittens of all ages.

There are many articles and cute cat videos to show how adorably destructive cats and holiday trees are, but what they may not show you is how those decorations can hurt your cats. We decided to ditch the tinsel many years ago after learning how cats died from getting int caught in their digestive tracts. We now use silver and gold ball strings to add layers to our tree.

Real vs fake? We now have a fake tree since we can’t plant our tree outside when we are done with it. Those are the best kinds for both cats and the environment, hands down. The caution with a real/live tree is the water at the bottom of the tree holder. Christmas trees are often sprayed with toxic chemicals to make them last longer, and those will leach in to the water. So it might be best if your cats did not drink it- it could make them very sick to the stomach. Some people go so far as to put plexiglass around their trees to keep the cats out, but we aren’t that serious about our tree. Maybe in 20 years! What do you think? Cats off the tree at all costs? Or just wait and see what happens?

Cats and Popular Holiday Plants

If you are considering holly, amaryllis, poinsettas, lilies, azaleas, or chrysanthemums for the holiday season, please re-consider if you or the recipient has cats! These toxic plants can be deadly for cats, especially lilies. Kidney function can cease within three hours of exposure, so early treatment is critical.

Mums are not listed in this last article, interestingly enough, even though they are a number one best seller at places like Tractor Supplies across the US as outdoor fall decor. Why are they toxic to cats? This is an important point, especially to anyone who uses commercial flea products on their cats. Usually only mildly toxic, chrysanthemums contain pyrethrins, which are used in dog flea and tick medications, and are particularly poisonous to cats. If your cat has eaten chrysanthemums look out for vomiting, diarrhoea and lack of appetite and seek advice from your vet. Also, consider if these flowers are toxic for you cat to eat, to find an alterntive flea product like this one which is not toxic for your cat’s body!

Cats and Holiday Meals

While our cats and kittens appreciate turkey, they much prefer a good old salted ham. Turkey has a distinctive flavor from chicken, so if your feline companions are hooked on either raw or cooked chicken, then they may not leap for joy at turkey. Our cats and kittens are all about hot dogs, deli meats, and canned cat food- all of which is highly processed and salty. (We know it’s bad for human and animal alike, but they get addicted to it like we do)!

Since turkey goes bad so fast, we don’t usually serve it raw to the cats. Our dogs don’t really care! We find mixing turkey with canned cat food, chicken livers, or some lactose free milk encourages them to eat it. Also for ham, we do try to find local farms as much as possible- simply for ethical reasons, as well as less processing chemicals involved. We usually chop it up more like a topper or treats for the cats’ food, rather than serving whole slices. Do your cats have a favorite holiday meal? Leave us your thoughts in the comments- we’d love to hear them!

Cats and Seasonal Sniffles and Flu

We already discussed symptoms of cat flu and how this can mean many things, as well as what to look out for, here. What we did not mention in that article, however, was what we use for day to day maintenance in order to alleviate symptoms and keep our FCV cats healthy through the seasonal changes that happen.

MaryRuth’s Zinc - we use three droppersful in our cats’ water every day. It alleviates congestion, coughing, sneezing, and is super easy on the stomach. The unflavored version goes in the kids’ water bottles every day too!

Zeolite-AV- we use this at least one week of every month- 2 capsules daily in water, to detox and help with congestion and as a general wellness supplement. This replaces activated charcoal in our house as a first-aid remedy as well.

Apple Cider vinegar- we diffuse ACV in a cold air humidifier to help during all of the colder months to keep humans and animals congestion-free. It is a cheap, safe way to reduce seasonal upper respiratory infections without antibiotics.

Family and Friends, and Animal Guests

While hosting holiday meals and events can bring great pleasure- and stress- for humans, cats have their own ways of coping with new additions to their spaces! Some cats behave almost golden retriever-like, sociable and nonchalant. For other cats, it is absolutely terrifying to share space with other energies. While every family handles an over-stressed cat situation differently, it’s important to acknowledge your own stress levels will greatly impact how your cats respond to guests in your home. Cats are our energetic sponges- and will behave according to your energy. Here are a few ideas to help you- and your cats- have more peaceful moments during the holiday season.

Janet Roark, essential oil vet, has some great resources for introducing stress-reducing essential oils to your home with cats- perfect for holiday gatherings. There is also some great cat-focused music you can play in the background- which can calm frayed nerves and even bring healing to your little ones over time. Also, taking a few moment before bed time to simply sit with your cats (even if they are not right next to you) and say positive words in your mind (or out loud) towards them. It may seem insignificant, but remember- your cats are connected to you by a powerful energy, and any positive contribution you make to that connection will pay off.

One final note- if your cat seems to be over-reactive in general- like constant biting and scratching, surprise jumping and attacking, peeing outside the litterbox, or otherwise erratic behavior you can’t seem to figure out- this may be due to a legitimate chemical imbalance, especially if your cat was spayed or neutered before one year old. See- hormones are critical for proper neurological/behavioral development, and males in particular suffer from improper ureter, bladder, and kidney development when they are desexed young, making them prone bladder crystals, UTI’s, and kidney issues. This can all lead to a lot of pain and agitation, and what we call the “perpetual kitten syndrome. “

There is a great product by Dr. Mercola which can help over time to rebalance the hormones and allow the body to settle. It won’t cure infections, but it will promote calmness that intact cats and kittens have as they grow older. Read the reviews on this product to see how many cats and dogs are impacted by this “common” procedure of early desexing. It is definitely re-shaping the narrative of early spay-neuter programs!

We hope this newsletter offers you and yours some ideas to help navigate the holidays with your furred loved ones. It can be quite challenging during this time to balance fast-moving dynamics and expectations of the humans around us, much less the needs of our cats. We have experienced many such challenges over the years, and we hope some of our tips can make your holidays with all your family members just a little more calm and enjoyable.

Until next time, have a great week and Always Be Curious!