{"id":19765,"date":"2020-04-12T00:10:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T04:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/?p=19765"},"modified":"2021-03-23T07:45:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T11:45:39","slug":"tips-for-keeping-cats-safe-during-easter-social-distancing-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/tips-for-keeping-cats-safe-during-easter-social-distancing-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Keeping Cats Safe During Easter, Social Distancing, and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Easter Sunday, as it\u2019s known in Christianity, marks the anniversary of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven and is typically a day steeped deep in traditions to celebrate the miracle \u2013 most of them involving social gatherings, whether groups of people at church or family celebrations at home. But today, amid a global pandemic, tradition is replaced with social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting taking precedence, and the holiday will have to be reinvented. We can still celebrate and look for the deeper meanings of love and hope in what is a scary and uncertain world, but we must keep safety and smart cleaning in mind, especially in those households with cats who are cooped up in close quarters with us.<\/p>\n

For instance, if you celebrate with Easter baskets, be aware the shiny ribbons, cellophane grasses, and chocolate candies can be a tempting, but dangerous magnet to a cat. Ribbons and grasses, if ingested, could quickly become entangled in the cat\u2019s intestine, causing it to twist and close off requiring surgery. And chocolate is highly toxic to cats, as well as those beautiful Easter lilies we are all familiar with. Small toys are a hazard, too. If your cat decides to eat the toy, he could choke on it. If you can\u2019t be around to supervise your cat when the basket is out, it\u2019s best to put it away somewhere he can\u2019t get to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nAs far as keeping our homes disinfected, Dr. Barbara Hodges, director of advocacy and outreach for the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association<\/a> says we need to be \u201cextra vigilant,\u201d with the cleaning products we use to kill the virus that causes COVID-19 because they can just as easily sicken or even kill our pets, especially cats who are particularly vulnerable due to their small size. Cleaners with powerful odors that promise results and make disinfectants effective are a red flag to danger: alcohol, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and chemical compounds that contain the word \u201cphenol.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can easily get distracted during these stressful times and when we\u2019re cleaning, that\u2019s all we should be doing. Don\u2019t get up to pick up the phone or something else \u2013 if you\u2019re washing the floor, your cat could play with the water, knock it over, walk on it \u2013 all quickly amounting to toxic chemicals touching your cat\u2019s paw(s) which they could lick. If possible, it’s best to shut your cat out of the room while you are cleaning to prevent any incidents.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nAnd it\u2019s not just Easter baskets or cleaning products to be mindful of. Many of the over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen\u2014one of the pain and fever reducers people take for COVID-19 symptoms can endanger your cat. The Humane Society of the United States reported<\/a> in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the U.S., accidental ingestion by pets of drugs like Tylenol was driving a rise in calls to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) national pet poison hotline.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Familiarize yourself with your cat\u2019s veterinary hours and COVID-19 plan. While veterinary offices have been determined essential businesses, each specific office may have different rules and guidelines and if you have an emergency, you\u2019ll want to know what to do. Keep the vet’s phone number locked in your phone and posted on your refrigerator to quickly access.<\/p>\n

When using cleaning products, read the labels carefully to check the ingredients and follow use instructions precisely. Be mindful of the strength of the product, and by how much you should dilute it. Using more than recommended is not better. The higher the accidental dose a pet gets, the more toxic.<\/p>\n

When you are done with liquid cleaners, rinse out buckets and mops. When you are done with disinfecting wipes, throw them out right away. Make sure your household garbage bags and cans always have lids secured. Shut and secure the doors of cabinets or closets or rooms where you store cleaning products, equipment, and medications.<\/p>\n

Keep pets out of the room when you are cleaning. Do not leave disinfectants or cold and flu medications unattended. After you have used them, store them in a place that pets cannot reach. If you wet floors or counters with disinfectants and cleaners, keep pets away until they dry. Ideally, rinse floors with water.<\/p>\n

If you suspect your pet has been poisoned (symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and seizures), seek veterinary help immediately, as the prognosis is always better when a toxicity is reported quickly. If they are not immediately available for advice, call the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661. To aid in identifying potentially dangerous items, the Pet Poison Helpline website<\/a> also has an A to Z list of what items are poisonous, the level of toxicity if ingested, and what the common symptoms to watch for are.<\/p>\n

Do NOT give your cat any milk, food, salt, oil, hydrogen peroxide, or any other home remedies! Also, never induce vomiting without talking to your veterinarian or the Pet Poison Helpline \u2013 it may be detrimental or contraindicated to induce vomiting.<\/p>\n

As with any day of the week, holiday or not, COVID-19 or not, be mindful of your pet and that what we do can affect them. Wishes to everyone for a safe and blessed day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter Sunday, as it\u2019s known in Christianity, marks the anniversary of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven and is typically a day steeped deep in traditions to celebrate the miracle \u2013 most of them involving social gatherings, whether groups of people at church or family celebrations at home. But today, amid a global pandemic, tradition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1124,1098,1096,1216],"tags":[739,1407,1408,575],"class_list":["post-19765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-events","category-cat-behavior","category-general-cat-care-and-health","category-sunday-selfie","tag-cat-safety","tag-cats-during-corona","tag-cats-during-holidays","tag-easter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/easter-20.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19765"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20247,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19765\/revisions\/20247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}