Halloween is a cheerily scary time for most of us, but it holds some real dangers for our companion animals. Costumes and masks, lights and decorations, candy and chocolate, and a constant parade of strangers coming to your door – all pose risks for your pet. Vets report a spike in visits to emergency clinics as the Halloween holiday comes around.
Here are some steps you can take and things to look out for to protect pets from being hurt, poisoned, or lost, from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the ASPCA and other experts.
Candy dangers
- Don’t feed pets Halloween treats. Candy may contain substances toxic to pets, such as chocolate or xylitol (a common sugar substitute found in sugar-free candies and gum). Raisins can cause your pet’s kidneys to fail. Often, you won’t be able to tell what a treat or piece of candy contains just by looking at it.
- Pets may or may not actually unwrap candy, or might eat the wrappers anyway if they smell good. Swallowing foil or plastic wrappers can cause dangerous intestinal blockages.
- Children may try to hand candy to dogs (or cats). Watch them carefully and prevent them from sharing.
Visitors, doorbells and open doors
- Make sure your pets have identification (microchip, collar and ID tag) that will make it easy for someone to contact you and return them home in case they escape through an open door while you’re distracted with trick-or-treaters.
- If your pet is wary of strangers or has a tendency to bite, put them in a room away from the front door during trick-or-treating hours; provide them with a safe hiding place with their blanket, a toy and either soft music or the TV playing,
- Keep pets indoors.
- If you can, stay outdoors to prevent children having to ring the doorbell or knock.
- Black cats are at especially high risk during Halloween for cruelty-related incidents. Keep them indoors.
Holiday trappings
- Keep lit candles, jack-o-lanterns, and other Halloween decorations out of reach of pets.
- Keep all human costume pieces away from pets, along with glow sticks, decorations, batteries and other holiday items. When chewed, glow stick items can release a liquid that can make pets drool excessively or act strangely (though it isn’t likely to be harmful). Other costume parts and decorations might cause choking, internal injury, or other illnesses.
If you plan to dress your pet in a costume, take time before Halloween to get your pet accustomed to it. Make sure it:
- Fits properly and is comfortable.
- Doesn’t have any pieces that easily can be chewed off or cause choking.
- Doesn’t block your pet’s sight, hearing, breathing, mouth or movement.
- And never leave a costumed pet unsupervised.
