New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration and also a time of reflection, but for our furry family members, the festivities and excitement can be overwhelming. Between the loud fireworks, unfamiliar guests, crowded homes, and breaks in routine, it’s important to make plans that prioritize your pet’s comfort and safety. Here’s how you can ring in 2025 while ensuring your pets have a calm and happy transition to the new year.
Create a Safe Environment
Fireworks, loud noises, being left alone, and/or busier-than-usual homes can be downright frightening and overstimulating for pets, causing anxiety and stress. Set up a quiet, cozy, and secure area where they can retreat if they feel overwhelmed. This could be a spare bedroom or a small bathroom that isn’t in use. Make sure they are equipped with the essentials like fresh, cool water, their crate, and any bedding and toys to make them comfortable.
Be sure any access points to outside, like exterior doors and windows, are closed securely to prevent any panicked escapes and accidental runaways. Alongside the Fourth of July, more pets go missing on New Year’s Eve than any other time of the year.
Manage Fireworks Anxiety
You know your pet best, so if they get nervous around fireworks, loud poppers, or noisemakers, consider ways to lessen their nervousness.
- Calming Products: Try using anxiety wraps, pheromone sprays, or natural calming treats to set the foundation for a stress-free night.
- Consult Your Veterinarian: For severe anxiety, your primary care veterinarian might recommend anti-anxiety medications. Make sure you visit your veterinarian well in advance of the celebrations to get your pet used to the medications and adjust any dosages based on their unique needs.
Caution Party Guests
Hosting the big party? Keep your guests informed of the rules regarding your pet, such as DO NOT feed your pets any party snacks and to be careful with open cups of alcohol and bottles of champagne. Stress and anxiety (and any medications your pet may be on) can exacerbate gastrointestinal upset, so it’s important for your pet to stick to pet-friendly treats and food.
Minimize Decoration Hazards
Decorating for New Year’s Eve is part of the fun and excitement, but certain decorations can pose hazardous to pets. You can still create a festive and celebratory atmosphere, just be sure to keep decor out of reach so your pets don’t get curious.
- Balloons: If popped, pieces of latex balloon can be choking hazards or cause intestinal blockages if accidentally ingested.
- Confetti and Glitter: These tiny and eye-catching decorations can be ingested, leading to gastrointestinal issues or blockages.
- Tinsel and Streamers: These are especially appealing to cats, but can cause serious harm if swallowed and are easy to get tangled in.
- Sparklers and Fireworks: Both can cause burns if pets come into contact with them or worse, be fatal if your pet gets too close to an explosion.
We Are Open 24-Hours, 7 Days a Week – Even On Holidays
By planning ahead and being mindful of your pet’s needs, you can make New Year’s Eve a joyful and memorable experience for everyone. If your pet does find themselves in trouble over the holidays, our team is ready and available 24/7 to help. No appointment is needed to visit the animal emergency room, but we always appreciate a call ahead so we can prepare for your arrival. Along with our sister hospital Animal Emergency Hospital DeLand, we are dedicated to caring for pets and their families. It’s why we’re here.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from all of us! Here’s to a healthy, happy, and stress-free 2025 for you and your pets.
