Thursday, November 17, 2016

5 Tips for Keeping Kitty Stress-Free During the Holidays #CLUMPandSEAL



It's almost impossible to believe that a week from today is Thanksgiving. All year long I eagerly await the arrival of the holiday season and all the joy that it brings, but as wonderful as this time of year is it can be downright stressful as well, for us and especially for our pets. Cats don't like change, and between trees suddenly sprouting in the living room and home invaders (otherwise known as your friends and family), they must feel like their little worlds have turned upside down!

The holiday season should be a happy occasion for every member of the family, whether you have two legs or four, so we put together some tips to help keep kitty stress-free from Thanksgiving right into the new year!

1) Prevent tummy troubles by not sharing holiday "people food" with your cat or decorating with edible items. Instead keep your cat's favorite treats on hand to make them feel part of the celebration. Just don't overindulge!

2) Decorate with your cat in mind. My Christmas tree is always anchored to the baseboard to prevent it from being knocked over. Breakable ornaments go on top (if they're used at all) and pet-safe ornaments hang at the bottom. Avoid using tinsel and garland (which landed my childhood cat Patch in the ER one Christmas); and remember that holiday plants such as holly, mistletoe and poinsettias are poisonous to cats, as is Christmas tree water if chemicals from the fertilizer used on the tree transfers to the water in the stand.


3) Let Santa arrive early. A new toy of their own can help to distract your cat from bothering the ornaments on the tree. If you don't already have a cat tree, consider buying them one for an appropriate place to climb.

4) Set up a safe space away from the holiday hubbub. Don't force your cat to socialize if they don't want to. Keep one area of your home closed off to everyone but them, and fill it with their favorite toys, blankets, food, water bowl and litter box. (This room can also double as a "safe space" for you when you need to get away from your visitors for a few minutes and decompress with your cat!)

5) Keep life as normal as possible. Don't get so busy with holiday activities that you neglect your cat's basic needs. Take time each day to cuddle and play with them as you do the rest of the year, and don't neglect to clean your fastidious feline's litter pan!!! Your cat doesn't want to be embarrassed by litter box odors any more than you do!


This holiday season we'll be using ARM & HAMMER™ CLUMP & SEAL™ odor sealing litter, the biggest advancement in cat litter history. No other litter forms a tight seal around odor and destroys it with unique odor eliminators and baking soda. Many cat moms don't realize that even after you scoop bacterial odor can keep growing. The innovative, new MicroGuard technology seals and destroys immediate odor, plus prevents the growth of future bacterial odor for 7-day odor control, guaranteed.

PetSmart carries the entire line of ARM & HAMMER CLUMP & SEAL cat litter so you can easily pick up a box while shopping for your cat's stocking stuffers! (Hint, hint!)

Arm & Hammer is on social media: Follow them on Facebook and Instagram today!

How do you prepare your cats for the busy holiday season?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ARM & HAMMER. The opinions and text are all mine.

17 comments:

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

Love the tips! Well, mainly #3. ;-)

Unknown said...

Great tips! Doesn't seem possible that we're getting into the holiday season already. I know our cats will be happy just hanging out underneath the tree, and maybe claiming a few ornaments!

The Menagerie Mom said...

Your description of the happy stressfulness of the holiday season is so spot-on. But these tips to help combat that are fantastic! My kitties love the Christmas tree, a little too much. I usually get them an early Christmas gift, like another mini cat tree, to take their attention away from all those sparkly ornaments. Thank you for sharing this with us, Mudpie and Melissa! Purrs!

Anonymous said...

Great tips! Thanks, Melissa.

The Island Cats said...

Great tips....we can't wait for the tree to go up.

Two French Bulldogs said...

What great ideas for our kitty friend
Lily & Edward

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat said...

Some mommy doesn't trust me with a tree. I swear! You eat ONE PLANT and you're screwed out of decorations for the rest of your life! Oh, wait. I guess I broke some stuff ... but only one ... err ... two ... no ... five times ... in a week.
ps - how do you sign up for Santa to come early, on time AND late?!?!

Sweet Purrfections said...

Great tips for the holiday. Having an odor free home is important.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the helpful tips, Melissa. Great post:)
Nicole

Anonymous said...

You're lookin' very purretty Mudpie. Great posty and tips. Big hugs to ya'll.

Luv ya'

Dezi and Raena

The Swiss Cats said...

Those are great tips ! Purrs

da tabbies o trout towne said...

mudpie; yur post iz grate two day N we hafta say BURD day iz like de WESRT day
in trout towne....peer ree od !~!~ ☺☺☺

we bee out til munday ~~~ heerz two a halfmoon fish kinda week oh end ~~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥

da tabbies o trout towne said...

see....we iz all reddy sew up set we canna even spellz rite....WERST~~~~~~

☺☺☺

Cathy Keisha said...

am prepared for anything. I don’t need to be coddled since I don’t limb the tree or play with the ornaments. Arm & Hammer missed the boat by not warning against snowglobes and scented pine cones.

pilch92 said...

Nice post! Clump and Seal is a great product.

Unknown said...

Great tips! I really like the one about letting Santa arrive early. :-)

nancywestbooks said...

Great tips, Mudpie!