Halloween Safety Tips for Pets
Halloween is a time to celebrate and your pets can join in on the fun. Just make sure you follow these trick-or-treating and Halloween safety tips!
Microchip
Microchip your dog or cat! This is the best way to make sure you and your pet reunite after being separated. A microchip is a tiny piece of technology, about the size of a grain of rice, implanted by your animal’s shoulder. After implantation, your pet won’t even feel it and the microchip is good for life.
However, a microchip only works if it’s registered. Microchips aren’t a GPS device. When animal welfare professionals use a scanner to detect a microchip, the scanner shows a identification number. This identification number is unique to your pet, similar to a social security number. Then the professional can look up the number online. As long as the chip is registered, the professional can find your contact information and return your pet to you.
This is why it’s so crucial to register your pet’s microchip. You can do so with any microchip registry service. Remember to keep your account up to date each time you switch addresses or phone numbers!
Food
Halloween is a great time for munchies, but this means that you need to be extra careful with food around your furry BFF. Obviously, you shouldn’t let your cat or dog have any chocolate. And lots of sugar isn’t good for your pet, so feeding them any type of candy is a no. What treats can you feed them? They can eat plain popcorn, so long as it doesn’t have any hard kernels or toppings on it. Cats and dogs can also eat plain apple slices with zero seeds. We also recommend plain pumpkin. Just make sure it’s prepared properly. You can learn how to do so here.
Lights
It’s best to outfit your pet with a light-up or reflective collar if you plan on going outside at night. There are several ones with reflective tape or battery packs that will help keep your animal visible in the dark. You might also want to consider LED charms for your pet’s collar. These come in a variety of fun colors.
Leash and Collar
Even the most well behaved pets can get spooked and make a run for it on Halloween. Prepare for the worst-case scenario by making sure your pet has on a collar and leash. Also put an identification tag on the collar. It should list your pet’s name and your phone number. It’s the easiest way for someone to return your cat or dog if they get lost!
