GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -

The holidays mean lots of food, fun and decorations, but all that holiday joy could be dangerous for the fuzzier members of the family.

I give this speech probably a thousand times during the holiday season, said Veterinarian Dr. James Askew. The bottom line is I just want you to think of your pets as pets and not little people.

Each holiday season veterinarians are overwhelmed with sick pets that have gotten into the holiday feast or the holiday decorations.

According to Askew, the fatty meats and sweets that are abundant during the holidays can do a lot of damage to your pets digestive system.

Every year I am inundated with issues [like] chronic diarrhea, vomiting. We do quite a few surgeries every year to remove Christmas presents, bulbs and ornaments from pets, said Askew.

If youve watched the classic Christmas movie, Christmas Vacation, you are familiar with the scene in which the family cat gets a little too friendly with the Christmas tree lights. While the movie is a little melodramatic, electrocution is a big danger for curious pets.

It usually ends up having some hair loss. Nails will fly off. Teeth can actually burn and break and shatter, said Askew.

The vet says to keep your pets in mind while decorating by keeping cords out of sight, and decorations out of reach. He also says no slipping food scraps under the table.

He also says to make sure to keep pets comfortable if they are outside.

A lot of animals get displaced and put out side for a few weeks. Keep in mind that the cold weather as well as the wet weather were having can produce a lot of problems right now, said Askew.

Askew points out that several Christmas plants like mistletoe and poinsettias are very poisonous.

He suggests that pet owners keep an emergency contact number for their veterinarian on hand, just in case.

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