On October 31, your doorbell will ring thirty or forty times. Costumed strangers will come to your door. That door will open and close all evening. And there will be Halloween treats everywhere.
For a cat, Halloween and your cat combine pretty much everything that makes them uncomfortable: unpredictable noise, strangers, repeated openings to the outside, and a series of new objects within pawing distance. This is not an evening to take lightly, especially if you want to avoid stress and health problems.
Here are the six concrete risks, and the plan that neutralizes them without stress.
1. The door that opens forty times
This is the most common and serious danger. A cat frightened by the doorbell can slip outside in a second, in the dark, amid moving crowds and cars.
An indoor cat that goes out under these conditions does not know how to get back in. Shelters report peaks in cats found in early November.
To do: check right now that your cat's identification is up to date. In France, identification by microchip or tattoo is mandatory for all cats born after January 1, 2012, and that is what allows you to find them. Are your contact details correct in the I-CAD file? A move or a change of number is enough to make the microchip useless.
2. Halloween treats, chocolate, and sugar-free candies
Chocolate contains theobromine, which cats metabolize very poorly. Dark chocolate is the most concentrated, so the most dangerous.
Cats do not perceive the sweet taste, which makes them less tempted than dogs — but they are attracted by fat and by crinkling paper. Swallowed aluminum packaging can also cause an obstruction.
Sugar-free candies and chewing gums pose a distinct problem: the xylitol they contain is toxic to pets and can cause digestive problems.
To do: the evening's loot ends up in a closed cupboard, not in a bowl on the coffee table, and even less within pawing distance.
3. Candles in pumpkins
A hollowed-out pumpkin with a candle inside, placed on the floor or on a ledge, is a flame at cat-tail height. Tail and whisker burns are classic reasons for consultation on November 1, and the risk of fire is not theoretical when a cat knocks over the pumpkin.
To do: LED candles. They give exactly the same effect, and you won't have to watch them.
4. Wired decorations and string lights
Fake spiderwebs, garlands, ribbons, hanging wires, string lights: these are linear objects, and linear objects are what cats swallow most readily. A cat's tongue is covered with backward-facing papillae, which makes spitting it out difficult — once engaged, the string goes down.
A linear foreign body in the intestine is a surgical emergency.
To do: decorations high up, out of reach, or wire-free decorations.
5. Glow sticks and light-up collars
They are everywhere on October 31, they are flexible, they glow, they roll: a cat bites them. The liquid they contain is irritating. It causes excessive salivation, jaw movements, sometimes vomiting.
It is rarely serious, but it is spectacular and frightening.
To do: they do not stay on the floor after the evening. Pick them up before going to bed.
6. Dressing up your cat
It is tempting, it makes for great photos, and it is almost always a bad idea. A costume hinders movement, constricts, prevents the cat from grooming itself, and exposes it to the gaze of unknown guests in a state of vulnerability.
Observe: flattened ears, frozen body, dilated pupils, refusal to move forward. This is not amusing shyness, it is distress.
To do: if you really insist, a simple part of the costume worn for thirty seconds for the photo, removed immediately. And if the cat freezes, stop.
The evening plan: ten minutes of preparation
The simplest solution is not to watch your cat all evening. It is to give it a room of its own, and to set it up there before the first doorbell rings.
Choose a room away from the entrance: bedroom, office, laundry room. Set up its litter box, water, a little food, and especially its closed refuge — a cave or a house, with solid walls and a single opening. Close the door, leave a soft light, and don't touch it again.
This type of hiding place is not an optional comfort. A study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science showed that cats with a closed hiding place recovered from stress several days earlier than those deprived of one. On a night of commotion, the effect is immediate: the cat locks itself in a space where the noise is muffled and where nothing can reach it.
Our felted wool caves and houses fulfill exactly this function: the density of the wool dampens the sounds from the entrance, and the enclosed space cuts off visual stimuli. If you are wondering why a closed shelter works where an open basket fails, we detail the mechanism here.
One important point: set it up several days before, not on the evening of the 31st. A shelter discovered in a hurry, in the middle of the noise, will not be used.
The case of free-roaming cats
If your cat usually goes out, keep it inside all evening on the 31st, and preferably the day before and the day after. Too much traffic, too many crowds, too much noise, too many open gates.
This applies to all cats, regardless of their color.
The numbers to keep at hand
In case of suspected ingestion, call before doing anything — and above all never try to make your cat vomit on your own initiative.
- CNITV (Lyon) — 04 78 87 10 40, 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m. to midnight — cnitv.fr
- CAPAE-Ouest (Nantes) — centre-antipoison-animal.com
Also write down the number of your emergency clinic. On the evening of October 31, your regular veterinarian will be closed.
Frequently asked questions
Is chocolate dangerous for cats?
Yes. It contains theobromine, which cats eliminate very poorly. Dark chocolate is the most dangerous. In case of ingestion, call your veterinarian.
Should you keep your cat inside on Halloween night?
Yes, it is safer, especially if it usually goes out: too much noise, traffic, and open doors.
How to calm a cat stressed by the doorbell?
Set it up before the evening in a quiet room with its refuge, its litter box, water, and a little food, and close the door.
Can you dress up your cat?
It is not recommended: most cats do not handle it well. If you insist, a light accessory for a few seconds for the photo, removed immediately.
To go further
- International Cat Care — advice sheets on cat stress and environment
