When shopping for the holidays, don’t forget a gift for the cat or dog in the family. To help the harried shopper, the specialist veterinarians at The Animal Medical Center have teamed up to create a holiday gift list for pets using ideas from the Pet Socialite’s "No Place Like Home" Pet Expo on November 9 in New York City. A member of the AMC staff has carefully selected each gift with a different health issue in mind. Everyone at The AMC hopes you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season. Be sure to review our holiday safety tips for pets.

From the Neurology Service and the Rehabilitation & Fitness Service: Surprise your dog with a bad back and a weak hind end by ordering a large roll of yoga mat. Trim the yoga mat to fit your slippery hallway and turn it into a non-skid walkway for your dog with bad back legs. As an added bonus, the mats come in many colors to match your décor or mood.

AMC’s Renal Medicine Service is always prescribing more water for their feline patients with bladder problems. If the prescription for your cat is to drink more water, try a water fountain. Many cats find the bubbling water more attractive than still water in a bowl and will increase their water consumption with the fountain. Shown here is a Feng shui fountain. Even if your cat won’t drink from it, maybe his litter box use will improve just with a better flow of qi.

Selecting the correct chew toy for your dog is critical. AMC’s Dentistry Service recommends avoiding hard nylon toys and the Gastroenterology Service recommends avoiding real bones since they often lodge in the intestinal tract and cause serious problems. For a safe chew, consider these holiday themed toys from Jax and Bones. Colored with vegetable dyes and graded according to the “Chomp Chart,” these delightful toys can be wet and frozen to entertain chewers for hours.

Is your pooch a weekend warrior who doesn’t exercise Monday-Friday? Weekday couch potatoes are prone to sports injuries. Keep your dog in tip top shape all week and avoid the need to see one of AMC’s orthopedic surgeons for a knee repair by exercising your dog everyday. The self-powered exercise wheel shown below is an in-home method of exercising your dog and a great addition to the family’s home gym.

AMC’s Dermatology Service frequently prescribes a t-shirt for their itchy patients. The t-shirt prevents excessive licking and scratching while your pet’s skin heals. How about having your pet recover in style with this cute t-shirt from Sexy Beast: Canine Style Unleashed.

Pills, pills and more pills — AMC’s Internal Medicine Service is a big prescriber. Diligent pet owners make charts, calendars and post it reminders and still have a hard time remembering to give medication. How about simplifying the system with a glow cap reminder system by Vitality GlowCap? The special lid has connection to a wireless network and fits on a regular pill bottle. A missed dose sends a text message or phone call as a reminder. You can even send a reminder to another family member who can give the missed medication.

Your dog only has one set of eyes and AMC’s Ophthalmology Service wants to protect them. These sport glasses designed with dogs in mind, keep out sun, are shatterproof and protect eyes from flying debris if your dog rides in a open car, a pickup bed or the sidecar of a motorcycle.

The entire AMC staff hopes for a safe new year for all pets. To be prepared in case your cat or dog gets lost, be sure they have both a microchip and a collar with ID tags. Neither is a foolproof method of identification, so use both to make sure your pet is home for the holidays.

And the entire AMC staff hopes for a healthy new year for all pets. To be prepared in case your new year comes with an illness or injury, consider purchasing an insurance policy for your favorite dog or cat. Having a pet insurance policy will help to ease the financial burden and let you make decisions based on good medicine and not on finances. Many different companies underwrite policies for pets, so investigate carefully to pick the best one for your family.

This blog may also be found in the “Tales from the Pet Clinic” blog from WebMD.

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For nearly a century, The Animal Medical Center has been a national leader in animal health care, known for its expertise, innovation and success in providing routine, specialty and emergency medical care for companion animals. Thanks in part to the enduring generosity of donors, The AMC is also known for its outstanding teaching, research and compassionate community funds. Please help us to continue these efforts. Send your contribution to: The Animal Medical Center, 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065. For more information, visit amcny.gbtesting.us. To make an appointment, please call 212.838.7053.