We highlighted before Christmas that the festive time of year can be a potentially perilous one for pets, with certain foods and decorations being hazardous for our four-legged friends.

Even with the festivities behind us, we’re being warned that the gift you may have bought for your pet for Christmas may have hidden dangers lurking within it.

A recent survey showed that UK households spent £660m on their beloved pets’ Christmas presents, with the average spend being £22 per pet.

Last year, apparently, it was all about ’Pawsecco’ and a pair of reindeer antlers for your pug; this year there’s been an even bigger array of toys and gifts to chose from.

Our ManxSPCA favourites are the British MP-themed dog toys, available from ’Pet Hates Toys’, which may help to make the next few Brexit-filled months more bearable - the ’Jeremy’ toy, for example, reminds us that he’s ’for the many, not the chew’. These well-made toys carry a warning that owners should always supervise their dogs during play and regularly examine the toy for signs of wear and tear, because the toys contain squeakers which could be a choking hazard if ingested.

Most cat toys contain catnip (a herb from the mint family) to make them more appealing, rather than squeakers, because it acts as a stimulant for many cats when they smell it, although when eaten it can act as a sedative.

But cat-lovers are now being warned by some commentators that giving cats catnip is unethical.

They argue that providing cats with a mind-altering substance is wrong, and that this is made worse because our pets are not being given the herb in its natural plant form but in highly concentrated doses.

Around 50% of cats are affected by catnip, and their behaviours vary widely with some simply rubbing themselves in the herb, or against the catnip-filled toys, while others have a crazy 10 minutes of hyperactivity.

We use catnip with the felines in our cattery as a form of enrichment, but we carefully monitor each cat’s reaction to the herb to make sure that they appear to be enjoying the experience.

As you can see from the photograph, 18-year-old Millie likes it and she’ll happily spend half an hour sniffing it.

Millie has been with us for a few weeks, but we’ve taken the unusual step of not placing her for adoption.

he has a tumour in her mouth which has been diagnosed as spindle cell sarcoma and, although she’s not in pain, this means that she doesn’t have long left to live.

She spends most of her time sleeping, and she enjoys pottering around the cattery office, and so we think it will be less stressful for her to spend her remaining days with us rather than having to adjust to a new environment.

We’re doing everything we can to make this time special, feeding Millie her favourite food, attending to her health needs, and giving her lots of cuddles.

When she’s not curled up on a chair in the office, she’s in the yellow socialisation room where she has a sofa all to herself.

We’ve been encouraging members of the public to go and spend time sitting with her, and stroking her, so that she has as much companionship as possible throughout the day.

The cattery hasn’t had many cats in it over the Christmas period because we rehomed so many in November - 38 to be precise.

However, we have plenty of fabulous felines in our isolation and quarantine unit, who will be health-checked and signed off by our vet in the next couple of days.

They will be transferred to our main cattery during the week commencing January 7, and be ready and waiting to meet their prospective new owners.