Sydney’s Animal Referral Hospital veterinarian Dr Shayne Thomas said it was a stressful time for pets and black cats in particular are often terrorised, injured or killed.

“During Halloween, we often see pets suffering from injuries, accidents and poisoning,” she said.

Some pets are poisoned by eating lollies and chocolate, which are toxic and can result in vomiting, diarrhoea, pancreatitis, seizures, coma and in extreme cases death.

Tips to keep pets safe on Halloween include keeping them indoors at night, keeping any lollies, wrappers or lit decorations out of reach, only feed them treats designed for pets, don’t dress them up unless you know they enjoy it and make sure the costume doesn’t have choking hazards and it is not restrictive, don’t take pets trick or treating.