|
Holiday Safety Tips

The holidays are a time to eat, drink, decorate, and visit with
family and friends. However, these festive goodies and décor, while
harmless to humans, can be hazardous to your pet’s health. To keep
pets happy and healthy during the holiday season, the ASPCA Animal
Poison Control Center is offering pet owners the following helpful
hints:
Holiday
sweets and chocolate are not for pets. Depending on the amount ingested,
chocolate (bakers, semi sweet, milk and dark) can be potentially poisonous to
many animals. In general, the less sweet the chocolate the more toxic it can be.
In fact, unsweetened baking chocolate contains almost seven times more
theobromine (a substance similar to caffeine) as milk chocolate. Vomiting,
diarrhea, seizures, hyperactivity and increased thirst, urination and heart rate
can be seen with the ingestion of as little as ¼ ounce of baking chocolate by a
10 lb dog.
Keep
your pet on his or her normal diet. Any change of diet even for one meal, could
give your pet severe indigestion and diarrhea. This is particularly true in
older animals that have more delicate digestive systems. Candies and gum
containing large amounts of the sweetener Xylitol can also be toxic to pets, as
ingestions of significant quantities can cause a fairly sudden drop in blood
sugar, resulting in depression, and seizures.

Do not give pets holiday leftovers and keep pets away from
the garbage. Poultry bones can splinter and cause blockages. Greasy, spicy and
fatty foods can cause stomach upset, and spoiled or moldy foods can cause food
poisoning, tremors or seizures.

Alcohol and pets DO NOT mix. Place unattended alcoholic
drinks where pets cannot reach them. If ingested, the animal can become very
sick and weak and may go into a coma, possibly resulting in death from
respiratory failure.
Keep aluminum foil and cellophane wrappers away from pets.
They can cause vomiting and intestinal blockage.

Be careful with holiday floral arrangements. Lilies are
commonly used this time of year and all varieties can cause kidney failure in
cats. Safe alternatives are using silk floral arrangements instead. Poinsettias
are considered to be low in toxicity; however they could cause mild vomiting if
ingested by our pet. Common yuletide plants such as mistletoe and holly berries
can be potentially toxic to pets. Should a cat or a dog eat mistletoe, they
could possibly suffer GI upset and cardiovascular problems. Holly can cause
nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy.

Keep pets away from Christmas tree water. The water may
contain fertilizers which if ingested can cause stomach upset.
Stagnant tree water can also act as a breeding ground for
bacteria and if ingested can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Consider decorating your tree with ornaments that are less
enticing to pets, such as dried non toxic flowers, wood, fabric or pinecones.
Traditional decorations like ribbons and tinsel can become
lodged in the intestines and cause obstruction. This is a very common problem,
especially in cats!

Our thanks to the
ASPCA for these great pet care tips!
|