New Year’s Hazards for your Pets
The New Year’s holiday season can be a lot of fun, but sometimes this busy time can have potential hazards for your pets. There are a few things to consider especially during New Year’s party time that you need to be cautious of.
- Chocolate: Chocolates can be especially harmful to your pets. Any type of chocolate can cause gastrointestinal upset but many chocolates can cause cardiac arrhythmias as well. Dark chocolates and baking chocolates are especially harmful. Chocolate toxicity can be fatal to your pet. If your pet ingests any chocolate please call our office immediately and we can help to minimize the complications if it is caught earlier enough.
- Tinsel or Streamers: Tinsel can be especially enticing to cats. They love the sparkly colors and like to play with it, sometimes even ingesting it. The tinsel can then cause severe gastrointestinal problems. If your pet eats or play with tinsel and then begins vomiting, please call us.
- Onions & Garlic: Onions and garlic can cause a severe anemia in companion animals. They also contain compounds that can cause damage to the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. If your pet ingests either of these we may need to induce vomiting if they have recently been ingested.
- Poinsettia: Poinsettia plants, leaves, stems, and the sap of the stem are all toxic to pets. They cause irritation of the mouth and may cause vomiting and diarrhea.
- Table scraps: We do not recommend feeding table scraps of any kind to your pets. Some pets can become sick with pancreatitis after eating only a small amount of table scraps. Make sure to tell your guests that your pet doesn’t need to be fed from the table.
- Bones: Bones of all kinds can cause gastrointestinal tract laceration and obstruction. Any type of bone can cause problems for your pets. We do not recommend feeding any type of bones from meat to your pet.
- Grapes and Raisins: Grapes and raisins are toxic to pets. They should not be fed to them. Even a small amount of grapes can cause kidney failure. If your pet has eaten grapes please call our clinic to discuss it with your veterinarian.
- Fireworks: Fireworks should be kept away from your pet. Pets who try to play exploding fireworks may be burned or injured. Even fireworks that have already exploded may still be hot. Do not allow your pet to play with these. Some pets have extreme fireworks anxiety from the loud noise. If your pet is especially anxious during this time from the loud noises, please call one of our veterinarians to discuss if anxiety medications for your pet are a good fit. We offer several options for reducing your pet’s stress level during this time.
- Alcohol: Always be cautious about any drinks, especially mixed drinks containing alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol can cause your pet to be lethargic, depressed, and ataxic.
- Fruit Cake: Some of these fruit cake recipes contain grapes or raisins. These ingredients make the cake toxic to your pet. Fruit cakes soaked in rum are also hazardous to the health of your pet.
We hope you have a safe and happy New Year! As always please call us for any questions or concerns you may have about your pet.