Christmas Dangers For Pets

                The Christmas season brings many fun times, festivities, family and friend parties, and presents.  It is also a time of the year that many pets encounter holiday objects that are dangerous or fatal.  It is a time when we see many more night and weekend emergencies at Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center in Carleton, MI because of ingestion or contact with dangerous substances.  Here is a list of things so you can be aware of what is harmful to pets and what to keep them away from.
Food and beverage ingestion is by far the most common dangerous ingestion we see during the holiday season.  Whether the pets were fed these things directly, or they helped themselves to the garbage or counter when you were busy entertaining.  We talk a lot about dangerous foods, so I will just list the things to stay away from for dogs and cats in particular.  The most obvious is chocolate.  While baking chocolate is the most dangerous, semi–sweet, milk and white chocolate are also toxic at different quantities based on the weight of the pet.  Grapes, raisins, alcohol of any kind, rum cakes, fruit cakes with currants, water from the tree stand that was treated with chemicals, potpourri containers with water in it, and sugarless gums and candies that contain xylitol are some of the most common.  Don’t forget fatty food leftovers and any foods with bones can cause irreversible organ and intestinal damage.
Trimming the tree and decorating the house is one of the most fun and exciting events of the holiday season.  It is also is a fun time for the pets to explore all of the new stuff surrounding them.  The most common ingestion from decorations is needles from the tree.  While they are not deadly by themselves, they can cause an upset stomach or even an intestinal blockage in a small pet.  Any electrical decoration that is plugged in should be out of reach of the pets.  Animals that chew can get electrocuted and again, it can be fatal.  Christmas tree decoration such as bulbs and ornaments are very enticing to a pet because they often have bright and shiny colors, and they can sway back and forth when touched.  These are perfect toys when looked at through the eyes of a cat or puppy.  Tinsel and garland are also potential foreign body obstructions waiting to happen.  Cats are notorious for chewing   the tinsel because it is “string-like”.   They can swallow a portion of it while some of it still in the mouth.  Some get it wrapped around their tongue while others pass it but it causes a linear foreign body anywhere in the intestines.
Many people enjoy decorating with plants and flowers for the season, but please be careful with the ones you choose to use.  You may have heard in the past that poinsettias are toxic.  This belief has gotten a lot of attention unnecessarily.  If a poinsettia is ingested, it usually will only cause mild irritation to the mouth.  The poinsettia plant is NOT toxic to cats and dogs.  On the other hand, lilies are very toxic and should not be around you pets.  Many Christmas floral arrangements contain lilies of different species which are all toxic, especially to cats.  Since cats love to chew on plant flowers and leaves, this is a serious danger to the cat family.  Other holiday plants you should keep out of reach of pets are mistletoe, holly and the Christmas cactus.  All of these tend to cause stomach irritation, vomiting and diarrhea, so it is best to keep them out of the house.  Many pets are excellent detectives and will seek out things to chew on and eat.
Keeping these things away from you r pet may not be as easy as it sounds but if your pet does ingest any of the above mentioned items, or you suspect they might have, please do not hesitate to call Ash Veterinary Clinic and Emergency Center at 734-782-2827.  The prognosis oftentimes is directly related to the time of the ingestion and the time the pet was seen by a doctor.  Of course, sooner is always better and if you are not sure that the pet ate something it is always better to be safe.  In many cases, I can tell from my exam or diagnostic tests if your furry baby was being mischievous.  The quicker treatment is instituted, the better the outcome and a more enjoyable holiday season will be had.