Make sur
e you keep your four-legged family members in mind when celebrating Valentine’s Day. The little things you may not think of could cause major problems for your dogs and cats.
Watch the Flowers
Many pet owners are still unaware that all species of lily are potentially fatal to cats. If your pet is suffering from symptoms such as stomach upset, vomiting or diarrhea, he may have ingested an offending flower or plant. Use the ASPCA’s online toxic and nontoxic plant libraries as visual guides of what and what not should be in your bouquets.
Forbidden Chocolate
Chocolate in all forms (including baker’s, semi sweet, milk and dark) can be potentially life-threatening to your pets. In darker chocolates, methylxanthines—caffeine-like stimulants that affect gastrointestinal, neurologic and cardiac function—can cause vomiting/diarrhea, hyperactivity, seizures and an abnormally elevated heart rate. The high-fat content in lighter chocolates can potentially lead to a life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas. I am not saying to forgo chocolate on Valentine’s Day – just make sure to keep it away from your pets.
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Don’t let pets near roses or other thorny stemmed flowers. Biting, stepping on or swallowing their sharp, woody spines can cause serious infection if a puncture occurs.
Playing with Fire
It’s nice to set your evening a-glow with candlelight, but put out the fire when you leave the room. Pawing kittens and nosy pooches can burn themselves or cause a fire by knocking over unattended candles.
Wrap it Up
Gather up tape, ribbons, bows, wrapping paper, cellophane and balloons after presents have been opened—if swallowed, these long, stringy and “fun-to-chew” items can get lodged in your pet’s throat or digestive tract, causing her to choke or vomit.
Looking for a special treat for the pets in your life? Good Buddy by Castor & Pollux has great chew toys and treats for that special dog and their Organix line makes great cat treats.
Enter below for your chance to win some cat or dog food from the wonderful people at Castor & Pollux.
About Amanda
Wow, I didn’t know about lilies being toxic to cats! I like to cut my lilies and bring them inside during the spring, I guess I need to stop doing that!
I didnt know chocolate could cause seizures to your pets
thats terrible and so very important to make sure youre keeping your pets as safe as possible
Don’t let your pets get near flowers!
Twitter: greenmissionmom
says:
I didn’t know that all species of lily are potentially fatal to cats. Thanks for sharing!
I learned that lighter chocolates have a higher fat content, and ingestion can lead to life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas.
Another tip is that xylitol, used in a lot of sugar-free candies and gums, is also dangerous to dogs. So keep them away from all candy, not just the chocolate!
Twitter: celticirishh
says:
I didn’t know the ASPCA had a library with the toxic and non-toxic plants listed, this is great information!
Twitter: aeperry
says:
Don’t let pets near roses or other thorny stemmed flowers. Biting, stepping on or swallowing their sharp, woody spines can cause serious infection if a puncture occurs.
I did not know about the flowers!
I hadn’t really thought about how dangerous tape was. Thanks for all of the suggestions.
I did not know that roses were dangerous
Twitter: piggybanksavers
says:
I had NO idea lilies were toxic! Those are my favorite, so that is a great thing to know! Thanks!
I try to follow all of these but I did not know that the thorns on roses could be so harmful.
I never even thought about roses and other thorny plants/flowers! I know about poisonous pants, etc but never gave a thought to thorny ones too!
I learned that apples & apricots are toxic, I had no idea!
I learned that I need to stop leaving candles lit in the house! I never thought about that!
I am so glad you posted about the roses. We rescued a puppy last year who was found living in a construction zone in a nearby town. When we got her home we found she had a odd liking for flowers… stems and all. She ate ALL of the plants she could get to in the garden, including the roses. We now have a fence up to keep her out because many plants (even indoor plants) can be very dangerous to pets if ingested. No real Mistletoe for us anymore!
Don’t feed your dog or cat chocolate
I didn’t know how bad chocalate was
I learned that lilies are toxic to cats.
Twitter: dhjax
says:
I had absolutely no idea that all lilies were toxic. Lilies are my absolute favorite flower. I have eight doggies, three of which are rescues. I enjoy posts like this as there is always stuff to learn when it comes to safety. I have a list printed out on my refrigerator of toxic foods and foods the dogs shouldn’t have….my husband refers to it all the time as he enjoys giving the dogs little healthy snacks and wants to make sure it’s safe for them….in addition to the “bad” stuff I’ve got a column of “good” stuff listed too which is stuff that’s good for them and that they all enjoy. Almost all of my dogs love all sorts of vegetables! My fur kids would love to win these treats. They absolutely love trying new things! Thank you.
Twitter: upstatemissy
says:
I did not know that all lillies can be deadly to cats!
I learned a bit too late about the chocolate thing. My dog once ate about two pounds of chocolate (it was Valentine’s Day) one night. When I came home and discovered it I had to call the vet who told me to give her hydrogen peroxide and wait. Aaaanndd then she threw up two pounds of chocolate. That was fun.
However nasty that might have been, I was so relieved that she was okay! And I never left chocolate anywhere she could even possibly get it again. Can’t be too careful!
h4schaffer at gmail dot com
Twitter: mdweitzelnsteel
says:
Pointsettias are also poisonous.
Twitter: rlweitzelnpups
says:
Chocolate and other things may or may not have an immediate reaction, but they also build up and cause problems over time.
Twitter: njweitzelmolimo
says:
Most kinds of nuts are bad news for dogs.
Twitter: mdweitzelnsteel
says:
Thank you very much!