The holidays are right around the corner! Many of us are busy adorning our homes with festive decorations and holiday plants. But some of these things can be poisonous to our four-legged friends.
Keep your pets in mind while decorating this season. Below you will find a quick list of holiday decorations that could be lethal for pets.
- Holiday Ornaments: Popular items such as snow globes and bubble lights can potentially contain liquid chemicals that are poisonous to pets. If the liquid inside is ingested, your pet can suffer from skin and gastrointestinal irritation. Make sure these are out of reach of pets.
- Tinsel: This shiny object can be a severe hazard to your pets. Cats are drawn to tinsel. It can resemble their favorite toys. Although tinsel won’t poison your pet, it can cause serious intestinal damage that may require surgery and can be fatal.
- Holiday Foods: Keep human food for yourself. Foods like fruit cake contain grapes and raisins which can cause kidney failure in dogs. Chocolate and xylitol (a common sugarless sweetener) are also toxic to dogs. These items can cause vomiting and diarrhea and if ingested in large amounts cause more serious issues.
- Holiday Plants: Poinsettia plants are mildly toxic to pets. Holiday bouquets that contain lilies, holly and mistletoe are much more dangerous. Should your pet ingest one or two leaves or flower petals it could be fatal.
Accidents do happen. Should your pet ingest anything questionable, the Pet Poison Helpline is available 24/7 and can be reached at 855-764-7661.