Pet dangers abound each year when the Easter holiday is celebrated. The danger to pets comes in the form of Easter baskets filled with chocolate, sugarless candy and small toys. In many homes across the globe, Easter baskets filled with these items, all nestled within handfuls of plastic Easter grass find their way into the home. These Easter baskets are then hidden around the house for children to find the next morning. Unfortunately, the family pet often visits the Easter basket long before the children do.
Another seemingly harmless holiday tradition is the purchase of flowers. When Easter lilies and other flowers are brought into the house, their fragrance and appearance may be beautiful to humans, but to Fido or Kitty-Cat the smell might be too hard to ignore. Your pet might decide to find out if that good smelling item is also good to eat. Unfortunately, many plants such as Easter lilies are poisonous to pets.
If that isn't enough, Easter egg hunts are taking place in backyards all around the block. Any hard boiled eggs or candy filled plastic eggs that are not found are additional pet dangers.
Recognizing Pet Dangers
- The first red flag should rise when one of these objects enter the dog's or cat’s perimeter.
- The second red flag should go up when Fido or Kitty-Cat pays attention to the new items.
Pets don't know the hidden dangers that lie in wait should they consume the tantalizing items being brought into their homes. A dog or cat has no idea that the delicious smelling chocolate-filled Easter basket, that's been tempting him all day and is now unattended, has a toxic substance inside it that could cause irreversible damage to his kidneys or cause death.
Holiday are Minefields for Pets
Avoiding the Easter basket, the Easter flowers, the plastic Easter eggs and the abandoned hard boiled eggs now rotting in various spots around the yard is a difficult task for a pet. Pets are curious. Their noses are much more sensitive than a human’s; they almost can't resist the delicious smells. They don't know that pet dangers even exist. They depend on you to keep their environment safe. So while Easter may be a wonderful holiday for people, it is a minefield for Fido or Kitty-Cat. It's up to each pet owner to make sure their pets make it through unscathed.
Chocolate Can be Deadly
Theobromine is the ingredient in chocolate that can cause death in dogs or cats. Unfortunately, pet owners usually don’t know their pet has ingested chocolate until the pet begins to vomit. If your pet begins to vomit and there is a possibility it has ingested chocolate, contact a veterinarian immediately. The longer the chocolate is in your pet’s system, the further damage to his internal organs and the greater chance death will occur.
Sugarless Candy Can be Toxic
In addition to chocolate, sugarless candy can be toxic to a dog. According to the National Animal Poison Control Center, candy containing the ingredient xylitol can cause liver damage, even death in a canine. Xylitol is also found in sugarless gum and mints, toothpaste and mouthwash, energy bars and in a variety of cookies and other sweet treats. Approximately three grams of xylitol is enough to cause toxic death in a 65-pound dog.
Keeping Cats and Dogs Safe during Holidays
Cats are particularly fond of anything that moves or makes interesting noises and the plastic strips that constitute Easter grass fall into that category. A digestive system packed with plastic Easter grass could spell disaster for Kitty-Cat.
If possible, remove the pet from the situation. While Easter egg hunts are a lot of fun, they can be deadly to your pet so it's imperative that you don't leave items lying around or unattended. Do not bring poisonous plants into the home and make sure all sugarless candy, chocolate, plastic toys and plastic Easter eggs are accounted for at all times
Helen Polaski - Helen Polaski (Szymanski) began her writing career in 1985 as a newspaper journalist and editor. She has compiled and edited eight ...
