Easter Dangers For Your Pets
Easter can present a variety of dangers to your pet from seemingly innocuous sources. However, with mindfulness and vigilance, you can keep your pets safe while allowing them to join in the festivities and excitement.
Physical and psychological dangers
Your dog may normally be gregarious and happy when a small number of friends come to visit, but may experience stress when confronted by a large family gathering or a steady influx of visitors.
This could lead to your dog fleeing your home and being exposed to dangers from cars, dog thieves, or other animals. Although you want your dog to be a part of the festivities, you should prepare a place of quiet relaxation in advance of an influx of of friends and family.
This will allow your dog to gradually acclimate to the sudden sensory overload and provide a safe place if the dog becomes overwhelmed.
Some cats, while not usually described as gregarious, are at least tolerable of guests. However, their patience has limits, and they may decide to either scratch or bite an offending child or look for greener pastures on the street.
This exposes them to the same dangers faced by dogs, especially from cars, as guests arrive and depart. Establishing a quiet human-free zone in which they can decompress will protect both your cat and your guests.
Poison dangers for pets at Easter
Food
While foods that are traditionally eaten at Easter are not specific to the holiday, they may be present in greater abundance during the holiday. Children, in particular, mat be willing and eager to share their Easter bounty with their pets. Dangerous foods include:
Chocolate
In abundance at Easter and in the hands of children, chocolate contains theobromines and caffeine, which can be harmful or fatal to dogs and cats. Although dogs will readily consume chocolate treats, cats may be initially reluctant but accept a chocolate treat from a family member.
Pets that consume chocolate will exhibit extreme hyperactivity, along with excessive thirst and possible seizures.
If you suspect that your pet has eaten chocolate, even before symptoms are presented, you should call your local vet for advice. They may advise a watch-and-wait approach, suggest inducing vomiting, or order an immediate trip to the pet hospital. Contact a veterinarian, like one from Bijou Animal Hospital P.C., for more information and guidance.
Bread and rolls
Homemade bread and rolls present an issue because of the consumption of rising dough and yeast. If dough that hasn't fully risen is consumed, it can expand in the stomach and cause a blockage. Yeast also convert sugars into alcohol, and may produce alcohol poisoning.
Xylitol
An artificial sweetener found in sugar-free gums and candies, it can raise a pet's insulin level and lower their blood sugar to the point of coma or death.
Inedible items that may be consumed by pets at Easter
Easter grass
This colorful material that is used to fill Easter baskets is tempting to pets, but may result in a bowel obstruction and a trip to the pet hospital for emergency surgery. Switching to colorful tissue wrap will eliminate this danger.
Lilies
Every part of lily flowers are poisonous to cats, even the pollen dust and the water in which they sit. While Easter lilies themselves are not poisonous to dogs, they mat be treated with preservatives or insecticides before being sold, so they may still harm dogs if eaten.
You should avoid bringing Easter lilies into the home unless you can keep them in a place that is inaccessible to your pets. Calla lilies, which are not true lilies, may be substituted for traditional Eater lilies, but they can still cause minor irritation to the mouth and throat if consumed.
While Easter is already a busy time of year, you can still keep your pets safe by educating and including the entire family in your efforts to protect them. Easter, after all, is a family holiday, and your pets are important members of your family.
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