Today, we have another excellent guest post from Dr. Rex Riggs, owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance.
Dr. Riggs writes about common cat and dog poisonings and how the holiday season can be particularly worrisome.
Our pets love the holidays too. They get to see all the family. They get presents just like us. They also know we are preoccupied so it is time for them to get into mischief. You really need to watch your dogs and cats, because they can and WILL get into anything, and I mean anything!
I have already described the objects they will eat, such as ribbon, tinsel and the Christmas ham, in a previous post (Guest post: the most common items swallowed by dogs and cats), so this post is about the different poisonings we see in our practice in this festive time of the year.
The holidays are upon us and they present (get it…holiday…present??…oh never mind) your pets with some interesting seasonal hazards.
The first one everyone thinks about is the poinsettia. These beautiful flowers are always represented as dangerous and toxic plants but they really are not that toxic. The flower growers have changed the poinsettias through hybridization so that they state these plants are not poisonous. Now this is not to say that if you dog or cats decides to munch on these it will be a positive experience. They are bitter and your pet will probably salivate and shake their head for a time.
Speaking of tables, during the holiday season we often try to add a festive scent to our house by using potpourri. These aromatic mixtures are often combined with substances called catotonc detergents. Cats are the ones that are attracted to the potpourri the most. They will paw at it the mixture and then through grooming, will transfer it to the skin or mouth, which can be very irritating to the cats.
Xylitol is a sugar free sweetener that is found in a number of gums and candies. This sweetener is very dangerous in cats and dogs. When ingested, it causes a burst of insulin that causes these animals to become hypoglycemic in as little as 30 minutes. You will see weakness and possible collapse that can last hours if not treated.
It is very important with Xylitol toxicity, as well as the other ones we discuss to get to you veterinarian as soon as possible.
I want to transition away from the holiday hazards now to talk about one of the most common toxicities we see, rodenticides, or rat poisoning. These are very bad news.
Then came the newer or second generation anticoagulants. These last longer and only need to be ingested once to cause some major problems. They last longer in the body and can often have delayed toxicity that results in internal bleeding in the pet weeks after ingestion. The antidote is long term vitamin k1 treatment for up to 6 weeks. Don’t delay treatment!! The important thing to remember with these toxins need to be treated these right away. If you wait until you see signs, it is too late.
As if these were not effective enough, two more rat/mice poisoning have been recently introduced. One is called Bromethalin. This is a nasty one because it causes neurologic signs such as seizures. There is no antidote. These need to be treated immediately to be able to save the pet.
The other newer agent is cholecalciferol or vitamin D based rodentocides. These are becoming very common. These work by mobilizing calcium from the bones and intestinal tract. The increased calcium often leads to kidney failure. This also needs immediate treatment to have a chance.
So now that I have been such a downer, please enjoy your holiday season but just be aware of what your pets are doing while you are celebrating the season.
pictures courtesy of Dr Riggs and his happy clients
