When spring rolls around, flowers are beautiful to look at and you can’t wait to buy them for decorating your home, keep in mind that many flowers can be toxic to your pets!
We suggest ensuring that any flowers or plants you bring into your home are non-toxic, and no matter what type of flora you have, keep pets away as best as possible by keeping the plants on tabletops for small dogs, high shelving for larger pets, and behind closed doors for sneaky, curious cats., use hanging planters as a way to keep plants out of the reach of your pets.
SAFE FLOWERS FOR CATS AND DOGS
As far as toxicity goes, this list should help the next time you’re plant and flower shopping.
Roses – Daisies – Carnations – Alstroemeria – Asters – Sunflowers – Statice – Poms – (1) Tulips – (2) Daffodils
(1) Tulips: Cut flowers are OK, but the bulb contains allergic lactones . In general, these flowers are more commonly ingested by dogs, as they like to dig up and eat the bulbs when they’re planted outside.
(2) Daffodils: While some sources say cut flowers are fine, the toxin lycorine is present in all parts of the plant and can cause signs similar to tulips. It’s usually a mild toxin, but should be avoided.
Keep in mind that even the water used to keep your plants and flowers fresh can cause problems. Cats especially like to drink from vases, so make sure the cat cannot overturn heavy vases and hurt themselves.
PLANTS TOXIC TO DOGS
Dealing with a dog that has been poisoned by a plant can be a scary situation. Who do I call? What do I do? How could I have prevented this?
To help you on that last one, here is a list of some of the most common poisonous plants to dogs :
Autumn Crocus – Daffodil – Dieffenbachia – Tulip – Azalea – Calanchoe – Sago Palm – Oleander – Cyclamen – Amaryllis
PLANTS TOXIC TO CATS
Cats will chew on plants. And, because they love to climb and explore, it is difficult to keep plants out of their reach. Therefore, if you are going to have plants in your house, or if you let your cat out in your yard, you need to be able to accurately identify the plants to which your cat will be exposed. When in doubt, however, it is best to remove the plant from your home.
The following is a listing of plants that are toxic to cats, as well as the most commonly encountered toxic plants:
Amaryllis – Autumn Crocus – Azaleas and Rhododendrons – Castor Bean – Chrysanthemum – Cyclamen – English Ivy – Kalanchoe – Lilies – Marijuana – Oleander – Peace Lily – Pothos – Sago Palm – Spanish thyme (Coleus ampoinicus) – Tulip and Narcissus bulbs (Tulipaand Narcissus) – Yew (Taxus)
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Since many plants are irritants, especially for the gastrointestinal tract, most symptoms seen will be the result of irritation or inflammation, such as redness, swelling, or itchiness of the skin or mouth.
If the toxic principle directly affects a particular organ, the symptoms seen will be related to that organ. For example:
- Difficulty breathing
- Drooling or difficulty swallowing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Excessive drinking and urinating
- Fast, slow, or irregular heart beat
IMMEDIATE CARE
If you see your pet eating a plant and you are uncertain if it is poisonous, or if you suspect your cat ate such a plant within the past 1 to 2 hours, you can do the following before you take him to your veterinarian:
- Remove any plant material from the hair and skin.
- If it necessary, you can wash the pet with warm water and a little non-irritating dish soap.
- The identity of the plant is very important for determining treatment. If you don’t know what kind of plant it is and you can bring it with you, do so. Veterinarians don’t receive much training in plant identification, but every effort needs to be made to identify the plant. If your cat has vomited at all, try to collect some it for the doctor.
Our last tip is, enjoy the spring!!
