Spring Safety Tips for Pets
- As with other holidays and celebrations, keeping chocolate away from pets is a must. Chocolate can potentially produce clinical effects ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death in severe cases. White chocolate has the lowest toxic methylxanthine content, while baking chocolate contains the highest. While white chocolate may not have the same potential as darker forms to cause a methylxanthine poisoning, the high fat content of lighter chocolates could still lead to vomiting and diarrhea, as well as the possible development of life-threatening pancreatitis, an inflammatory condition of the pancreas.
- Keep an eye out for spring flower mixes and bouquets. Many of those plants are poisonous to all types of animals, including reptiles. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.
- Beware of plastic grass for stuffing Easter baskets. This filling is not digestible and can cause intestinal blockage if consumed by your pets.
- If you create an Easter egg hunt in your yard, make sure to get all the hardboiled eggs out of their hiding places. If left outside, the egg could rot and then be eaten by your pet. To guarantee this doesn’t happen, substitute real eggs for plastic ones, or draw a map of where you’ve hidden them all so you can double check they’ve been found.
