Common Household Pet Toxins
As pet owners, it is our duty to take extra care to ensure our pets don’t come into contact with poisons – especially if those toxins are perfectly harmless to humans. Today we’ve compiled a list of toxins commonly found in the household that can be deadly for pets. Is there anything on the list in your home?
Plants
The best way to avoid having your pets coming into contact with harmful plants is to keep the houseplants in a separate – or better yet, inaccessible – area to your pets.
Here are just a few common houseplants that can be deadly news for your pet:
- Lilies
- Aloe Vera
- Bird of Paradise
- Florida Beauty
- Devil’s Ivy
- Yucca
Before purchasing a new plant, you should consider whether it affects cats or dogs. The few plants mentioned above are only a handful from the list; therefore, it’s important to conduct your research on the other kinds of plants that are toxic to your pets.
Food
Again, you should be consulting your vet or conducting research to find out a full list of harmful human foods for cats and dogs.
However, the most common toxic foods include:
- Chocolate
- Grapes
- Salt
- Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Avocadoes
You should also beware of unnatural ingredients found in human foods. For example, Xylitol (found in sugar-free gum) is another common and harmful toxin.
Human medication
As with plants, the best way to guarantee your pet doesn’t come into contact with your medication is to keep it hidden or inaccessible, preferably in high cupboards. Medication suitable for humans can cause severe health issues for pets. For example, medicines like Advil are actually a common cause of gastrointestinal ulcers in cats, dogs, birds, hamsters and ferrets.
Other common medications to keep out of reach include:
- Antidepressants
- Paracetamol
- Cold medicines
- Muscle relaxants
Rodenticides
Rodenticides include rat and mouse bait. But they don’t just attract rodent pests; they can smell appealing to your pets, too. Even if your pet doesn’t directly consume a rodenticide, they can still be affected. If your cat eats a poisoned rat, for example, your pet can indirectly ingest the rodenticide.
You should take extreme caution and care when placing baits. Set the traps in spots your pets can’t access or perhaps get your pest problem professionally treated to avoid impacting your pet.
What do I do if my pet has ingested a toxin?
There are a few steps you should take as soon as you notice your pet has ingested or chewed anything harmful:
- Collect labels and packaging in a zip-lock bag. This will help your vet identify the toxin involved.
- Collect remnants of the poisonous substance, even if it has been chewed or vomited. Again, this helps with identification, especially if there’s no packaging.
- Contact a vet as soon as possible. This is extremely important, as symptoms of poisoning may not show until hours or days later.
At Vets in Cranbourne, we pride ourselves on our friendliness, expert advice and professional treatment. If you are concerned about your pet, do not hesitate to call us today on (03) 5995 3444.
