Your home may harbour all kinds of innocuous looking items that are actually dangerous to your pet.Here are five toxic substances that can cause serious injury to your dog or cat that you may not haveknown about:
1. Garlic:
While garlic is actually good for your heal th as a human (say goodbye to cholesterol), it is dangerousif ingested by your pet. Garlic is not metabolised in the same way in animals as in people, as it causes damage to the red blood cells in the animal’s body. This can cause a mild to severe anaemia in the animal, depending on how much garlic has been ingested. The red blood cells carry oxygen around the body but if they are damaged and there are less circulating red blood cells in the bloodstream, the body becomes starved of oxygen. The symptoms can present as weakness, lethargy and pale gums. Unfortunately, there is a myth that feeding garlic to dogs prevents ticks from biting them. This is not true, and the tried and tested products avai lable at your vet are the only safe way to protect your pet from ticks and fleas.
2. Macedamia Nuts:
Macadamia nuts cause vomiting, unsteady walking, weakness, muscle tremors and fever in dogs. The dog needs to ingest more than 2 grams per ki logram of weight before signs start to show. Vomiting can be a serious threat to the health of smaller breeds of dogs as they lose a greater proportion of water and electrolytes in the vomit, which can lead to dehydration, low blood glucose, and weakness.
3. Grapes and Raisins:
Grapes and raisins can cause serious damage to kidneys in dogs. The signs of grape and raisin poisoning develop within 12 hours and present as vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy. The amount needed to be eaten in order to cause poisoning varies from dog to dog as some dogs are more sensitive to the toxic effects than others.
This poisoning can be fatal so grapes and raisins should never be fed to your pet
This poisoning can be fatal so grapes and raisins should never be fed to your pet
4. Lillies:
Lillies are beautiful flowers to keep around the house and most people are unaware of the danger they pose to your pet if they are ingested. They cause severe kidney damage when eaten and your pet will need prompt veterinary treatment if you find them munching on these plants. Any part of the lily is toxic, even the leaves. Cats are known to chew on plants and we have treated a cat recently in our hospital for lily toxicity. If you do keep these flowers in your house or garden, make sure they are out of reach of the pets.
5. Cycads:
Cycad poisoning in dogs is common and it causes severe liver damage. All parts of the cycad plant are poisonous, but it is the seeds that puppies are tempted to play with as they resemble a toy that they can chase and chew. The plant contains a toxin called cycasin, which causes gut and liver poisoning. Signs to watch out for are vomiting, diarrhoea, anorexia and lethargy. The liver often becomes so damaged that the dog cannot recover and the poisoning can be fatal. It is important to fence off these plants if they are growing in your garden.
Extracted from Hilton Veterinary Hospital's November newsletter.