Quarterly Newsletter

Winter 2002-2003

Turkey Treats

Grapes

Avocados

Chocolate

Poinsettias

Easter Lilies

Other Plants

Antifreeze Poisoning

A major concern during the winter months is antifreeze poisoning. While some manufacturers are striving to make animal-friendly antifreeze, much of what is currently available on the market is highly toxic to your pets. Evan a small amount of antifreeze, like the amount a pet might ingest after walking through a patch on the ground and then licking their paws clean, can be lethal.

Antifreeze rapidly causes irreversible kidney damage and immediate medical attention is essential. The prognosis is guarded even if your pet is treated right away; if treatment is delayed, the prognosis is usually grave.

Turkey Treats

We're in the season of family and food and it can be very hard to resist those big puppy dog eyes, especially on day three when you're on turkey overload and trying to think of creative ways to use the rest of your holiday leftovers. Unfortunately, giving all those extra scraps to your dog or cat is probably not the best idea.

Giving your pet a SMALL amount of turkey white meat scraps (about the size of one or two fingers) may be okay. Some pets may have a problem even with small amounts.

Giving your pet too much people food can induce gastroenteritis, otherwise known as garbage gut, and/or pancreatitis. Think of how you feel when you eat a lot of rich food after not having any for a long while. Your pet feels the same way when she or he eats a lot of unfamiliar foods. This sudden influx of treats on a stomach that's used to regular dog or cat food can be disastrous.

Most often, we see clinical signs of vomiting and diarrhea in these pets, sometimes lasting for several days. Often, dehydration results, requiring fluid therapy. Your pet should be examined promptly if these signs occur.

Be very careful not to give your pet any meat that is still attached to the bones. Bones can shatter and puncture the mouth or the pieces can be swallowed, potentially causing a gastrointestinal blockage because they do not digest well.

Fat is also a no-no, and as much of it as possible should be removed before the meat is given to your pet.

If you want to give your pet a treat, those made specifically for cats & dogs are best. They come in many flavors, usually have holiday varieties, and given in moderation, are much healthier for your pet than leftover "people food."

Grapes

Did you know that grapes can be toxic to your dog? Not very many people do. In fact, we're not even sure why grapes are poisonous to dogs. Researchers have been unable to associate fertilizers, pesticides or other compounds used on the plants with the reported cases, so the current assumption is that the toxic principle is something within the grape itself .

Grape toxicity results in acute kidney failure, requiring intensive fluid and medical therapy. To date, grape toxicity has not affected cats, but to be on the safe side, we recommend not feeding your cat or dog grapes or raisins.

Avocados

Birds should have a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet, depending on their breed. However, they should not be fed avocados under any circumstances. Avocados are very toxic to birds and can result in sickness and even death. Before offering any new foods to your birds, be sure to check with a reputable source, such as the breeder or your veterinarian.

Pesticides

Most forms of pesticides are toxic to your house pets if ingested. These can include snail and slug baits, D*Con mouse and rat poison, cockroach traps, and various environmental and topical flea and tick medications.

The most common clinical signs of toxicity are vomiting, seizuring, extreme lethargy, loss of consciousness or other neurologic signs. However, each substance is different, and you should thoroughly read the product material before using any product with which you are unfamiliar. If you suspect your pet may have ingested a pesticide, the best course of action is to call the hospital immediately. We may ask you to bring them into the hospital, with the packaging of the substance, so that the doctor can see what product was involved and its active ingredients.

D*Con and similar poisons are usually consumed by direct ingestion or by consuming prey that has eaten the poison. D*Con is an anti-coagulant, which means it prevents the blood from clotting and causes the animal to bleed out internally. If you suspect your pet has been exposed to D*Con or similar products, call the hospital right away. We will most likely have you bring your pet into the office, but depending on the amount of time passed, we may ask you to induce vomiting to try and evacuate the substance before it can be absorbed into the system.

Topical Pesticides

In the past few years, many topical medications have been put on the market, promising to keep your pet flea and/or tick free for periods of up to three months. There are many different brands available, and each of them is a little different from the others. If you are going to purchase these products from a store, be very careful with the product you buy, and make sure to read the label thoroughly before you leave the store.

Every year we see a number of cases where a pet is experiencing seizures or other neurologic signs after being exposed to these products. Cats are especially at risk, as are smaller dogs, puppies, and kittens. Make sure that the product you are using is appropriate for your pet's species (dog or cat), age, and weight. Do not use these products in any manner other than directed on the product label.

For topical flea and tick prevention; we recommend Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution. Each of these medications has been thoroughly tested for safety and efficacy. Many of the grocery store medications have not. No medication is 100% safe, and occasionally we have a pet that experiences a reaction to these medications, however, these animals typically exhibit signs of hair loss and skin irritation, rather than seizures.

With any new medication or product you are introducing to an environment containing pets, it is best to completely familiarize yourself with the product information before use, and then closely monitor your pets for any clinical signs for several hours after using the product. Our pets are not capable of understanding that the place they could play or hunt in yesterday isn't safe today or tomorrow because of a recent pesticide application. It is up to us to protect them and keep them in a safe area where they will not be exposed.

Chocolate toxicity

As you may be aware, chocolate is toxic to our canine companions. The worst offender is pure chocolate (like baker's chocolate), and the darker the chocolate, the more toxic to your pet.

Most of the prepackaged candy we purchase has a lot of other ingredients mixed with the chocolate, but if your dog makes a pig out of himself in the candy bowl, he can still eat enough to do some damage (not to mention the candy wrappers ...).

If your pet does consume some chocolate, please call the office so that we can get the details of the situation and advise you. Depending on how long it has been, how much chocolate we suspect was consumed, and the size of the pet, we may have you induce vomiting or bring your pet into the office so that we may do so, in an effort to get as much of the chocolate out of your pets' system as we can.

Toxic Principle: theobromine (this is the bad stuff in chocolate, dog's can't metabolize it)

Toxic Effect (clinical symptoms): emesis (vomiting) and diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmia, seizures

Treatment: induced emesis (to evacuate chocolate from body), and supportive care (fluids for dehydration); we can pump the stomach, if necessary

Poisonous Poinsettias

While they are a beautiful part of the holiday season, poinsettias, like some other plants, are toxic if eaten. If you have pets, you might want to consider bypassing this part of the holiday season, or placing them somewhere that is out of your pet's reach.

Toxic Portion of Plant: leaves & stems

Toxic Principle: complex terpenes (this is the bad stuff in poinsettias)

Toxic Effect (clinical symptoms): mild emesis (vomiting), anorexia and depression

Treatment: induced emesis (to evacuate plant parts from body), gastric lavage (pumping the stomach), and supportive care (fluids for dehydration)

Easter Lilies

Cats are extremely sensitive to certain members of the lily family, including Easter lilies, Japanese show lilies, rubrum lilies, day lilies, and numerous lily hybrids. Ingestion of any part of the plant can induce acute renal (kidney) failure in cats, and can result in death if left untreated for any period of time.

Toxic Portion of Plant: entire plant

Toxic Principle: unknown

Toxic Effect (clinical symptoms): emesis (vomiting), anorexia and depression

Treatment: induced emesis (to evacuate plant parts from body), administration of activated charcoal (to absorb the toxins), and administration of fluids to treat dehydration and to help flush the system and keep the kidneys functioning

Other plants

These other popular holiday plants are also toxic to your pets, so please be careful if you place them in your home:

• Christmas cacti
• Mistletoe
• Holly

Click here for a more thorough list of toxic plants.

Click here for a list of plants known to be non-toxic.