Easter is a time for fun, warm spring weather, egg hunts and often a lot of chocolate! However, it can be a hazardous time for our pets. Keep in mind the tips below to help prevent an emergency trip to the vet.
Chocolate and Sweets
Because chocolate and sweets are generally more abundant at this time of year, there are more opportunities for pets, in particular greedy dogs, to help themselves to whatever they might find lying around.
Chemicals Theobromine in chocolate and Xylitol found in some sweets, are harmful to pets and sometimes even fatal. Dogs are usually the ones that are tempted as cats and rabbits can’t taste the sweetness but it’s still best to put them out of reach, just in case.
The toxic effects of sweets or chocolate on your pet can cause vomiting, lethargy, tremors, fitting and heart arrhythmias. These side effects can take between 4-24hrs to appear so it’s really important that you contact your vet immediately if your pet has eaten any confectionary and is showing any of these symptoms.
Spring Flowers
Spring is the time when our gardens and houses often start to brighten up with colourful spring flowers but many of these are severely toxic to our pets.
Tulips – Brightly coloured Tulips are very beautiful but can irritate your pets’ mouth and intestinal tract if eaten. Other symptoms include drooling, diarrhoea and vomiting. In extreme cases, ingestion can cause difficulty breathing and heart problems.
Lilies – Lilies are extremely toxic to cats! Every part of the lily is dangerous, even the water they have been sitting in. Ingestion of lilies can cause dehydration, extreme thirst, vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures and even death.
Daffodils – Daffodils are poisonous to dogs if they decide to eat any part of the flower, including the bulb. Again, drinking the water the flowers sit in can cause vomiting, lethargy and even fits.
Amaryllis – The bulb is the most harmful part of the Amaryllis. If your pet decides to nibble on an Amaryllis bulb they can suffer tummy pain, vomiting and sometimes breathing issues.
Hot Cross Buns
An Easter favourite comes with a word of warning. Don’t share these with your pets! Raisins, along with many other dried fruits, cause kidney failure in both dogs and cats. Indicators of this would be increased thirst and urination but these symptoms only appear after damage to the kidneys has already been done.
Eggs
If you have had an egg hunt in your garden, make sure you check they have all been found before you let your dog out. A dog will easily find any that have been left and will probably eat them – foil and all. Even if you’ve used plastic or hard-boiled eggs instead of chocolate ones, these can cause harm if your dog decided to eat or chew them because they can cause blockages and other digestive issues.
If you are worried your pet may have eaten something they shouldn’t have or if you have any other concerns please contact us on the numbers below:
St Kitts Veterinary Centre: 01252 844044
Basingstoke Veterinary Centre: 01256 844944
Crookham Park Veterinary Centre: 01252 913990
Firgrove Veterinary Centre: 01252 877799
