Holiday hazards around the home

We don't want to be a downer at the holidays, but it's true that at this time of year we tend to see more pets needing emergency care due to some common holidays hazards. Families are busy celebrating, and might not always notice what their dog or cat are getting into. Here are a few things to keep in mind during the festive season:

Christmas Tinsel and Christmas tree ornaments

Tinsel, though very pretty, is very attractive to pets, especially cats. Though it is non-toxic if they do ingest it, the long strands can become tangled within their intestines. They will not be able to pass the tinsel themselves, and it can result in a foreign body obstruction.  If you see your pet eating tinsel it is best to seek immediate veterinary care.

Ornaments hung on the tree at pet height can easily be seen as toys. Make sure if you are hanging any decorations on your tree that you place them out of your pets reach. Pets may decide they look like a tasty snack or toy and break them, leading to injury.

Christmas lights and electrical chords

Lighting on the tree or even around the house may be a hazard for curious pets. It is best to hang lights out of reach, and only have them turned on when you are home to supervise.

Pets that like to chew are also at risk of chewing on electrical cords.  Electric shock can occur and lead to damage in your pets mouth. This can be in the form of burnt tissue, or even fractures of the teeth. It is best to check over your entire electric chords daily to look for any signs of chewing.

Gift wrap ribbon

Just like tinsel pets may decide this makes a fun toy or snack. This can lead to choking, or again a foreign body stuck within the intestines. It is best to discard any ribbon or bows into the garbage right away before pets have a chance to chew on them.

It might look really cute to decorate your pet with a Christmas ribbon collar, but make sure to remove these after you are done taking photos, or if you are not able to supervise your pet.

Food Hazards

There are many holiday treats that although they are tasty for us, can be toxic to our four legged friends. Here is a list of foods to keep away from pets this season:

-Depending on the size of your pet, it may only take a small amount of chocolate to cause toxicity. Chocolate contains theobromine, which when ingested can make your pet sick. Theobromine is present in higher amount in products like baking chocolate, then dark chocolate, with milk chocolate containing the least amount. The most common signs of chocolate toxicity are vomiting and tremors at low doses, but at high doses we can see seizure activity and sometimes death. If your pet gets into any Christmas goodies this holiday season, contact us and we can let you know if your pet needs to seek immediate medical attention.

-Fat trimmings and turkey bones are dangerous for pets especially dogs. The fat off the turkey can lead to pancreatitis. Bones can break and splinter in your dog’s mouth, and can even break teeth. If fragments are swallowed the can become obstructive in the intestines, or cause lacerations.

-Keep your pet on her regular diet and caution visitors against giving your pet special treats or table scraps.

Holiday plants

Some decorative plants can be poisonous if ingested by our pets.

-Poinsettias can cause oral irritation to a pets mouth and stomach. They can also induce vomiting.

-Christmas tree pine needles can produce oral irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, trembling and posterior weakness.

-Holly, commonly found during the Christmas season, can cause intense vomiting, diarrhea and depression.

-Mistletoe, another Christmas plant, can cause significant vomiting and diarrhea, difficulty breathing, collapse, erratic behavior, hallucinations and death when ingested.

Stress

The holiday season, though filled with Christmas cheer for us, can be a very stressful time for our four legged friends. Make sure pets have a safe spot to go to hide, or be away from all the noise when they feel the need.

All of us at Guelph Lake Veterinary Hospital want to wish you and your pets a safe and happy holiday season! 

Note: Parts of this blog post were originally posted on our sister hospital's blog at Woodlawn Veterinary Hospital.

Gardening for you... and your pets!

Thanks to Dr. Mel Cirinna for sharing her tips for gardening safely with pets, and including them in your landscaping plan!

Growing up my family always had a vegetable garden as well as a number of flower gardens that my mother tended.  I always enjoyed seeing the cats relaxing under the bushes and sharing veggies with the dogs.  There is nothing tastier than a tomato fresh from your own garden!  However, while these are wonderful images from my childhood, I am now learning that there is some planning that goes into enjoying your garden with your pets.  The first time I planted my own tomato plants it became a race to see if I could get to them before our black lab Sadie did.  The same held true of the raspberry bushes. It was not uncommon to see the rear end of Sadie sticking out of a raspberry bush while she delicately removed all the berries with her front teeth.  It wasn’t just the vegetable garden that was at her mercy, Sadie loved to lay in the shaded areas of the flower gardens as well. Any flowers in her way just provided a soft green mattress or she would dig out a cool spot in the dirt below a bushy plant.  Thankfully our gardens were never frequented by the local cats, but this is a problem that many gardeners have as cats see our wonderfully tended gardens as giant litter boxes.  As the years have passed we have made some changes that allow us to enjoy our gardens and the pets to enjoy the backyard.  Hopefully these suggestions will help if you are also struggling to share garden space with furry family members.

Teaching your pets to respect garden boundaries is best done at a young age; however, even older dogs and cats can learn new tricks. For dogs, start by designating a certain area of the yard for elimination. In the beginning you will need to go out with them each time to show them where to go and provide lots of positive reinforcement when they use the appropriate area. With time they should automatically eliminate in the designated area. For cats it can be helpful to provide one sandy area for them to use as a litterbox. The remainder of the garden should be densely planted or mulched. To encourage your cats to use the designated kitty area, plant cat grass and catnip in that area of the yard. Be sure to keep children’s sandboxes covered when not in use! 

Once a designated washroom area has been allocated, the next step is to create visual boundaries to keep pets out of garden beds.  Fences work best, but can be less aesthetically pleasing than decorative garden edging such as stones and bricks.  Keep in mind that even a half foot fence can be enough to visually deter dogs from entering flower beds.  Plants can also be used as visual borders, try varieties such as barberries, roses, euphorbia, Joe pye weed or bamboo.  Coleus Canina (Scaredy-Cat) can be useful in deterring cats, as can lavender.  Also helpful is to create pathways through the garden with mulch, flagstone or pebbles.  By nature, pets will use a groomed path over forging their own way through the garden.

Cats often need more than a visual barrier to be convinced to stay out of gardens.  Try deterrents such as cayenne powder, crushed chili peppers and citrus rinds.  There are also motion activated products on the market that spray water or emit high pitched sound to deter cats. 

Another important thing to consider is the potential toxicity of some plants for our pets.  Many plants will cause gastric upset when ingested, but some can lead to liver and kidney failure.  An extensive list of potentially toxic plants can be found at www.icatcare.org/advice/keeping-your-cat-safe/cats-and-poisonous-plants. 

Taking the time to carefully plan out your garden so that it provides space for you and your pets is well worth it so that everyone can enjoy the space.  Hopefully with our newly fenced in vegetable garden I will be enjoying some tomatoes this year, although I will be sure to save a few for Sadie!  Happy gardening!

Internet Cat Film Festival coming to Guelph!

The Just For Cats Film Festival is coming to Guelph this week! We love the idea of this fun community event and fundraiser.

Thursday June 19th, starting with a VIP cocktail reception and screening starting at 5:30pm and a second general admission screening at 9pm, cat lovers of the Guelph area will be treated to an event for anyone who has clicked that "you have to see this cat video!" link in their email.

The Bookshelf Cinema is hosting this fabulous furry feline event, featuring the best of the internet's many cat videos (Grumpy Cat and NONONONO cat to name just two!), along with some feature appearances by local kitties.

The event is a fundraiser for the Guelph Humane Society, and tickets can be purchased online, or in person at the Humane Society. 

Cats vs. Lilies

Spring! It is finally here and despite the snow today there's hope - the days are longer and flowers will soon be making their appearance.  Nothing says spring more than seeing crocuses, tulips and lilies pushing up in the flower beds.  It is nice to get out and smell the flowers or bring a fresh bouquet into the house, but cat owners beware, some of these flowers can cause serious, life-threatening disease for our feline friends.  

While all plants may cause some stomach upset or oral irritation, plants from the Genus Lilium or Hemarocallis are extremely toxic to cats.  These include, but are not limited to, Easter Lilies, Day Lilies, Asiatic Lilies and Tiger Lilies.  Cats that have consumed any part of a lily plant or even ingested some pollen that was on their coat are at risk for life-threatening kidney failure.  If you suspect that your cat has consumed some part of a lily plant it is to be considered a medical emergency requiring immediate veterinary attention.  If your pet has not already vomited, the veterinarian may induce vomiting and administer activated charcoal to help reduce the amount of toxin that is absorbed.  In order to assess the level of kidney damage, bloodwork will be performed.  Treatment for lily poisoning involves hospitalization and intravenous fluid administration to flush out the toxins and support the kidneys.  If treated early there are rarely any long term effects.  However, without treatment, death can occur within 3 days. 

The best way to keep your cats safe is to make sure you do not bring any lily plants into the house.  Pay close attention to the flowers present in bouquets during Easter and Mother’s day, a common time to see cases of lily toxicosis.  Outdoor cats can be a bit more difficult as we cannot be sure where they go when outside.  Keep lilies out of your own garden and watch your cat for any early signs of toxicity.  Seek veterinary attention if your cat displays early signs of poisoning including vomiting, lack of appetite, increased or decreased urination or dehydration.  

Healthy mouth = healthy pet!

At GLVH, we believe that veterinary medicine is as much about preventative care as it is about treatment of pet illnesses. One of the best ways to help maintain your pet's basic health is to ensure that their mouths and teeth are healthy. Thank you to Dr. Melissa Cirinna for this post explaining what to watch for, treatments options and preventative options!

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Does your pet show any of these signs?

Stinky Breath                         
Excessive Drooling
Dropping Kibble                    
Avoiding Hard Foods
Pawing at the Mouth            
Loss of Teeth
Changes in Behaviour 

...If so, they may be part of the 75% of cats and dogs that suffer from dental disease.
     Dental disease begins with the accumulation of plaque on the teeth. Over time the plaque hardens into tartar which aggravates the gums causing gingivitis.  Gingivitis is painful inflammation of the gums, we see it as red, inflamed gums that may bleed when touched.  With time, gingivitis will progress to periodontal disease.  Signs of periodontal disease include tooth loss, infection and pain.  Periodontal disease can also lead to bacteremia.  Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the blood.  Bacteremia can lead to heart, kidney and liver disease.  
     Thankfully periodontal disease is preventable through good oral hygiene routines.  Good oral health starts with puppies and kittens who should be introduced to daily brushing as part of their early training.  In addition to brushing, pets should be fed a diet specifically formulated to keep plaque accumulation to a minimum and mechanically remove tartar build-up.  Chewing on toys and treats can also help, but exercise caution, toys can be too hard.  Take the knee cap test, if you would not be comfortable hitting the toy against your knee cap, then your pet shouldn't be chewing on it.  Avoid bones and hard nyla bones.  Visit the Veterinary Oral Health Council site for a list of treats, food and products that have met their standards maintaining oral health.  
     What if your pet already shows signs of dental disease, is it too late? Of course not!  The first step for cats and dogs with signs of oral disease is a thorough veterinary exam. After examination the veterinarian may recommend a dental prophylaxis and examination under general anesthesia.  During the dental prophylaxis and examination the veterinarian will thoroughly examine your pet's mouth and document any signs of disease including gingivitis, loose teeth, abscesses, gingival recession, root exposure and fractures. All teeth will be scaled to remove tartar build-up and polished.  Diseased teeth, loose teeth or fractured teeth will be extracted to remove any source of pain or infection.  After a dental prophylaxis the veterinary team will help you to begin an at home plan that includes brushing and an appropriate diet to maintain the health of your pet's mouth.

Speak with your veterinary team today to book your pets' free oral health assessment!