Pet Easter

Ahhh Easter……….   a day made for eating chocolate and jelly beans – now that’s a holiday!

But it’s a lot of those things that make the day fun for us humans that make it especially dangerous for our furry family members.  So let’s take a moment to danger-proof this special day for the dogs and cats in our homes.  Protect your Pet Easter with a few helpful tips:

5 Easter surprises our pets should NOT have:

1) Chocolate

Chocolate is toxic to animals.  The culprit ingredients are theobromine and caffeine which can affect their cardiac system. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic to their systems, and bakers chocolate is worst.  Symptoms include trembling, vomiting, and diarrhea.    It’s much easier to prevent our pets from ingesting it than to try to deal with the aftermath, so keep it up high where their always-ready-for-a-snack bellies can’t get to it. 

2) Xylitol

This is an artificial sweetener that can be found in candies, sweets, baked goods, and chewing gum.  If you’re not sure, err on the side of assuming the goodies around on Easter do have it and keep it away from curious pets.  It is especially toxic to dogs, so be vigilant and don’t let them sneak those jelly beans.
3) Easter Basket Grass

All the different colors, and it smells like the candy that sat on it in the basket, which beckons little snoopy noses to come check it out.  These long strands of plastic grass, if ingested, can get caught up in their digestive track.  At best it can cause stomach irritation and constipation, but at worst could result in bowel obstruction.  So keep those Easter baskets and their pretty stuffing up high and inaccessible to anyone in your house with paws.

4) Tin Foil Wrappers

So shiny and crinkly sounding, must be something fun to investigate, thinks your dogs and cats.  But this thin metal, often still with chocolate and/or xylitol residue to give it an extra level of risk, can also injure your pets’ digestive track.  Just like the plastic grass, it’s danger can range from stomach upset and constipation to bowel obstruction if enough is ingested.  Keep neat and set a rule for throwing out wrappers immediately into a covered trash receptacle.

5) Easter Lilies

Ingesting even a little of this plant can be toxic to our pets’ systems – especially for cats.  It’s not worth taking the chance.  There’s lots of safe ways to decorate, and other options if you have your heart set on flowers.  Placing them up high isn’t enough to keep a cat away, as even just a little on their fur can be licked off and poison them that way.  Best to keep them out of the house all together.

So enjoy the holiday.  Hunt for colored eggs.  Eat candy bunnies to your hearts content.  But keep your furry family members safe with just a little forethought and supervision. 

That includes having the phone numbers for your vet,  a 24/7 emergency animal hospital, or an animal emergency hotline in a place you could quickly find it if ever needed.  Signs of toxicity include, but are not limited to:  rapid breathing, excessive panting/drooling, pale gums, vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, staggering, confusion, and seizure.   The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline is (888) 426-4435.  Hopefully being prepared means you will never need it.

To help the special day stay even more pleasurable for them, try your best to maintain their typical routine as much as possible that day.   Pets like consistency and knowing what to expect.  Keep their food and treats the same and given at their usual times.  Give them their walk for exercise before you leave or have guests come over.  And don’t forget to give them a quiet sanctuary away from the holiday festivities to retreat into in case they get over-stimulated by the extra commotion that isn’t usually part of their day. 

The Easter Bunny thanks you.