What tasty treat will you be giving to your four-legged valentine?
With an increase of sweets around the house, you do need to be very careful with your furry loved ones because some of our ‘human’ treats can be deadly for them. Most of us are aware that chocolate can cause serious symptoms in dogs such as:
- Heart palpitations (not the good sort)
- Tremors
- Vomiting and diarrhoea
- Seizures and death
The above symptoms particularly occur when our pets consume baked goods and milk or dark chocolate . Some less familiar foods such as coffee beans (chocolate coated or otherwise), can cause similar symptoms. Macadamia nuts, grapes and raisins are also hazardous and should be kept out of reach of pets. Low sugar treats and sweets have also proven to be dangerous to dogs – anything containing artificial sweeteners like xylitol.
And don’t forget about flowers! Before you take any bunches of flowers home, be sure to check for any of the Lilium species such as Easter lilies, Tiger lilies, Asiatic and Oriental lilies. These flowers can be deadly to cats and ingestion can result in rapid kidney failure. If your cat can resist the lilies, bows and ribbons are often irresistible play things that may be accidentally swallowed causing foreign body obstructions.
We wish you and your furbabies all the best for Valentines’ day but please take care to keep them safe! If you are worried about anything your pet may have ingested or been exposed to please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our friendly staff can give you helpful and lifesaving advice if your pet has come across something dangerous.