As the holiday season starts to ramp up, I'm reminded by my little Zoey the cool cat that many pets at this time of year are injured and killed by various holiday plants, so Zoey the cool cat has some words of advice.
RUSSEL'S
GARDENING
HANDBOOK
From Zoey the cool cat:
Many of our traditional holiday plants are poisonous to pets, especially inquisitive dogs and cats: holly, poinsettia, and mistletoe specifically. Dogs and cats will typically display signs of intestinal problems, such as vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, and sensitivity in the stomach and abdominal areas.
Holly berries, as well as berries from yaupon, nandina, and pyracantha, can be particularly disastrous. Those bright berries are naturally attractive but can quickly cause tremors, seizures, coma, and death.
Bulb plants, such as amaryllis, narcissus, daffodil, and crocus, can also be poisonous to pets. Many bulbs were once spring only plants but can now be forced to bloom for the holidays.
The amount of material ingested and its effect on your pet is often dependent on the size of your pet, as well as its health. So while puppies and kittens are most at risk, they also can recover if treated promptly. Older pets already on medicines are very susceptible.
You don't have to do without our lovely holiday plants, but be aware of any missing leaves, signs of chewing or gnawing, etc., as well as any abnormal behavior.
Pets are people, too, so take care of them during this holiday season.
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Zoey looks like one cool cat. I have 2 cool cats myself. I will keep your plants in mind. I have not bought a poinsettia since having these two so maybe just need to fore-go that plant. Now my Calvin loves to eat paper; not sure what to do about that. I find little gnaw marks on any paper that is left out.
Hmm. I knew about the poinsettia, but not the holly and mistletoe. Of course, holly's a bit difficult to get close to, since it's so prickly, but the mistletoe would be of great appeal to my cats! I'll have to keep these in mind at Christmas. Our cats are not allowed outside... it's a county ordinance... but I do have a few plants around the house. I'll have to check them out.
I miss having plants indoors, but with my three cats, I can't have them. It's not just the poisonous ones, but they want to eat, attack and dig any plant they can reach. Is Zoey like that?
Hey, Ann. As with all good cats, when Jim and I brought her home from the animal shelter, she checked every cabinet, every corner, every nook, and more, to determine what was in bounds and what was out of bounds. She learned very quickly. She also knows how to get our attention, though, if we ignore her too long. She simply jumps up on the kitchen countertop, kitchen table, piano, or television and sits there looking at us. All of those are out of bounds.
Morning Russ: Good post as always. I love my little dog Zeke and want to keep him safe. PS. my Gradma raised me and I think of my "Nan" as my Mom. Nice to see someone else that loved their Nan
From my family and two Schnauzers that like to chew on houseplants (as well as ornaments), thanks for the timely pet safety tip for the upcoming holidays.
I can't have any houseplants, and I can't even put up a Christmas tree because The Beast That Is Miles will eat them! Oh, well; saves me from watering and cleaning stuff inside, I suppose!
Here's a totally unstaged, unretouched photo of him resting after he helped paint the hallway. He is part cat, part monkey.
I did not know about holly however I do not keep plants inside generally since at one point I had 6 cats and if one didn't play with it then another one did. No Christmas trees either since I got tired of picking it up. In a comment earlier, it was mentioned that Holly would be too prickly for them to chew however I have a cat that I cought chewing on a cactus. I could not believe my eyes and thank goodness he did not get hurt.
Russell, Thanks for the warning. We have a cat at the office, and someone delivered a poinsettia and it was decided that due to them being poisonous to animals, we would put it in a closed office at night.
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Thank you for the info. I always want to keep my pet safe!!