A Holiday Reminder -- Poisonous Poinsettias!

[theHandpuppet]

Just a reminder to all pet lovers that a plant which is a common holiday favorite can also be deadly poisonous to your pets! Please consider this when buying the plant for yourself or for family and friends.

For some links on which house plants, garden and wild plants which can be toxic to your pets, see...

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/poison/poison.html
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/cover1.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/mirror2001/poisonousplantspets.html
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/anispecies.html
http://members.cox.net/jonanyorkies/aapoison2.htm#Links

[demnan]

1. I love poinsettas

but I only buy them for my office at work anymore.

[Lorien]

2. That's said to be a myth

Discussion here; http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=255&topic_id=330&mesg_id=330
I guess your pet would have to eat several pounds of the plant to become seriously ill from it.

[theHandpuppet]

4. Thanks for the info!

I did some further research which also supports the contention that poinsettias are safe for those holiday decorations. Here are some links:

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/expert/preschooler/psafety/69760.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/gardening/gardenplanttalk.html
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/nov03/No.html
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00095.asp
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/poinsettia.asp

It would appear, however, that the real plant to avoid is mistletoe.

[theHandpuppet]

3. BTW, mistletoe berries are poisonous, too

So keep it away from children and pets! Ingesting the berries can be fatal.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Chocolate is also especially toxic for pets!

Christmas night before last I spent on the phone with ASPCA Poison Control, when I arrived home to find that my cocker spaniel had eaten a large chocolate bar because my mother had left a basket of "goodies," given to her by a friend, under the tree. My Sheena had raided it. My mother should have known better. What a nightmare! I was on the phone for over an hour, had to call my mother's friend to find out exactly what she'd eaten, since Poison Control has a database analyzing the ingredients in all these toxic things, then had to call them back. I would have had to bring her to my local Emergency Clinic, who are the ones I called first, to induce vomiting, but my dog was prone to seizures, so I just had to stay up half the night, keeping an eye on her. I think that my mother should have paid the resulting vet bill, even overlooking how scared I was. So my point is just a reminder to keep any holiday foods, candies, and especially chocolate, out of the reach of pets.:-(

[InvisibleTouch]

6. Raisins and grapes too.

If you do any holiday baking and use raisins, keep them away from your dogs. The dogs might go for them because they're sweet, but they're extremely toxic, especially if the dog eats a lot of them. I haven't heard about grape and raisin toxicity to cats, but until more is known, I'd suggest keeping them away from your cats too.

I've already had to pull chocolate away from my larger dog. She's so tall that she can reach almost anywhere I put it. Fortunately it was milk chocolate, which isn't as dangerous as dark chocolate, and she didn't get much of it ... but we had quite the arguement over it.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. I do know about the raisins and grapes!!!

And have spread the word! My vet had me give my dog raisins, I kid you not, but I got an ASPCA newsletter which warned about the dangers or raisins and grapes, for dogs, and made both of my vets a copy of this article!:scared:

And I sympathize about the chocolate, since I told you about the experience I had with my other dog, on the phone all night with ASPCA Poison Control. They had every kind of chocolate bar cataloged, fortunately. Both of my dogs were cocker spaniels, so couldn't easily get into things, unless they were low to the ground, but you never know when you'll run into trouble, as I did! I did know that dark chocolate was worse for dogs, and I just don't eat chocolate, at all, so just don't have it around. But my mother's friend gave her more chocolate, this year!!! What does it take?! But, at least, she didn't put it under the tree, where anyone could reach it.:shrug: