9 Pet Dangers You Didn't Know About
By Hallie Levine Sklar
When my husband and I got our black Lab, Ivry, we took all the steps we thought necessary to puppy-proof our home. Chocolates off the living room table -- check. Electrical cords taped up -- check. Then I heard a news story about a dog that got his tongue caught in his owner's paper shredder. Could there still be serious dangers in our house that we didn't even know about?
Experts say yes. "Over a thousand pets suffer each year because they get into seemingly innocuous household items," says Steven Hansen, D.V.M., of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Animal Poison Control Center. Here, 9 hazards to watch out for.
Liquid Potpurri
A cat or dog can be badly burned lapping up hot oils and detergents. And many of the liquid-potpourri ingredients can breed ulcers in your animal's mouth, throat, and/or gastrointestinal tract. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has seen 330 such cases since 2001, most involving cats. (Experts think the formulas are also toxic to dogs, but cats appear more sensitive to exposure and are more likely to climb up to reach simmer pots.)
Medications
No sensible pet owner would leave an open prescription bottle within paw's reach. But beware of closed childproof containers as well.
Polyurethane Glue
You'd never think this stuff would attract your dog, but the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center reports a 309 percent increase in glue-related incidents since 2002.
Lilies
They make a dazzling centerpiece, but can also be lethal to your cat: The ASPCA receives dozens of calls each spring from pet owners whose kitty ate a lily.
Onions and Garlic
They contain disulfides, sulfur compounds that can cause gastrointestinal irritation to pets and harm their red blood cells.Grapes and Raisins
We are not sure why they are so toxic to dogs, but they can trigger gastrointestinal problems like vomiting and diarrhea, or, more commonly, kidney failure.
Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary
Clinic
Danville , Ohio
This week I had the first case
in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a
56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins
sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting,
diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my
emergency service until 7AM .
I had heard somewhere about raisins A ND grapes causing acute Renal failure
but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject.
We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime , I called the ER
service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something
about it, but....
Anyway,
we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison ControlCenter and
they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney
values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less
than 27) and creatinine! Over 5 ( 1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are
monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and
started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over
40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids.
At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to
MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as
overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have
continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a
diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still
couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his
BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated
and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to
220.. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.
This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins
could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very
serious risk. Poison
control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I
know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's.
Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.
Pennies
While a pooch can choke on any coin, pennies are particularly dangerous because they're made with zinc, which is toxic to animals. (When a penny sits in your pet's stomach, the zinc leaches out into the red blood cells, resulting in severe anemia and kidney problems.) The newer the penny, the more likely it is to be deadly. That's because pennies minted after 1982 are 99.2 percent zinc; those minted earlier are only five percent.
Macadamia Nuts
Dogs have become dramatically ill from ingesting just a handful of these. The nuts contain an unknown toxin that can upset your pet's digestive tract and muscles, setting off severe weakness (and sometimes paralysis), mild vomiting, and diarrhea. The good news: Virtually all dogs recover within 48 hours of ingestion, whether or not they're treated by a vet.
Pine-Oil Cleaners
Scrub your floor with something else -- the phenol in these products can cause serious liver damage in cats, says Dr. Hohenhaus. And it doesn't take much for a kitty to be exposed: Your fur ball might unknowingly lap up spill -- or just lick the wet stuff off her feet.