As we wrote in our recent article published in Balbriggan Local on the 01st April 2019: ‘Easter is a great time of the year for family to get to together and enjoy themselves. Unfortunately some of the most common Easter items can be dangerous for your pet.’
Knowledge is power!
At Cuddles Pet Store, we thought we would remind you of some of these aspects to look out for. Below are the main ones which it will be worth bearing in mind.
Chocolate
One thing that pet owners should be careful to keep in mind is that chocolate is extremely harmful to animals such as dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits. It may be tasty to us humans, but, if you have one of the above pets, then even small amounts of chocolate can severely upset their tummies, leading to sickness and diarrhoea.
It gets a lot more serious though if your dog, cat, hamster, rabbit or guinea pig eats a large amount, as the theobromine which is in chocolate can lead to muscle tremors, seizures, an irregular heartbeat, or even internal bleeding and, in some cases, a heart attack.
Given that it is so toxic to all animals, as the active ingredient is more difficult for animals to metabolize than it is for humans, you should make absolutely certain that there is no chance that chocolate will be lying around anywhere that your pet can get to.
Other Sweets
If you have other sweets and candies around the house, then they may contain the ingredient xylitol, which is a sweetener in many sweets. This is another thing which you must make sure that your dog does not go anywhere near, as the effects can be just as harmful as is the case with chocolate.
That doesn’t mean that your pet can’t have any chocolates during the Easter, take a look at our scrumptious range of pet friendly Easter eggs and you will find some egg-citing treats for your puppy, dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig and hamster.
Lilies
Lilies are also something to watch out for, and this one goes for the cat owners among us. Easter has an association with lilies, and you will certainly see plenty of lilies being sold around this time of year in the shops.
If you have a cat in the house though, then they must be avoided or at least kept well away from cats! Lilies are extremely toxic to cats, and if a cat ingests any part of a lily then it can lead to the cat having an acute kidney failure. This even goes for if a cat simply drinks water from a vase in which lilies have been placed, so it really is a no-go for anyone with a lovely feline friend sharing the Easter celebrations.
Onions, garlic, chives and leeks
These may well be the cornerstone of Easter lunch flavours if you are having a lovely roast, but it should be known that they are harmful to cats and dogs. They can cause gastroenteritis and hemolytic anemia, the symptoms of which may well take a few days to manifest include nausea, drooling, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, pale gums, and increased heart & breathing rates. As such, and this is the case with all these food groups and components, you should just make extra sure that there is no chance that your cat or dog has access to them.