Tips to Avoid Emergency Visits to the Vets with Your Pets

Poison Awareness Week happens yearly in March. It was established to raise awareness of everyday things that can be dangerously toxic to your pets. Many household products, like detergents and other substances, can be poisonous to pets.

Pets may become very ill very quickly when ingesting many common day-to-day foods and household products.

Here is a list of foods and other substances that can be poisonous for pets to help you be more aware:

• Alcohol

• Caffeine

• Chocolate

• Citrus oil extracts

• Grapes and raisins

• Moldy foods

• Medicines and supplements

Here are common houseplants that are known to be toxic to animals:

• Azalea

• Creeping Charlies

• Lilies

• Mistletoe

• Philodendron

• Poinsettia

Spring and summer can be a nightmare for pet owners when gardeners fumigate and apply chemicals. Be cautious and ask your gardener about the products' ingredients. It may be advisable to keep your pets in a safe space for a few hours after an application of chemicals.

Symptoms of Accidental Pet Poisoning

Some poisons will result in immediate reactions in your pet, while others may take several days to manifest symptoms.

General pet poisoning signs to look out for include:

• Drooling and loss of appetite

• Vomiting and diarrhea

• Lethargy, weakness

• Pale or yellowish gums

• Excessive thirst or urination

• Nervousness and hyperactivity

• Muscle tremors, seizures, or coma

If you see your pet ingest anything you are unsure about, contact your vet immediately or bring them to our emergency pet clinic.

Bring the bottle or packet if you know what they swallowed, or retrace the areas your pet has been to help the vet understand the possible poison they may have ingested.

If you're unsure, you can drop by the clinic for a vet consultation.

We are always here to advise you, even if you don't think it's urgent, to give you peace of mind.