When planning your garden or decorating your home with flowers, keep your pets in mind, because some plants are harmful to your dog’s health.
It’s important to access well-researched information or consult with your veterinarian to determine which plants are actually harmful, a Colorado vet pointed out in The Coloradoran.
In an article dispelling the myth that poinsettias are toxic to dogs and cats (they may make them a little sick, but they don’t taste good and pets rarely eat them), Christie Long said it’s interesting how much misinformation is around.
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Even in a grocery store checkout line, a cashier told her the spray of forsythias she was buying would kill her cats. They won’t, Long wrote. Lilies are extremely toxic to cats, so possibly the woman was confusing the two plants.
Many databases, including one
maintained by the ASPCA, give specific information about plants and pets.
Here are eight common plants that can make your dogs and other pets sick:
1. Bittersweet: This lovely plant, with its orange-red berries, makes a festive fall centerpiece, but it also is toxic to dogs, cats and horses, according to the ASPCA.
2. Azaleas: Ingesting even a few leaves of this beautiful flowering plant can make dogs very ill, the ASPCA website states. It interferes with muscle and nerve function, and it can kill your pets.
3. Poinsettia: This traditional Christmas plant has received a lot of bad publicity as being toxic to pets, but it’s more likely to just give them an upset stomach, the ASPCA said. It is "irritating to the mouth and stomach, sometimes causing vomiting."
4. Philodendron: A common house plant, philodendrons are poisonous, although the level of toxicity is generally mild to moderate, according to the Pet Poison Hotline.
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5. Lilies: Lilies rank in the top 10 list on the Pet Poison Hotline website of plants that poison animals, cats in particular. But the organization said different kinds of lilies have different effects.
"Peace, Peruvian, and calla lilies contain oxalate crystals that cause minor signs, such as tissue irritation to the mouth, tongue, pharynx, and esophagus — this results in minor drooling. The more dangerous, potentially fatal lilies are true lilies, and these include tiger, day, Asiatic, Easter and Japanese show lilies — all of which are highly toxic to cats," according to the PetPoisonHelpline.com.
6. Daffodils: Eating any part of a daffodil plant, whether bulb, leaves, or flowers, can make your pet sick, the hotline said.
7. Tulips: These colorful spring flowers can be problematic if your dog digs them up and eats the bulb, according to the poison hotline. Eating them causes irritation to the mouth and esophagus.
8. Marijuana: As marijuana becomes legal in more states, pets have more access to the plant. According to the ASPCA, eating marijuana can cause dogs to become ill, sometimes even causing seizures and coma.
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