Holiday warnings for pet owners

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As families across the globe begin to prepare for the holiday season, especially with Thanksgiving a little less than a week away, not all holidays traditions and decorations are pet friendly. To help, Pet Poison Helpline used their case data as well as toxicologist concerns to comply the Top 6 Holiday Toxin Dangers.

"The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year at Pet Poison Helpline," said Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline, in an organizational release. "Holiday gatherings are often filled with many unusual situations for pets, such as new foods coming in the house, or perhaps visitors bringing unknown items into the home. It is also more difficult to watch your pets when the house is filled with lots of people, especially young children. Adults are focused on the safety of the kids, and people often forget to also keep an eye on their pets."

According to the organizational release, chocolate is made up of theobromine and caffeine and when it is ingested in toxic amounts, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, elevated heart rate, abnormal heart rhythms, tremors, seizures, and in certain cases, death. Xylitol, a natural sugar substitute, is commonly found in candies such as chewing gums, puddings, sauces, jams, chocolate, toothpastes, and other common household and holiday items. If a pet ingests xylitol, it can cause life threatening low blood sugar and acute liver failure.¹

"We receive more calls regarding chocolate than any other potential toxin," Schmid explained.¹ "It may not be unique to the holidays, but I'm confident it will again be the most common toxin this holiday season. If the chocolate contains xylitol, marijuana, raisins, or macadamia nuts, then the ingestion can become even more serious. In all cases, if the pet ingests a large enough quantity, it can be deadly."

Schmid also described stuffing as a ‘potential trifecta of dangers’ because it contains a plethora of toxins to pets, including garlic, onions, and in some recipe’s raisins. Consuming any of these is concerning, but consumed in combination, it can be even more dangerous because of the different effects each could have on the pet.

For example, on Thanksgiving 2023, Elizabeth Laroche of Vanceboro, North Carolina, was cleaning up the leftovers of thanksgiving in a storage container and accidentally dropped some on the ground. To her horror, and her dog Rocky’s glee, Rocky was able to ingest the stuffing before she could clean it up. Because she uses raisins in her stuffing recipes and knows how dangerous they can be dogs, she knew it would be a problem, especially because they did not know how much he managed to eat. The family then tried to induce vomiting, but were unsuccessful

Pet Poison Helpline discourages clients from inducing vomiting at home without a consultation from a veterinary professional because certain toxic or damaging materials can cause more harm when vomited back up. The organizational also strongly discourages cat owners inducing vomiting because there is no safe way to do it at home.¹

In Rocky’s case, he began showing signs of poisoning later that night and was taken to the Pet Emergency Clinic 30 minutes away from Laroche’s home in Greenville. The medical team on site consulted with pet Poison Helpline to create a treatment plan and Rocky was kept overnight. Rocky then stayed with his usual veterinarian during the day before spending a second night at the emergency hospital. His kidney functions were tested at both clinics and he received fluids and was continuously monitored for any other reactions or symptoms. Rocky luckily did not ingest enough to cause any lasting problems.

Laroche warned anyone hosting family and friends over the holidays to beware of anyone sneaking food to pets. Even though Rocky’s incident happens during clean up, it taught them to keep pets out of the kitchen during cooking or cleaning in case something is dropped just like in Rocky’s story.

Other toxins that rounded off the top 6 are unbaked bread dough and marijuana.

"Unbaked bread dough that contains yeast can be dangerous when ingested by dogs and cats," Schmid explained. "When ingested, the unbaked bread dough expands in the warm, moist environment of the stomach and releases carbon dioxide gas, which can result in a bloated or distended stomach. The carbon dioxide gas is what makes bread rise. Although it is less common, this can progress to twisting of the stomach, also known as gastric-dilatation volvulus (GDV) or bloat. Signs of bloat or GDV include vomiting, non-productive retching, a distended stomach, an elevated heart rate, weakness, collapse and death."

As for marijuana, this toxin has been continuously rising on the Pet Poison Helpline top toxins list now that is has become more availably medically and recreationally. Pet Poison Helpline also explained that the variety of how people ingest marijuana, such as pills, oils and tinctures, and foods, is also making these products more accessible.

"It may sound funny to get your dog stoned, but it is actually very dangerous," Schmid concluded. "Signs of marijuana poisoning you'd expect include a dazed expression, glassy eyes, incoordination, slow response times and dribbling urine. Other signs include vomiting, drooling and changes in heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, breathing, or coma. Just like alcohol, pet parents should keep their recreational and prescription drugs away from pets."

Alcohol, despite not being on the list, it is something to also be cautious about when it comes to pet safety. Because it rapidly absorbs in the bloodstream, it can impact pets rather quickly and can cause dangerous drops in blood sugar, blood pressure, and body temperatures. Pets that are intoxicated can experience seizures and respiratory failure.²

References

1. Holiday Pie of Pet Dangers. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. November 13, 2024. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/holiday-pie-of-pet-dangers-302302902.html
2. Winter Holiday Pet Poison Tips. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-owners/seasons/winter-holiday-pet-poison-tips/