Dangers In And Around Your Home

There are so many potential dangers in the home, it would be impossible to identify them all.

  • Many plants are toxic but only persistent or severe vomiting is a danger sign. It is wise to contact your veterinarian with your concerns. The Lily family is extremely toxic. View our Toxic Plant Guide
  • Holiday Season Hazards including ribbon, string, tinsel – once swallowed can cause serious intestinal obstructions. Candles can cause serious burns and glass ornaments can easily shatter causing serious cuts or damage to the eyes. Xmas tree sap is toxic and so too is the water the tree stands in. The pine needles are sharp and can easily be embedded in the paw of your animal
  • Firecrackers terrify animals and they should be confined to a quiet, secure place indoors. The risk of burns is also a possibility.
  • Garden products including snail and slug baits, weed killers, fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides. When treating lawns keep pets away from the area for at least 48 hours or until the area is completely dry. Even the straw from a broom could cause a choking hazard
  • Insect or Rodent Products including rat or mouse baits, ant or roach baits need to be placed in areas inaccessible to your pets. Many baits are made from sweet ingredients to lure the pest-unfortunately the sweet smell and taste may lure our pets to take a taste which can be fatal due to internal bleeding. Mothball fumes are toxic to your cat’s liver and should be replaced by cedar balls or eucalyptus oil on a cotton ball
  • Sewing items such as needles and thread, string, yarn, sewing pins, cotton. Count the pins you use during sewing and account for them all when finishing the job.
  • Cosmetics including sun tan lotion, nail polish, hair colouring, dental floss, aspirin
  • Remove beads and items on toys that can cause choking.
  • Kittens tend to hide in the most obscure places. Check the dryer in case she has found a quiet place to sleep, ensure the top loader lid is closed when filling or washing
  • Ensure products in the garage have lids and are sealed. Pieta fell into a shallow container of motor oil when she was a kitten and besides the degree of difficulty in trying to clean it off her, it badly irritated her skin and we had to put baby powder on her to ease the burn.
  • Many flea products contain insecticides which can be toxic to the nervous system
  • Kitchen items such as ovens and burners, oil heating in pan
  • Gas leaking from heater, stove or other appliance
  • Scalding water in pots or from faucets
  • Humans who leave their cat in a car when outside temperatures are 70 degrees or more
  • Chocolate
  • Paint, thinners and similar products 
  • Alcoholic Beverages
  • Cleansers, soaps and detergents
  • Dogs and Other Cats

 

NEVER USE DOG PRODUCTS ON CATS, THEY CAN BE TOXIC.

 

A friend of mine grabbed Advantix at the supermarket by mistake and put it on the coats of her  5 cats- All ended up in intensive care and weren’t expected to live. If they did survive there was the very real possibility that they would have brain damage. Fortunately her cats survived, but it was touch and go for more than a week. The guilt and the vet bill will never be forgotten.

 

  • Cleaning products such as Drano, metal polish
  • Pets tend to chew cords such as phone rechargers and Ipod rechargers and mouse cords, which if connected to a power source could have dire consequences.
  • Car products such as gasoline. Antifreeze is deadly to a cat and most cats die of irreversible liver and kidney failure
  • Rubber bands, cellophane wrappers, hot iron, staples, matches, shoe polish, corks, plastic bag ties

 

Article By:  C Lynch