Christmas TOXINS
Christmas is a time of celebration and fun that your pets, as part of your family, will enjoy too. Unfortunately, the festive season also brings with it hidden dangers to our four legged friends including festive food, decorations and seasonal plants.
Festive Foods
Chocolate: Don’t leave any chocolate in rooms unattended with pets in the house. This includes chocolate coins on the Christmas tree and advent calendars on the mantle pieces. Pets are curious and will investigate these tasty smelling treats. It contains a chemical called theobromine which can cause agitation, hyper-excitability, tremors, convulsions and problems with the heart. The darker the chocolate, the more potent the levels of theobromine are.
Grapes and Dried fruits: Currants, sultanas and raisins can all be found in Christmas puddings, Christmas cake and mince pies. So, make sure if you can’t finish your dessert after your Christmas meal that your bowl is not left on the side for your pet’s noses to sniff out. The toxic dose is variable for each individual so even a small amount of these can cause severe kidney failure.
Onions leeks garlic and shallots; These can all be found in sage and onion stuffing along with onion gravy. They come from the Allium species of plant and can cause toxicity cooked or uncooked. The initial signs of ingestion are vomiting and diarrhoea, but the main effect is damage to red blood cells (anaemia) resulting in a number of signs but initially lethargy, anorexia and pale gums. The signs may not be apparent until several days after ingestion.
Alcohol; Pets have a lower tolerance to alcohol than us (Yes, it does have the same dizzying affect on dogs as it does us!) A small amount can make them feel wobbly and drowsy with larger amounts increasing the risk of low body temperature, low blood sugar and coma.
Macadamia Nuts; These can cause lethargy, an increase in their body temperature, tremors, lameness and stiffness in dogs. Other nuts are less toxic but can still cause gastro-intestinal upsets.
Artificial sweeteners; Xylitol is a sugar-substitute found in a number of items but those noteworthy over the festive period are sweets! Xylitol causes low blood sugar levels which can quickly lead to tremors, convulsions and even coma. When ingested in large quantities it can also be toxic to the liver. As is the theme with all of our advice above please be careful with storage of sweet treats over Christmas.
Old and mouldy leftovers: Be careful that you dispose of any leftovers out of the reach of your four-legged friends. Not only can those leftovers contain items already discussed, but mould from foodstuffs such as yogurt, bread and cheese can produce toxins. These toxins can cause tremors and convulsions in dogs.
Festive plants
The most important plant to look out for around the festive period is LILLIES. All parts of this plant are toxic to cats, including the pollen that can be bushed onto their fur for them to lick off while grooming later. It causes severe kidney failure in cats.
Other plants to be aware of are:
- Poinsettia
- Holly
- Mistletoe
- Christmas trees
- Ivy
- Christmas Cactus
Inquisitive cats and dogs may chew on these and if ingested, they can cause salivation and signs of gastro-intestinal upsets. Holly may cause skin signs on contact and spiky plants may cause some physical abrasions too!
Christmas gifts
Silica gel; Silica gel comes in little sachets within packaging for leather items or electrical equipment. The gel is inedible and may cause some mild gastrointestinal signs but is not in fact toxic. If large amounts are ingested obstruction may result.
Decorations; Tinsel and ribbons can be ingested as cats play with them and these can cause obstruction in the intestines causing them to concertina causing an obstruction. Chewed and swallowed baubles will also pose a risk. Ensure supervision of pets around such decorations!
Wrapping paper; Eating coloured wrapping paper may look alarming as the dye in the paper may stain the mouth, but the toxicity is low. Large amounts however could cause obstructions.
Batteries; many of our gifts require batteries nowadays and there are many different types! Alkaline batteries if pierced during ingestion can results in burns and irritation of the mouth, oesophagus and gastrointestinal tract. Lithium batteries (little round ones) do not but both may cause obstruction.
Environmental hazards
Antifreeze; Anti-freeze contains Ethylene Glycol which is toxic to both dogs and cats. Despite bittering agents animals still seem to ingest these products but cats seem particularly susceptible. It results in neurological signs (wobbling, tremors, seizures), GI signs (vomiting and diarrhoea) and ultimatelybut rapidly kidney failure. Aggressive and immediate treatment is required. Ensure such products are not left lying around and clear up spillages well.
Rock salt (Road Grit); This is often used to help grit our roads in the winter and prevent them from freezing. It can get on the paw and fur of our pets easily and therefore can be ingested through grooming. This ingestion can cause an elevation in sodium levels in the body, leading to diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy and thirst. If large amounts of salt is consumed it can cause convulsions. Make sure to wash paws well after walking.
Christmas Cleaning; we become extra house proud during festivities and extra cleaning ready for Christmas day guests is bound to occur. Benzalkonium Chloride can be found in many cleaning agents; even cats walking over cleaned surfaces and licking such products from their paws can cause oral irritation, ulceration and even respiratory distress. Sodium Hydroxide often used to clean ovens can also result in severe burns and ulcerations with in contact skin, eyes or via ingestion. Clean to your hearts content but just keep this in mind whilst doing so.
If your pet ingests anything they shouldn’t then please just phone so we can discuss what is the best course of action is-01606 880890. Our Christmas opening hours will be posted shortly but we do have a 24 hour emergency service.
Brave Pet of the Month…Freddie
Freddie is a gorgeous Golden Retriever who presented to Hollybank with breathing difficulties. Freddie had been very well prior to this at home and was currently in kennels for a short stay with another Golden Retriever, in fact his mum, Lucy.
The kennels had noted Freddie was snuffly, quiet and a little off his food over the last 24 hours. Suddenly that afternoon Freddie collapsed with heavy breathing so they rushed him straight down.
On presentation, Freddie was coughing considerably and had profuse yellow discharge from both nostrils, his breathing was laboured and he was really lethargic and miserable. His exam revealed that he was markedly dehydrated with poor pulses and a very high temperature. With this combination of signs, we were worried Freddie may have pneumonia.
Freddie was initially stabilised with oxygen delivered via a face mask. He was started on high rates of intravenous fluid therapy (IVFT) to help correct his dehydration and poor circulating volume.
There are lots of differential diagnoses for Freddie’s clinical presentation. These can include different forms of pneumonia (bacterial, parasitic, fungal), inappropriate collection of air or fluid around the lungs, fluid within the lungs (including that caused by heart disease) and certain cancers.
X-rays and ultrasound of his chest could help to differentiate some of these possibilities.
The ultrasound scan showed his heart appeared normal, there was no fluid around the heart or around the lungs nor were there any issues in his abdomen. The x-rays showed abnormal changes within the lung tissue itself. This combined with Freddie’s physical examination supported the high likelihood of bacterial pneumonia. We felt Freddie wasn’t stable enough for airway washes to confirm the presence of bacteria but if Freddie failed to improve further testing could be considered. We started aggressive intravenous antibiotic therapy.
The nursing team at Hollybank worked hard to ensure Freddie was comfortable in his kennel. This involved clearing his mouth of all the sputum he was coughing up and trying to keep his nose clear of discharge. Due to all of this discharge his legs and coat became wet and these too were kept dry to prevent secondary sores.
Freddie received lots of TLC and support over the next 24 hours. We continued the IVFT. We in fact started two types of antibiotics in order to get a broad cover for bacteria and these were intravenous or subcutaneous. We also started IV paracetamol to help with his temperature (the fluids would also be helping this).
During this time we sent Freddie’s x-rays to a specialist for their additional interpretation. They agreed with our interpretation of bacterial pneumonia. They also picked up a dilated oesophagus; this could be a secondary finding as excessive air can be swallowed during panting and coughing. Worryingly, this could also be the underlying reason for his pneumonia.
A condition called megaoesophagus (ME) can result in a poorly functioning ‘flaccid’ oesophagus. In most cases the cause of this is unknown and referred to as ‘idiopathic’. Other conditions such as an underactive thyroid have been linked. The condition results in poor oesophageal movement which causes regurgitation of food. During this regurgitation there is the potential for some of this food to go down into the airways causing a pneumonia. We refer to as ‘aspiration pneumonia.’
Assisted feeding is one of the few way we can help; raising the head higher than the stomach encourages food down the oesophagus and feeding wet balls of food is easier for the oesophagus to move.
Freddie did not have any previous history of regurgitation but once he was feeling better and eating he did in fact regurgitate a couple of times. This increased our worry for ME. If there was something underlying it we could at least treat this however Freddie’s thyroid function was normal. Sadly, there is little we can do for the idiopathic form. With idiopathic ME the patient is at risk of malnutrition (as they cannot keep the food down) and recurrent bouts of potentially life threatening pneumonia (due to recurrent aspiration).
There was still a chance Freddie’s signs of regurgitation were secondary to his respiratory signs and if so it should resolve with resolution of his pneumonia. As Freddy was already showing such great improvements with his breathing we stuck with our treatment plan in the hope everything would resolve together.
Freddie’s breathing got progressively better and he showed no further signs or evidence of regurgitation. We stopped his IVFT and transitioned him on to oral antibiotics. Freddy was finally sent home and completed a 6 weeks course of antibiotics with regular rechecks. Freddie’s regurgitation must have been a secondary problem, it had us all a little worried for a moment but he is now back to his happy, lively and absolutely lovely self.