Toxic Holiday Plants Reminder

Amaryllis

Chances are you've seen this several times before but, just in case you haven't, I'm reminding you ~ you're welcome!

Pine Trees

We head out on a cold, and usually rainy, night to deliberate over which tree will be chosen as our Christmas tree each year.  Poinsettias *  are always on the hearth and front porch.  If we find a nice Christmas cactus, it will adorn a table for the winter months.  My daughter loves to watch an amaryllis grow and bloom so there is usually one in the brightest window.  Mistletoe is always a fun decoration if you're having a party or just madly in love and want any excuse for extra kisses.  Garlands of fresh or fake greenery with holly berries are hung everywhere.  Plants are a natural part of the holiday decor in our house as I'm sure it is most houses at Christmastime.  

Holly Berries

Mistletoe

Some of these plants can be potentially toxic if eaten by your pets.  Never count on your cats and dogs to know poisonous plants they should avoid, even if they've done so in the past.  Annika has to taste every new plant in the house and yet survives the holidays every year.  I am vigilant to check the leaves, keep needles swept up, look for missing ornaments, etc., but is this enough?  Probably not, and one day I'm going to end up at the vet with a sick somebody during the month of December.

Christmas Cactus

A few tips for the holidays:

• Tinsel and the plastic needles on artificial trees are just as bad for your pets.
• Keep needles swept up.
• Watch for missing leaves and ornaments.
• Look for unusually lethargic animals, vomiting, diarrhea, glassed-over eyes, pale gums, excessive drooling, frothy mouth, decreased appetite, just to name a few, as signs that your pet may have ingested something possibly toxic and don't hesitate to get them to your vet.

Poinsettias

* Poinsettias are not fatal, as has been exaggerated in more recent years, but can give your pet a really good upset stomach, so should be kept out of your pet's reach.  

Story from our past:

After months of living in a rental house with a huge oleander growing in the backyard my dog got ahold of 7 leaves.  I know this because she regurgitated them on the kitchen floor. Oleanders are very poisonous so, yes, we headed to the vet (an emergency 24 hr vet, which cost twice as much, of course, because it was on the weekend).  The plant was gone when I got home.  We were blessed that her body naturally got rid of the leaves right away and the only side-effect was lethargy.