Eliminate the 10 Biggest Pet Threats in Your Home
In many ways, our pets are like little children—curious, adventurous, and sometimes even mischievous. The difference is, we wouldn't leave our kids home alone all day, the way we do our pets. Just as we baby-proof our home to keep little ones safe, pet parents need to take steps to protect our furry and feathered friends from household threats like dropped pills, toxic cleaning products, and even popular sweeteners in the kitchen. To make sure you're not one of the 165,000 callers ringing the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Poison Control this year, evict these top 10 pet threats from your home today!
Protect your pets from the most common causes of in-home pet poisonings:
# 1: People Pills
For the last four years, the primary reason for calls to animal poison hotlines is that a pet has gotten into its owner's medication. A dropped pill on the floor could seem like playtime for a pet, and some pill coatings even attract pets, leaving them gnawing on medicine bottles and packets. "Dogs can chew right through childproof pill bottles," says Camille DeClementi, DVM, senior director of knowledge management at ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center. In 2011, 26 percent of calls to the poison hotline involved pets eating over-the-counter and prescription people meds.
Pets eating heart medication and ADHD drugs caused the most calls, but all human drugs could harm your animal, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen), antidepressants, acetaminophohen, cancer drugs, decongestants and other drugs. To prevent this, keep all meds, creams, vitamins, and supplements in a cabinet, and when it's time to take your medicine, go into a room without your pets and close the door—that way if you drop a pill, they can't lap it up. Also note: It's never a good idea to give your pets people medicine because even tiny amounts that are harmless to us could harm or kill them.
#2: People Food, Especially Chocolate, Grapes, and Raisins
It's been pretty well publicized that chocolate can be fatal to dogs, particularly dark and baking chocolate. In fact, the ASPCA's poison hotline receives about 21 calls a day on the matter. Chocolate goodies contain substances called methylxanthines, which in dogs can lead to hyperactivity, excessive thirst and urination, seizures, and even death. Other people food for your pets to avoid includes grapes, raisins, and avocadoes. Instead of feeding your pooch table scraps, make healthy, homemade pet treats.
Keep reading HERE
