When decorating for the holiday, learn which plants and decorations may be toxic to keep pets safe | Vermont Public Radio

2021-12-06 14:45:36 By : Ms. Lucy huang

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If you have new cats or dogs, watch them carefully while decorating them for the holiday.

Some wreaths, plants, flowers, and berries that you might use to make your home look festive can cause harm to your pet if ingested.

Other common indoor plants that you may have at home, such as eucalyptus and aloe vera, are also toxic to cats.

If you share your home with cats and dogs, please keep this list of poisonous plants from ASPCA at hand.

At this time of the year, you can decorate the wreath and trim the trees using natural materials in the landscape. You might decorate your home with boxwood, amaryllis, cyclamen, kalanchoe, mistletoe, and lilies.

All these plants and things such as holly berries and rhododendron leaves can be toxic to animals if ingested by pets.

In these cases, the size of the pet is important, so if your dog or cat is small, even eating a small amount of plants may be harmful, and larger animals may be better.

Of course, every pet is different. Therefore, if a dog or cat eats the leaves or berries of these plants, some people may have no symptoms, while some people may have a reaction. The reaction can range from gastrointestinal irritation to more serious things.

Instead, plan to put pet-safe plants as holiday decorations in your lobby.

Christmas cacti, African violets, phalaenopsis, roses, bromeliads, rosemary and even poinsettia are safe choices for pets.

Many people think that poinsettia is poisonous because they belong to the Euphorbiaceae family. The stems of these plants contain white milky sap.

Please note that tree sap may irritate the eyes and skin and is considered toxic to ingestion, but animals must consume large amounts of poinsettia leaves to have a severe reaction, so they are considered safer.

Keeping holiday plants and decorations away from the ground can help curious dogs, but cats can certainly climb and nibble.

Some plant lovers who keep cats use techniques such as spraying the leaves and stems of plants with insect repellent. This can keep kittens away because they find different smells offensive.

Putting toothpicks or even pine cones in plant containers and soil can keep cats away because they don't want to step on them.

Another thing to consider is if you put a living Christmas tree in your home during the holidays-cover the water basin on the tree stand. This will help prevent your dog or cat from drinking it, as the water may stagnate and breed unhealthy bacteria and mold.

If we have a warm spell, the bushes that bloom in spring will indeed sprout a little bit. Now that the weather is getting colder, the desire for plants to sprout should be "set aside." Even if it blooms a bit, the gooseberry bush will still grow normally and bloom in the spring.

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