Beautiful Flower, But Deadly for your Pet

  Posted on April 2, 2010  by Joy of Living  No comments

Bo and Jessie have taken the holiday weekend off and left me in charge of their post for today.  With spring now here, many of us are planting spring flowers and plants. Our pets, like us, enjoy beautiful plants and flowers.  Pets, however, sometimes like to nibble on the ones they find most appealing.  This habit could have serious, even deadly, repercussions.

The ASPCA has developed a list of some the most common pet poisonous plants:

• Lilies-especially toxic for cats, ingesting even a small amount can lead to severe kidney damage
• Marijuana-causes depression of central nervous system, increased heart rate, seizures, even coma
• Sage Palm-Seeds or “nuts” are especially toxic, can cause liver failure or seizures
• Tulip/Narcissus Bulbs-may cause severe gastrointestinal irritation or cardiac abnormalities
• Azalea/Rhododendron-Severe azalea poinsoning may lead to coma or death from cardiovascular collapse
• Oleander-Can cause hypothermia, abnormal heart function and death
• Castor Bean-Severe cases of poisoning can cause dehydration, seizures, even death
• Cyclamen-Main source of poison in the roots.  May cause serious gastrointestinal irritation, even death in extreme cases
• Chrysanthemum-May cause vomiting, diarrhea or loss of coordination
• Pothos-Can cause swelling of oral tissues and other parts of gastrointestinal tract
• Amaryllis-Can cause depression, vomiting, tremors or abdominal pain
• English Ivy-May cause hypersalivation, vomiting or abdominal pain

Liven up your indoor and outdoor living space with beautiful plants, but keep your pets in mind when making your selections.  For more information on this subject, see www.aspca.org