When it comes to our domesticated animals, being in an unnatural environment can expose them to unsuspecting toxins around the home. In this blog we are going to shed some light on the subject with what and how to avoid in home pet poisoning and how animals cope in these types of situations.
In the wild where animals are in their natural environment can encounter detrimental toxins as well. The difference is that they have learned strategies to adapt and deal with these toxins that they live along side in not only their habitat, but their diet as well. Since their ancestors have live among these toxic substances, they have strategies they use to avoid poisoning themselves. However, even with these life skills, animals can end up being poisoned on occasion. Sometimes they have no option but to eat toxins depending on the potency of the plant they are consuming as plant compound levels can fluctuate. At times there could even be bacterial or fungal toxins they have ingested pointing to the fact that animals had to develop strategies like Zoopharmacognosy to deal with poisonings.
In Home Dangers
When we speak of in home poisonings of our pets we are referring to in home plants. Even though statistically the chances of animal poisoning is very low, it is best to educate ourselves for the sake of our animals to avoid any chance of occurrence. As mentioned above, wild animals are equipt with the knowledge of the toxins in their natural environment. Our domesticated animals are unaware of the foreign and exotic plants we bring into our homes, they become more vulnerable to poisoning. Most of these house plants come from tropical environments which is not where cats and dogs originally come from, so they and their ancestors were not naturally exposed to them. What makes these tropical plants dangerous is the potency which a cat and dog’s detoxification system cannot handle. Even though the plant may taste off to our cats and dogs, they do not have the evolution of these plants to know that it will lead to poisoning.
Safety In Knowing
It is important to know which of the plants in your home and local environment are poisonous to them can help against accidental poisoning. In order to keep your animal safe while allowing self-medication aka zoopharmacognosy to take place, it is a good idea to have a list of common poisonous plants for every season. It doesn’t take long for our cat or dog to start nibbling on an outdoor garden plant before your eyes. That is why it is best to avoid these areas once you become aware of what is safe and what is not safe. It’s also not a bad idea to take along the list below to know what to avoid when choosing your garden plants where your animal will be hanging out.
Toxic Outdoor Plants To Be Aware Of
Spring
- Bluebells
- Daffodils
- Geraniums
- Hyacinths
- Iris and Gladioli
- Lillies
- Lily Of The Valley
- Ragwort
- Rhubarb
- Snowdrops
- Tulips
Summer
- Deadly Nightshade
- Elder
- Foxgloves
- Hydrangea
- Larkspur
Autumn
- Acorns
- Autum Crocus
- Chrysanthemum
- Conkers (Horse Chestnuts)
- Oleander
Winter
- Hippeastrum
- Holly
- Mistletoe
- Poinsettia
Symptoms Of Poisoning In Animals
The symptoms of an animal that has gotten into something toxic depends on which plant and how much they have consumed. Here are the key symptoms to look for if you are concerned that your animal may have eaten something poisonous.
- Disinterest in food
- Confusion
- Shivering
- Un-explained bleeding
- Poor coordination
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
- Drooling
- Diarrhea
- Blood in the stool
- Breathing difficulties
- Seizures
A Poisoned Animal’s Strategies
Animals will tend to do what they need to do in order to speed up the removal of the consumed poison from the body. They do this by self-medicating with plants to induce vomiting or diarrhea, which we have seen with cats and dogs when feeding on grass and then vomiting at times. Keep in mind that cats and dogs don’t always vomit after eating grass, this only happens when necessary for their system. Sometimes they will ingest clay, earth, soil, rock dust or charcoal to neutralize toxins in their body, this phenomenon is called Geophagy. This not only helps with poisoning but in addition, this is a way from them to get their minerals to meet their nutritional and medicinal needs.
The greatest take away from all this is knowing what is toxic to your animals and it is important that we see that animals clearly know what they need. We should not only listen to our animal’s health care team, but we need to also observe and listen to our animals needs as well.