Weve talked about toxic plants, medications and table scraps. For our final topic were going to talk about household toxins that may be in your home, as we finish up with Pet Poison Awareness Week! Cleaning solutions, antifreeze, fragrance sprays and other common household chemicals are often stored under sinks or on garage shelves where pets can gain easy access. Be sure there is adequate ventilation when using any chemicals, thoroughly wipe up any spills, tightly close any bottles or containers and stow them safely in cabinets that pets cannot pry open. Installing child-proof latches on cabinets are a good way to make sure your pets cannot get into anything that might harm them! Keep the following toxic household chemicals out of reach from your pets (and remember that many of these can affect your pet if its ingested, inhaled and/or absorbed through their skin!): **Acids (such as drain and toilet cleaners. These can be absorbed through the skin!) **Alkalis (such as ammonia, lye and some types of drain and toilet cleaners. These can be absorbed through the skin!) **Antifreeze **Artificial Plants (A curious puppy or kitten with a sweet tooth for silk flowers can lead to intestinal blockage. Most will at least act as an emetic, which means your pet will vomit soon after eating.) **Batteries **Bleach (can be absorbed through the skin!) **Canine Flea Products applied to cats! **Concentrated Tea Tree Oil (can be absorbed through the skin!) **Deodorant **Enzymatic cleaners (can be absorbed through the skin!) **Fabric Softeners **Glow sticks/jewelry **Heavy Metals (Mercury, lead or excessive amounts of zinc, iron, cobalt and copper can cause serious illness in pets, especially if allowed to accumulate in a pet’s body.) **Ice melt products that contain sodium or salt-like ingredients (can be absorbed through the skin!) **Liquid potpourri **Mothballs **Organophosphates (can be absorbed through the skin!) **Paint solvents **Paint balls **Pine oil/essential oils **Pool Chemicals **Rodenticide/Rat Bait **Silica Packets **Solvents (such as cleaners used to remove oil, grease and grime) **Sunscreen Believe it or not, but sunscreen can be toxic to your pet if ingested in large amounts. Sunscreens contain a few potentially dangerous chemicals: PABA, zinc oxide, salicylic acid (aspirin), and laxatives. Massive PABA ingestion can result in severe gastroenteritis (an inflammation of the stomach and intestines), bone marrow changes, and even liver damage. Zinc oxide generally just causes a mild gastroenteritis, resulting in vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea. Large amounts of salicylic acid can result in gastric ulcers, and in high doses, even kidney failure. Sunscreen may also have an inadvertent laxative effect also, resulting in diarrhea. Thankfully, this is pretty rare because pets have to ingest large bottles of sunscreen before it’s an issue. Remember that if you apply sunscreen to your pet, he’ll likely just lick it off. If you need to use it, purchase a child-safe sunscreen and consult your veterinarian.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 20:31:27 +0000
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