Below are the most common pet dangers associated with Easter so play it safe and keep your pets away from these:
1. Sugar-Free Candy and Chocolate: Chocolate is one of the more popular Easter candies and can cause upset stomach, pancreatitis, elevated heart rate, tremors and even seizures. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is for pets as it contains more theobromine. The concentration of theobromine varies enormously depending on how much cocoa the product contains:
Milk chocolate: 44 mg per ounce
Semisweet or dark chocolate: 150 mg per ounce
Baking chocolate: 390 mg per ounce
White chocolate: Virtually no theobromine (the main risk is its high fat content, which can cause pancreatitis)
This means a single ounce of baking chocolate delivers nearly nine times the theobromine of an ounce of milk chocolate! For a 20-pound dog, just half an ounce of baking chocolate is enough to cause mild poisoning. That same dog would need to eat about 4.5 ounces of milk chocolate to reach the same level.
Also, be mindful that Sugar-Free Candy with XYLITOL is also poisonous to Dogs. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol used to sweeten many things, including gums, candies, mints, peanut butter, baked goods, medications, chewable vitamins and supplements, toothpastes, and other hygiene products. Ingestion of xylitol or xylitol-containing products by dogs can result in low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and liver damage. Signs of hypoglycemia include vomiting, weakness, staggering, lethargy, seizures, and coma. Symptoms can occur within 30 minutes after ingesting xylitol or may be delayed up to 12–18 hours if the xylitol is in a substrate that slows absorption. Clinical signs of liver injury may not occur until 1-2 days after xylitol ingestion, although increases in liver enzymes are often detectable within 4–12 hours on blood tests. Note that Cats are not at risk for hypoglycemia or liver injury from xylitol toxicosis.
So keep your fur-kids away from the chocolate and sugar-free products. If your pet were to consume any of these items, please call your local veterinary emergency hospital.
2. Plastic grass used in Easter baskets seem to be a fun thing for pets to grab, but unfortunately, it can get lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and wreak havoc if consumed. Signs for concern include vomiting, diarrhea, decrease in appetite, lethargy and stomach pain. So stick to shredded paper to line those baskets.
3. Plants are an everyday hazard to pets, but Easter brings about more Lillies as they are a popular holiday gift. Exposure to any parts of the plant can result in stomach upset, kidney failure and even death if treatment is delayed. Your cat only needs to ingest a small amount or lick even just the pollen off their fur or paws, to be poisoned by these lilies. Best Prevention is Avoidance – do NOT bring any lilies into your house if you have cats! Please visit the ASPCA to see which lilies are toxic to pets: https://www.aspca.org/news/which-lilies-are-toxic-pets
4. Easter Eggs: Plastic eggs can cause digestive and respiratory tract irritation or even obstruction when swallowed or inhaled. Chewed-off or broken pieces of these eggs can also lead to cuts on your pet’s paws and in their mouth. Hardboiled eggs often cause digestive issues when dogs sniff out and eat the eggs left over from the egg hunt.
5. Easter Dinner: Pork Roast and Ham are very fatty, and pets can develop digestive upset or pancreatitis from eating fatty foods. Ham also has high levels of salt, which can lead to neurologic problems for pets that eat too much. Watch your pets as some are not able to resist the chance to play with (and eat) the twine that often holds these cuts of meat together. Eating twine can obstruct your pet’s digestive tract, so be sure to dispose of this string safely. Also, giving bones is a big no-no.
Bread Dough is also toxic to pets as the live yeast becomes “active” in the warm, moist environment of their stomach and can cause alcohol poisoning. In some instances, the expanding dough can result in an obstruction of the stomach, which may require surgery. If you’re baking your Easter bread or rolls from scratch, put your dough in a closed oven, microwave, or on a high shelf to rise.
Grapes and Raisins are poisonous to dogs so keep those Hot cross buns and Fruit cakes away from your pets. Ingestions of raisins, sultanas, and currants can result in anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, and potentially acute kidney failure.
If you believe that your pet may have been exposed to or ingested something toxic, please contact your local Emergency veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline at 855-64-7661 immediately. (Please note there is a fee for these services.)
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