Christmas is almost here again and no doubt as you rip open the 9th door in your advent calendar you’re thinking that it’s almost time to break out the Christmas decorations and start thinking about getting that gorgeous real Christmas tree!
Decorating the house with seasonal and traditional plants and decorating a real Christmas tree, with the smell of fresh sap and pine in the air is by far one of my favourite of Christmas traditions. In two days I will be donning my favourite winter ware and trudging out into the countryside with my family and our two dogs (I’m guessing that the cats are probably out there already waiting for us!) and going to get a little holly and ivy for the mantle piece in our house.
But as you probably know by now, things that are good for us humans aren’t always good for our pets. So here’s a quick guide to the plants that could potentially be dangerous to your animals.
Poinsettia
The bright red leaves are very Christmassy and just perfect as a centrepiece on that gorgeous Christmas table. There’s controversy over just how poisonous this plant is but suffice to say that if the sap is ingested by pets it can cause skin and mouth irritation. In these cases it’s best to wash the affected area with cool water.
Mistletoe
Well, this one was probably very obvious. The mistletoe plant has extremely poisonous berries. If you’re using this plant as decoration it’s recommended that you remove the berries first – especially if it’s in easy reach of children or pets. If you intend to hang is as a ‘kissing post’ and don’t want to remove the berries keep a good eye out for any that fall or are knocked off. Contact a doctor if any of the berries have been ingested by a pet or child.
Holly
It seems that berries in the case of holly will cause the most trouble too. They’re not as bad a mistletoe berries (after all some birds do live off them) but holly berries but still come with lots of their symptoms like intestinal distress, vomiting and.. hmm, well you can guess. As with mistletoe, contact a vet if you think your pet has ingested any of the berries.
Pine trees
Real Christmas trees are the best but if you get one that drops its needles then make sure you keep the droppage to a minimum. If your pet ingests the pine needles there is a danger that their internal organs can be pierced. So try and get a non-drop tree of plump for an artificial tree if you’ve got particularly crunch happy kitties!
Whatever you do – DO decorate your house with natural deckies, DO get that real Christmas tree if you want it and DO make your home a Christmassy paradise. But also – DO take the necessary precautions to make sure Buster and Socks don’t accidentally gobble up something that doesn’t agree with them!
Decorating the house with seasonal and traditional plants and decorating a real Christmas tree, with the smell of fresh sap and pine in the air is by far one of my favourite of Christmas traditions. In two days I will be donning my favourite winter ware and trudging out into the countryside with my family and our two dogs (I’m guessing that the cats are probably out there already waiting for us!) and going to get a little holly and ivy for the mantle piece in our house.
But as you probably know by now, things that are good for us humans aren’t always good for our pets. So here’s a quick guide to the plants that could potentially be dangerous to your animals.
PoinsettiaThe bright red leaves are very Christmassy and just perfect as a centrepiece on that gorgeous Christmas table. There’s controversy over just how poisonous this plant is but suffice to say that if the sap is ingested by pets it can cause skin and mouth irritation. In these cases it’s best to wash the affected area with cool water.
Mistletoe
Well, this one was probably very obvious. The mistletoe plant has extremely poisonous berries. If you’re using this plant as decoration it’s recommended that you remove the berries first – especially if it’s in easy reach of children or pets. If you intend to hang is as a ‘kissing post’ and don’t want to remove the berries keep a good eye out for any that fall or are knocked off. Contact a doctor if any of the berries have been ingested by a pet or child.
HollyIt seems that berries in the case of holly will cause the most trouble too. They’re not as bad a mistletoe berries (after all some birds do live off them) but holly berries but still come with lots of their symptoms like intestinal distress, vomiting and.. hmm, well you can guess. As with mistletoe, contact a vet if you think your pet has ingested any of the berries.
Pine trees
Real Christmas trees are the best but if you get one that drops its needles then make sure you keep the droppage to a minimum. If your pet ingests the pine needles there is a danger that their internal organs can be pierced. So try and get a non-drop tree of plump for an artificial tree if you’ve got particularly crunch happy kitties!
Whatever you do – DO decorate your house with natural deckies, DO get that real Christmas tree if you want it and DO make your home a Christmassy paradise. But also – DO take the necessary precautions to make sure Buster and Socks don’t accidentally gobble up something that doesn’t agree with them!
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