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10 common toxic dangers to your dogs and cats this Christmas

December 6, 2021 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Christmas and the end of the year can be a wonderful time, and it can be a festive celebration of meeting friends, family, and even turning strangers into friends.

It can be terribly depressing for some people, and it can be a time of anxiety for many more people. If you’re struggling or know someone who is, then there is help from Mind, Anxiety UK and others. Please check them out.

Sometimes, hidden risks can spoil the day and dangers people didn’t know they had to be anxious about. The Christmas tradition of bringing in certain plants is one of them.

Dangerous Holly

As highlighted by a pet insurance campaign from Money.co.uk, highlights the danger from dogs and cats eating toxic plants. Other pet insurance providers, of course, exist such as Waggel and Petplan, and I’m sure they’re equally aware of the risks.

The 10 most toxic winter plants, at least for dogs and cats, that Money.co.uk focuses on follow, and I was surprised by some of them.

#1: Holly

If the berries or spiked-edge leaves from a holly plant are ingested, this can cause irritation of the mouth, drooling, vomiting and other gastrointestinal upsets, as well as diarrhoea. 

Holly may also cause extreme head-shaking if consumed in large quantities.

#2: Mistletoe

Even though varied in types, the mistletoe berries contain chemicals like polysaccharides, alkaloids, and lectins that are harmful to dogs and cats. When ingested in small quantities, it can cause gastrointestinal irritation such as vomiting and abdominal pain. Consumed in large quantities, it may cause abnormal heart rate, low blood pressure and incoordination.

#3: Poinsettia plants

Widely known for their bright red and green foliage, the white sap from the coloured leaves contains a chemical that sometimes causes nausea, vomiting, drooling and diarrhoea, and irritation in the skin, mouth and oesophagus. 

#4: Christmas trees

If the Christmas tree pine needles trees are chewed, any oils released may cause irritations in the mouth and stomach upset. Prickly needles can also be hazardous to the mouth, throat and stomach if ingested.

#5: Ivy (Hedera species)

Ivy can cause severe skin irritation if dogs or cats directly contact this plant. If swallowed, ivy can also cause stomach upsets.

#6: Amaryllis

The whole amaryllis plant contains toxic substances, but higher quantities are found in the bulb, so be careful of pets who like to dig. 

If any part is swallowed, pets may experience severe gastrointestinal upsets (such as vomiting and abdominal pain), loss of appetite, lethargy and tremors.

#7: Lilies

Unsafe for both cats and dogs, if any part of a lily is swallowed (even in small quantities), this could cause severe gastrointestinal injury, leading to kidney failure for cats.

#8: Laurel

Laurel plants, including bay laurels (often used in cooking) and cherry laurel, contain toxins in all parts of the shrub, which cause vomiting, abdominal pain, hypotension, muscle weakness, and seizures.

#9: Snowdrops

These white flowers include toxins in their stems and leaves, with the highest concentration in the bulb. They can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, incoordination, and a fall in heart rate and blood pressure when ingested.

#10: Yew

This plant (leaves and berries, too) is highly poisonous as they contain taxines. When ingested, they can cause vomiting, weakness, breathing difficulties, and life-threatening change in heart rate and blood pressure in critical cases.

In Pure Spirit

What Christmas safety tips for pets do you have?

Photo credit: Tijana Drndarski.

This video of exploding plants will blow your mind

February 22, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Imagine plants building up so much pressure that seeds come bursting out like a fireworks display.

“Touch me Nots” live up to their name as even a slightest brush is enough for them to fire off their seeds. They’re not alone in using explosions as a tactic for dispersing seeds though; squirting cucumbers and violets use similar tricks.

In Pure Spirit

Do you think science has learnt pretty much everything there is to know about plants? Or are we just scratching the surface?

Dare you watch? The Devil’s Fingers emerge

December 21, 2015 by Andrew Leave a Comment

This one creepy little fungus. Native to Australia the proper name for this unnatural looking thing is Clathrus archeri although people tend to call it devil’s fingers or octopus stinkhorn instead. Watch the video and yuo’ll see why.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Imagine been trapped in a cabin and discovering an egg like shape in the corner that “hatched” like this. Would you run?

Plant fakes its own death

September 5, 2012 by Andrew Leave a Comment

The Mimosa pudica (meaning; shy or shrinking) is also known as the touch-me-not. This annual creeper is incredibly sensitive to the point where a simple brush of the hand will cause the leaves to fold inward and drop. Minutes later the plant stops faking its apparent death and re-opens.

The mimosa pudica is native to South America and Central America but is now found around the world.

In Pure Spirit

Would you plant a perennial herb like this simply because of its strange behaviour? Or does the Mimosa pudica hold no attraction fo you?

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