Tis the season of warmth, long days and gardens. Many of us love to spend time in our gardens getting our hands dirty planting shrubs, flowers and vegetables but did you know that some of these plants can be dangerous or fatal to your pets?
Here are some plants to be aware of and what symptoms to look out for in your pet.
Baby’s Breath
• Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea.
Begonia
• Symptoms: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
Castor Bean
• Symptoms: abdominal pain, drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, weakness and loss of appetite. Severe cases of poisoning can result in dehydration, muscle twitching, tremors, seizures, coma and death.
Daffodil
• Symptoms: Vomiting, salivation, diarrhea; large ingestions cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias.
Gladiola
• Symptoms: Salivation, vomiting, drooling, lethargy, diarrhea.
Hosta
• Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea, depression.
Ivy
• Symptoms: Vomiting, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, diarrhea.
Lilies
Many types of lily (Tiger, Asian, Japanese Show, Easter, Stargazer, Casa Blanca) can cause kidney failure in cats. Curiously, lilies are not toxic to dogs.
• Symptoms: Kidney failure.
Milkweed
• Symptoms: Vomiting, profound depression, weakness, anorexia, and diarrhea are common; may be followed by seizures, difficulty breathing, rapid, weak pulse, dilated pupils, kidney or liver failure, coma, respiratory paralysis and death.
Morning Glory
• Symptoms: Gastrointestinal upset, agitation, tremors, disorientation, ataxia, anorexia, hallucinations.
Tomato Plant
• Symptoms: Hypersalivation, inappetence, severe gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea, drowsiness, CNS depression, confusion, behavioral change, weakness, dilated pupils, slow heart rate.
Tulip
• Symptoms: Intense gastrointestinal irritation, drooling, loss of appetite, depression of the central nervous system, convulsions and cardiac abnormalities.
