Halloween Hints

Halloween Hints

Did you know?
We are about to make the plunge into the holiday season starting with the spooky and candy laden festivities of Halloween. Holidays are fun and offer great memory making moments and fun picture opportunities. They also can pose some safety challenges that aren't normally on your radar. For the sake of safety, and to help ensure a "spooktakular" celebration, I've put together a few tips for keeping your four legged friends safe and healthy on Halloween.

Costumes
There are some fabulous Halloween costumes available for pets and some kid costumes can be adapted to fit your furry "children". When choosing a costume keep the following in mind:
- tie or remove any strings that could be eaten
- keep your animal with you while the costume is on to decrease the chance of ingestion or strangulation
- look for Velcro closures around the neck that can be easily removed
- make sure your pet won't trip on a cape or hanging piece of material
- not all animals find costumes enjoyable - take the costume off if your pet seems anxious or keeps pawing at the costume to get it off.

Food
Halloween is all about the loot. Make sure you have some pet appropriate treats around for the evening and watch out for the following:
- No matter how much "Lucky" begs don't give in to those pathetic eyes and feed him chocolate or raisins, or the double whammy, chocolate covered raisins. See my previous posts on these two food items for the potential toxic results for animals.
- Keep the "loot" bags out of reach of your pet. If "Lucky" decides to devour the bag the wrappers can become stuck in the esophagus or intestines and cause problems. Call your Veterinarian if your pet chooses a night of dietary indescretion.

General Safety
- Do you have a black cat? It's best to keep kitty inside for the night.
- If your pet gets over stimulated by the doorbell consider placing a sign at the front door asking trick-or-treaters to knock; or talk with your family vet about a mild sedative for the evening.
- Place jack-o-lanterns in a safe place where they won't get knocked over by your pet or set a tail on fire.
- Have a designated quiet room for your pets where they can feel safe if you have a party in your home.

By the way, if you are a client of the VRCC, post your Halloween pet pictures on our Facebook page!

Have a safe and happy "Howl"oween!

Updated 11/01/2009

All Wired Up

Did you know?
Halloween displays are starting to pop up around the neighborhood and my son keeps insisting that I start decorating. I love to decorate, but I've been resisting because I know that once I start decorating for fall the boxes just keep shuffling in and out of the basement for the next two months for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe for you it's Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. But the lights and extension cords for air filled pumpkins, tree lights, and outside displays can get out of control. Not to mention that for curious cats and dogs all those cords may be fun to chew on and can be very dangerous.

Let me tell you why.
Animals chew on the strangest things! Causes of destructive chewing can range from teething in puppies and kittens to curiosity, to boredom, and even (surprise!) because of a nutrient deficiency, or rarely, a condition known as pica which causes animals to crave and ingest non-food items.

Whatever the cause for the chewing, it can be dangerous for your pet and for you. As most pet owners know too well, animal teeth can be very sharp, especially puppies and kittens. Just a few bites on an electrical cord can penetrate the plastic covering causing contact with live electrical wires.

If you see your pet being electrocuted do not touch the animal until you unplug the cord or shut off the power or you will be electrocuted.

If you are unable to get to the cord to unplug it from the wall use a broom stick or similar non-conductive object to move your animal away from the cord. Immediately assess your animal to make sure it has a pulse and is breathing. Administer CPR as necessary. Check out this site for more detail on animal CPR. Then immediately take your animal to your family veterinarian, or if it's after hours to Central Veterinary Emergency Services, or a 24 hour animal ER in your area.

Electrocution by chewing on a cord can cause burns to the tongue, gums and lips which may be visible right away or may be painful to the animal, but will take some time to appear. Burns in the mouth can make eating and drinking difficult for your animal. Careful attention should be paid to the amount of food and water being ingested by your pet. Your veterinarian can prescribe pain medicines to relieve your pet's discomfort. Another effect of electrocution may be noncardiogenic pulmonary edema which basically means the lungs fill up with fluid making it difficult for your animal to get enough oxygen. Hospitalization is necessary to administer oxygen and monitor lung function. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications may also be necessary. This condition is serious and can vary in outcome depending on the severity and any underlying illness.

So what can you do to protect your pets? If you have animals prone to chewing I would recommend trying to "animal proof" your home like you would for an infant or toddler. Place covers on outlets, move breakable objects away from edges, put away socks, shoes, underwear, etc.

But I digress, lets talk about electrical cords. I found two websites with products that look very promising. CritterCord has heavy gauge electrical cord covers that have a bitter coating and fit around various size cords. Their product was rated as a favorite by Cat Fancy in 2008. OnLineOrganizing.com has transparent floor cord protectors that can keep all your cords tidy while protecting them from sharp teeth. They even have a decorating suggestion of running Christmas lights through the center to create a nice glow in low light areas. Home Depot has a similar product called "wiremold" that comes in varying colors and lengths. You might also try stringing the cords higher or placing a throw rug over extension cords. If you will be away from your home for any length of time consider unplugging as many cords as possible.

The moral of the story...pretty and safe go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

Updated 10/13/09

Toxic Anti-Freeze and The Pet Friendly Alternative

Did you know?
I drove down my street yesterday and caught sight of a tree that was ablaze with color. The yellows and golds glistened in the late afternoon sun. But, the changing colors means summer is officially over and your mental alarm might be going off to start winterizing your vehicle. If your plan includes flushing your radiator and refilling with antifreeze please take caution and clean up any spills. For cats and dogs one or two licks of antifreeze is all it takes for a lethal dose. Cats are four times as sensitive to the poison as dogs. If you suspect antifreeze ingestion, get to your Veterinarian's office immediately.

Let me tell you why.
The majority of antifreeze products on the market contain 95% Ethylene Glycol, a highly toxic chemical to all mammals and moderately toxic to aquatic animals. Ethylene glycol is also found in windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, hydraulic fluids, film processing solutions, paint solvents, and is used to de-ice airplanes and runways.

Animals are attracted to ethylene glycol because of the sweet taste. The poisoning happens in two stages. At first it may appear that "Lucky" is drunk from the staggering, vomiting, falling down, excessive drinking and peeing, and acting dizzy. These signs usually manifest within the first three to six hours after ingestion and tend not to last long. Then "Lucky" may seem normal and it may appear that you and your four legged friend are out of the woods. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. The second stage of poisoning happens when the body starts to break down the ethylene glycol into other chemicals such as aldehyde, glycolic acid, and oxalate. This stage is dangerous because it can cause severe to fatal damage to the kidneys.

Diagnosis for ethylene glycol poisoning can be tricky. There is a test that was designed specifically for determining ethylene glycol poisoning, but it must be used within 12 hours of ingestion for accurate results. Otherwise, the tests needed for diagnosis include a urinalysis to look for crystals in the urine, and a full blood chemistry panel to look at values related to renal (kidney) function.

Treatment for ethylene glycol poisoning has been helped tremendously with the introduction of 4-Methylpyrazole or 4-MP. 4-MP helps to prevent the second stage of poisoning allowing the animal's body to eliminate the toxins without causing damage to the kidneys. Dosing for cats is much higher than for dogs and must be administered within 3 hours in order to be effective. For both dogs and cats dosing is usually done over a 36 hour period by IV. Treatment will also include IV fluids with continued monitoring of renal blood values. Prognosis for your animal can range from good to poor or even fatal depending on the amount of ethylene glycol consumed and the time elapsed between ingestion and commencement of treatment.

Of course the best treatment is prevention. Be sure to clean up spills or leaks and store the liquid securely out of reach of your pets. However, there is an alternative antifreeze on the market that uses propylene glycol. Propylene glycol has a less pleasant taste, is biodegradable and does not cause the kidney damage like ethylene glycol. Large amounts of ingestion may still cause anemia and gastro-intestinal upset, but it does not appear to be as potentially fatal. H.R. 615, The Antifreeze Bittering Act of 2009 has also been introduced that would require ethylene glycol manufactures to add denatonium benzoate to ethylene glycol to deter animals from ingesting the toxic substance.

The moral of the story...don't let car maintenance become a tragedy.