Weekly Wag: The 12 ‘dangers’ of Christmas

PICTURE: Dr. Kathy Enright
BSc. (Mr), BVM&S MRCVS

Christmas is a busy and chaotic time for homeowners, where large amounts of food, decorations, and gifts are left unattended. Curious pets can often get up to mischief at this time, and eat both edible and inedible gifts and decorations, food left unattended and chew on Christmas plants.

During this article we will try and highlight some of the common cases that present at Limerick Night vets and Rockhall Veterinary during this period.

Chocolate: There a chemical in chocolate can cause serious upsets for our pets, dogs in particular. White chocolate in general doesn't pose as much as a risk as milk chocolate but dark chocolate is the most serious offender. Dark chocolate in even relatively small mounts can cause symptoms such as agitation, tremors, convulsion and even problems with our pet's heart.

Grapes, sultanas, Raisins and other dried fruits: These are extremely toxic to our pets, and even very small quantities can cause severe kidney damage. Watch items of food that contain these items like Christmas cake or pudding, especially if your pet is a known food thief.

Onions, Leeks, Garlic (watch gravy and stuffing): These items can cause toxicity when cooked, along with shallots and chives. Gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and severe diarrhoea can follow, but the main concern for vets and vet nurses is the damage they can do to our pets red blood cells, resulting in a debilitating anaemia, and this may not be apparent for several days post-ingestion.

Nuts: Macadamia nuts, especially if chocolate covered, can have a serious impact on our pets and can cause lethargy, increased body temperature, tremor, lameness, with both the nuts and the chocolate having a major impact on our pet's nervous system and gastrointestinal systems.

Leftovers: I understand we all want to give our pet a little treat at Christmas, and don’t want food to go to waste, but giving leftovers can often result in vomiting and diarrhoea and even pancreatitis in our predisposed breeds, such as schnauzers, Cocker spaniels etc. Also, take care throwing away food and closing off compost bins, as some of our furry friends may try to break in and access mouldy food.

This can be very serious for our pets, where mouldy food such as bread and dairy products in its mildest case will cause gastrointestinal disturbances but in its most serious can cause very serious convulsion and seizure activity, which if sustained can cause hikes in body tempeartures and serious long term effect for our pets.

Do you have a question for our Vet? Contact us at info@rockhallveterinary.ie 

Christmas gifts: Silica gel packets, are a favourite for pets and rarely cause more than a digestive upset. They are of low toxicity. Wrapping and crepe paper and in general non-toxic. Candles once lit should be placed in a position that is safe for our pets, watch cats here as burns can happen quite easily. Ingestion of candles has occurred from time to time and again rarely causes more than a diarrhoea.

Pot-pourri bowls can cause extreme digestive upsets and discomfort in our dogs and they can be quite off form for several days post ingestion.

Batteries: Small button or coin type-batteries can be easily ingested and are hazardous if chewed or swallowed.

Christmas Plants: Ponsiettas, though widely reported as being toxic, in the main they cause mouth ulceration and stomach irritation and hence hypersalivation, whereas Holly on the other hand can cause all the above along with vomiting and diarrhoea, lethargy and depression.

Mistletoe is in general of low toxicity causing mild to moderate digestive upsets. Christmas trees too are considered to be of low toxicity also, but needles can cause obstructions of the gut requiring surgery, so ingestion is to be avoided. Lillies on the other hand are extremely toxic, especially to cats, where they can cause severe and irreversible kidney damage

Festive Tipples: Alcoholic drinks left unattended can be a favourite of our four-legged friends, especially the creamy based drinks such as Baileys. Alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the digestive system of our pets and, as with people, acts as a Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant. Behavioural changes can include vomiting, depression, ‘wobbling or weakness- Ataxia, hypotheria, depressing and even respiratory depression have all been reported.

Ethanol in toxicosis treatment involves in the main supportive care such as intravenous fluid therapy, inducing vomiting, monitoring and controlling the patients body temperature. Most animals make a full recovery within 24 to 48hours of hospitalisation.

We at Rockhall Veterinary, hope you have enjoyed and gained valuable information from our Weekly Wag articles, please come in and visit us to say hello, and if you need us over the festive period, you know where to find us, we are here 24/7/365 between Rockhall Veterinary and Limerick Night Vets! 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas and all the best for 2024.

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