These Popular Fall and Holiday Plants Are Toxic to Pets: Here’s What You Need to Know
As the year winds down and colder temperatures begin to welcome themselves back into our lives, many of us look forward to enjoying the upcoming holiday season. Halloween's just weeks away, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. That means many of us are decorating for the holidays, including introducing new plants and foliage that our furry friends might not be used to. We see these plants as gorgeous decor, but some can pose serious health threats to our fur babies.
Several holiday plants, including English Ivy and Holly, can be toxic to pets.
Shutterstock/marilyn barbone
Don't believe that people bring home more plants, flowers, and foliage over the holidays? Google searches for “Pet-friendly plants” and you'll find that those searches are up over 5,000% in the past 30 days! That leaves us all wondering, which plants are dangerous to our four-legged friends?
Lucky for us, experts at Clear It Waste have compiled a list of popular fall and winter plants that can be toxic to cats and dogs, and if you have pets at home, you'll want to check it out to see what you need to be aware of when bringing living festive features into your home.
Holiday Plants That Are Toxic to Pets
Many holiday plants can be toxic to pets.
Shutterstock/marilyn barone
Clear It Waste shared seven common fall and winter plants that can be toxic to pets, as well as listing the symptoms to watch for if your pets come into contact with them. Here's what they have to say about each plant:
Holly
If ingested, holly berries can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and distress in pets, as well as the leaves causing pain, bleeding, and potential damage to the mouth and throat if chewed.
Holly and the plant berries can be toxic to pets.
Shutterstock/alirizaozcelik
Though it may seem safe to decorate with Holly if it is out of reach of your furry friends, as the plant dries, the berries tend to loosen and drop to the floor, making them easy for your pet to mistake as a treat.
Autumn Crocus (Colchicum)
Autumn Crocus contains a toxic alkaloid called colchicine. As well as severe gastrointestinal symptoms (bloody vomit, stomach pain, diarrhea, and more), your pets ingesting autumn crocus can also cause liver and kidney damage, respiratory failure, damage to the central nervous system, and even death.
Amaryllis
Amaryllis plant’s leaves, stems and bulbs can be toxic if ingested by cats or dogs and even cause drooling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Though it is unlikely that your pet would ingest enough of the amaryllis for it to cause severe damage, it is still one to protect your furry friends from.
Ivy
Ingesting ivy leaves can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, increased salivation, and diarrhea in pets, and the sap can cause a painful contact rash. Though ivy poisoning is unlikely to be life-threatening, it should not be overlooked.
Yew
A small nibble of this can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea in your pet, and any more than this can cause muscular tremors, difficulty breathing, seizures (in dogs), and even sudden death from acute heart failure.
Poinsettia
Though unlikely to cause any severe gastrointestinal symptoms, ingesting poinsettia can irritate your pet's mouth and stomach due to its sap and make your companions very uncomfortable.
Mistletoe
Ingesting this will often result in mild gastrointestinal symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhea, but in rare cases, it can cause low blood pressure, low heart rate, and difficulty breathing.
Oof! That's a lot of potential health issues that are the last thing you need to be worrying about when it comes to your fur babies this holiday season! If you think your pet may have ingested something toxic, especially if you're decorating with any of these holiday plants, do not hesitate to contact your vet as soon as possible. Provide as much information as possible, such as what they may have eaten and how much, when they ate it, and when symptoms started.
If you're not sure if your fur baby will try to taste test festive holiday decor, err on the side of caution and don't buy any of these plants. You can buy 'fake' dups that look the same and you won't have to worry about your fur babies ingesting toxic plants.
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