Spring: beware of poisoning our dogs and cats

Spring is here, stimulating our desire for gardening and cleaning … So many potential risks for our 30 million friends. Dogs – drawn to anything that looks appetizing – are the most vulnerable to poisoning, and cats aren’t spared either. 30millionsdamis.fr gives you some advice to put them out of danger.

Pesticides, plants, household products, insecticides … the list of products harmful to our dogs and cats is long. Just like children, animals are curious and touch everything. Hence the importance of putting what is dangerous out of their reach, and to ensure that these substances are neither ingested nor in contact with the skin.

The main causes of poisoning

With spring, suitable for gardening, pesticides and insecticides are unfortunately frequently used products. This is also the time when dogs and cats come out in the gardens, sniffing the flowers and sometimes eating a little grass. Slug repellants – sweet, but very toxic, blue little granules – are especially attractive to dogs. Weedkillers, defoamers and fertilizers are just as harmful, if not fatal.

Outdoors, processionary caterpillars and their stinging hairs containing a toxin attract our dogs and cats and pose a threat, as do toads, whose skin can generate irritating secretions. In the event of a proven presence, we must then keep our friends away to avoid any contact with these poisons.

This is also the time of year when our house welcomes new plants and flowers. Be careful, these are also risk factors: lily, arum, ficus, poinsettia, bay leaf, rose, lily of the valley and digitalis are among the main essences harmful to our companions.

With the arrival of spring and the return of sunny days, we take the opportunity to do a big cleaning. However, cleaning products like solvents, detergents and bleach – which most often attracts cats – are very dangerous for our friends.

Signs to look for and behaviors to adopt

Fever, unusual and severe thirst, convulsions, diarrhea, respiratory, intestinal or vision disorders, tremors, excessive salivation, sometimes even cardiac arrest …: if your animal exhibits one or more of these symptoms, it is imperative to call your clinic veterinarian or poison control center.

For rapid treatment and in the best conditions, when you call, it is important to give as much information as possible about your animal (type, size, weight, age) and the products it may have ingested. (nature, quantity, when and under what circumstances).

If, however, you have not been able to determine the causes of the poisoning, try to collect everything that may be within reach. Above all, do not make your animal drink (water, milk, etc.), eat or vomit: this could worsen its case. When transporting it to the veterinarian, put it in a warm blanket, preferably in a ball, with the nose as far as possible towards its chest.

To prevent accidents as much as possible, store dangerous products in places inaccessible to animals, keeping in mind that they have a knack for sneaking around… and that they are full of imagination! Another advice to follow, isolate your companion from the area while handling risky substances, but also a few hours after – time for them to evacuate.