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[av_heading heading=’Holiday reminders for pet owners’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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IT’S THE start of the long holiday season in the country, and it is time to remember several things to watch out for holiday temptations for your pets while you’re busy decorating, cooking, and wrapping gifts.
According to Carmela Stamper, a veterinarian at the United States Food and Drug Administration, an animal’s body processes food much differently, and reminds pet owners to keep their animals safe.
If your dog received a stocking full of pet treats, make sure he doesn’t gobble them all up at once.
Stamper said that if your dog eats the treats whole, or eats too many at once, he may not be able to digest them.
Unchewed pet treats can get stuck in the trachea or gastrointestinal tract, particularly in small dogs.
If your dog is in obvious distress from eating too much too fast, contact your vet immediately. Some tell-tale signs are drooling, choking, or vomiting.
Take note of timing. If a bone or chew toy lodges in your dog’s stomach or intestines, the symptoms might not be immediate.
Hours to days later, he may vomit and have diarrhea, be less active, not want to eat, and have stomach pain. If the blockage stays there too long, your dog may become very ill.
When decorating your Christmas tree and wrapping or unwrapping gifts, keep a close eye on where you leave your leftover décor items, string, and ribbons.
The cat may find these decorations irresistible because they look like easy-to-catch, sparkly, and wiggly prey.
These can cause serious stomach and intestinal damage.
Symptoms may take a few hours or several days to appear, and include vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and decreased activity.
If you have holiday plants such as poinsettias, take care. When you display (or dispose of) these plants, your cat may decide they’re good to eat.
Poinsettias, for example, have a milky white, latex sap that can irritate your animal’s mouth and stomach and may cause vomiting and diarrhea.
“If your cat has snacked on poinsettia leaves, you can help him by picking up his food and water dishes for a couple of hours to let his stomach settle,” Stamper advises.
Resist the temptation to give your pet table scraps that are high in fat, such as fat trimmed from meat or skin from your roasted chicken.
“In addition to the typical gastrointestinal upset, rich, fatty foods can cause a potentially life-threatening and painful disease called pancreatitis,” Stamper says.
The most common symptoms of pancreatitis in dogs include vomiting, stomach pain, restlessness, shaking, diarrhea, fever, and weakness.
For the cats, the symptoms are less clear and harder to notice, such as decreased appetite and weight loss./PN
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