Household Cat Poisons

Video Transcript

"I just wanted to spend a minute or so talking with you about some common household poisons, that you may not even be aware of that can be very dangerous to your cat. The first one we'll talk about is house plants. This philodendron plant, cats can chew on and it will cause them to have some reaction in their mouth and in their stomach and intestinal system. So, this is a plant that you want to keep well out of your cat's reach. Cut flowers are really fun to have around the home. But, they can be dangerous and frustrating for your cat. Cats love to chew on this baby's breath plant. And, also on any of the greens that have these long linear veins in them. This sort of a palm. And, then there are also these little grasses in here. And, although they are not actually poisonous the cats will eat them and often will vomit them up. They'll also destroy your bouquet trying to get at them. The plants that are toxic in this bouquet are the lilies. Lilies of various colors can all be poisonous to cats. And, also the alstermaria. This plant comes in many different colors too and it is also toxic to their intestinal system and mouth. So, beware to keep cut flowers out of your cat's reach when you're not around to keep them from chewing on them so that you can enjoy them and the cats won't be injured. Another thing that you may have around your house or outdoors, is rat or mouse poison. This can be very harmful for your cat if your cat eats it directly. And, also if your cat eats a mouse or a rat that has been poisoned. The rat poison works by causing the rat or mouse's body to not be able to clot blood and the same thing will happen to your cat. So, your cat will have excessive bleeding. Very dangerous, this can definitely be life threatening. So, try to use a different alternative to rat or mouse poisons if you can at all. Especially, when you're indoors. And, the third thing that I want you to be aware of is the poisonous elements in anti-freeze. Anti-freeze tastes sweet to the cat, so they will lick it if they see a puddle of anti-freeze in the driveway. So, this will cause kidney problems in your cat and can be life threatening. The scariest part about it is often that you won't know that your cat has gotten into anti-freeze. Because, it's happened outdoors. So, be very cautious with any anti-freeze that's around your house. Definitely, you want to have the number of an Animal Poison Control Center handy. So, in case your cat does get into something you can call and find out how to do first aid before you get your cat to the veterinarian. And, you also want to have the number of your local veterinarian emergency center. So, you can act quickly to minimize any harm that might come to your cat when it eats something that's poisonous."