Holiday Hazards for Felines
Tinsel and ribbons are tragedies waiting to happen. I would like to focus on the "toxins" of holiday time. Some of them are not so bad, while others can be life threatening.
The number one call to both human and animal poison control is the silica gel packet. It says 'Do not eat on the package. This causes people to get very concerned. Silica gel packs are included as desiccants (moisture absorbents) in shoeboxes, electronics, medications and food. Silica gel is the active ingredient in 'crystal' cat litters. Silica gel comes in paper packets or plastic cylinders, cats find them exquisitely interesting. It makes a prey like noise and cats love to bat them around. ASPCA poison control reports that most ingestions of silica will NOT cause clinical signs. If enough granules are eaten, there may be a mild GI upset. If the container is bitten into the silica granules will become slimy and dissolve. This may cause slimy sticky gooey stool. We want to make sure those cats are hydrated. The biggest concern is if the packet / plastic container is swallowed whole it can be a foreign body that will lodge and need surgery to remove.
My cat drank the Christmas tree water.
People use Christmas tree preservatives in their tree water. These preservatives are primarily diluted sugar and NPK fertilizer. While most cats that drink this water will develop no clinical signs. Occasionally there are mild GI signs, and rarely, bacterial/fungal contamination of the water may lead to more intense signs. This is a "toxin" that really isn't. The package does says call poison control if ingested.
My cat chews on the Christmas tree. Is this a problem?
Christmas trees are several species. The most common are: Douglas fir, Balsam fir, Black spruce, Blue spruce, White spruce, Scotch pine, Norway spruce, Red Pine, and Red spruce.
They all cause the same clinical signs: Vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain and depression. If enough needles are ingested they form a foreign body. A FB made of pine needles and cat hair is very prickly! By the way if the cat gets pine sap on its fur, use something oily (olive oil, mayo) to remove it. This works better than shampooing. I am not sure how to address consumption of artificial Christmas trees due to the nature of multiple plastic components.
Are Poinsettias considered toxic?
The toxicity of poinsettias is generally overrated. Most cats have minimal signs or mild GI upset if ingested. The plants contain diterpene esters, but large quantities must be ingested for more than mild signs to develop. Most cats do not need treatment just monitor, if not improved in 1- 2 days reevaluate. The Christmas cactus is a common holiday plant considered to be non-toxic. Plant material ingestion may cause mild GI upset. Most cats do not require care for transient vomiting. Mistletoe toxicity varies upon variety. There are both American and European varieties. Most ingestion involves American mistletoe (Phoradendron spp). This plant contains lectins. Ingestion of a few leaves or berries will cause a mild gastritis. Large ingestions may require decontamination and cardiovascular monitoring. Most of our patients just nibble and vomit.
Some stores replace the berries with plastic, these can become foreign bodies. European mistletoe needs closer watching.
Holly is a 'prickly' plant that is not commonly ingested. Holly brought inside for decorations is found by some cats to be quite tasty. All parts of the holly plant are considered toxic. Holly has methylxanthines, saponins, and ilicin as some of its toxic / irritant components. The good news is most ingestions cause GI irritation and depression. Recent ingestions can usually be managed with dilution filling stomach with food, water and home monitoring.
Amaryllis is a common ornamental bulb plant. This is forced to bloom at Christmas or Easter. The plant contains a variety of alkaloids and galanthamine (cholinesterase-inhibitor). All of the plant is toxic. The bulb is the most concentrated toxic section. Cats usually only eat the foliage and flower drooling, vomiting and diarrhea. Ingesting the bulb will cause hypotension, weakness, ataxia, tremors and seizures. Since cats don't usually dig up the bulb, prognosis is good. Lily's are one of the worst plants if you are a cat. The true Lilies may not be a traditional Christmas plant but may be in bouquets this time of year. Members of the Lilium and Hemerocallis genera (Easter lilies, tiger lilies, day lilies) cause acute renal failure in cats. The water soluble toxic principle is unknown. Minor exposures such as a bite on a leaf, ingestion of pollen may result in toxicosis. All feline exposures to lilies should be considered potentially life-threatening! Cats will vomit within a few hours after exposure. Within 24 to 72 hours of ingestion, oliguric (little urine volume) to anuric (no urine volume) renal failure develops. Within 12 hours of ingestion elevations in BUN, creatinine, P and K+/- are detectable. Creatinine elevations may be especially high. The toxin causes damage to the renal tubular cells which sows as abundant casts, proteinuria, glucosuria, and isosthenuria are usually detectable with urinalysis within 24 hours of ingestion. In the first 18 hours after ingestion they have a good prognosis. After 18 hours, the prognosis declines. Lily ingestion cats need to be decontaminated aggressively, emesis and given one dose of activated charcoal with a cathartic. Cats should be placed on IV fluid diuresis at 2x maintenance for 48 hours. Baseline renal values needed at presentation and repeated at 24 and 48 hours. With normal values after 48 hours wean the cat off fluids and send it home. Tubular injury from lily ingestion spares the renal tubular basement membrane some regeneration of damaged tubules is possible. In severe cases, peritoneal dialysis may aid in managing renal failure until tubular regeneration occurs (10-14 days or longer). This will be an expensive holiday. Fourteen days on IV fluids is bigger than twelve days of Christmas.Not all plants with "lily" in the name are true lilies. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum), Calla lily, and Lily of the Valley (Convallaria) are toxic. The toxins in these lilies do not affect the kidneys. Water lilies and Cannas are also non-toxic.
Ice melts & sidewalk salts are they pet safe?
Lots of sidewalk ice melts are on the market. Cats are exposed by walking on the ice melters or by ingesting granules brought inside on footwear. The ingredients in ice melts are some variation of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium carbonate, calcium magnesium acetate and urea. Ingestion of urea is not a toxicity issue in non-ruminants. This is the common ingredient in the "pet safe" ice melts. Ingestion of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium salts can lead to vomiting and upsetting electrolyte balance abnormalities. Most cat and dogs will not usually eat large amounts of these ice melting products. Liquid Potpourri is commonly used during the holiday season. Cats are often exposed by direct ingestion or dermal exposure from simmer pots or spills. Exposure of cats to some types of liquid potpourris can result in severe oral, dermal and ocular (eye) damage. Liquid potpourri is a combination of cationic detergents and essential oils. Cationic detergents even at 2 percent will cause extensive systemic and local tissue injury. A local tissue injury resembles a burn similar to exposure with corrosives. Systemic toxicity includes: CNS depression, coma, seizures, hypotension, muscular weakness, fasciculations (twitches), collapse, pulmonary edema, and metabolic acidosis. The toxic mechanism is not known. Treatment of localized signs includes dilution with milk or water, pain control (opioids), GI protection (sucralfate slurries) and supportive care (antibiotics, feeding tube). Systemic signs need to be treated symptomatically (IV fluids for hypotension, diazepam for seizures).
For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.
Have a Happy New Year.
Mike Sweet, DVM