Creating a pet-friendly environment in your home means making comfortable bedding, food, and toys accessible to your furry friends. But it also means knowing which harmful items to keep away from your animals.
Whether you share your home with a cat or a dog – or both – certain plants and essential oils are a big no-no for any pet-friendly apartment. The same goes for various food items that can be toxic to dogs and cats if ingested. Which can happen all too easily if you leave them laying around your home.
But what are some of the most dangerous foods for your pets? Let’s take a look.
1. Chocolate
Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which are toxic to both dogs and cats. These substances can cause vomiting and diarrhea, seizures, and even death.
If you’d like to give your pet a chocolatey treat, you can find special chocolate for dogs and cats in the pet care department of most grocery stores.
2. Grapes and Raisins
Grapes and raisins might be nature’s candy to us but they’re toxic for pets. In some smaller dog breeds, even a single grape can be enough to cause kidney failure.
With this in mind, even leaving grapes out in a fruit bowl could be risky. If your pet accidentally eats a grape or two, contact your vet straight away and watch out for symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and lethargy.
3. Alcohol
Preparing your home for the holidays or an upcoming event can often mean stocking up on tasty treats and alcoholic beverages.
But smart apartment organization is key when you have a curious cat or a playful pup living among all these extra supplies. Not least because alcohol is extremely toxic to animals. Drinks and foods containing any kind of alcohol can cause serious problems in pets, including breathing difficulties, vomiting, diarrhea, coma, and death.
4. Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges, clementines, and grapefruits contain citric acid and oils that are problematic for pets. It’s not only the fruit itself that’s dangerous either – the stems, leaves, peel, and seeds can all harm your animals too. Small amounts will likely only lead to an upset stomach but larger amounts can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and central nervous system damage.
5. Garlic and Onions
Garlic and onions, as well as leeks and chives, all belong to the genus Allium, which is toxic to dogs and cats. Whether raw, in powdered form, or cooked, these pungent veggies need to be far away from your pets at all times. If they consume any of them, dogs and cats can experience ruptured red blood cells and damage to their internal organs.
Creating a Pet-Friendly Apartment
As this list shows, creating an organized, clean space for you and your animals to live in is key to creating a pet-friendly environment.
While it might be difficult to remember to keep these dangerous foods and other toxic items on high shelves, behind closed doors, and hidden away in cupboards, it’s the easiest way to ensure that your beloved pets don’t eat something they shouldn’t.
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