Before you begin your Fall household to-do list, break out the ingredients for baked goods and decorate your home for the season, be sure to take a look at what you are using in your home if you have pets around.
Many everyday seasonal items, as well as popular Fall decorations, scents and tastes can pose potential dangers to your pets.
Thankfully, the BC SPCA has released a list of Fall items that you may be using around your home that we should be aware of.
When it comes to your pet’s health and safety, here are 5 Fall items to be on the lookout for:
Antifreeze
Did you know coming into contact or ingesting just one tablespoon of antifreeze can be lethal for your pet?
If you are using this substance to help prepare your car or boats for the winter conditions, be sure to keep your pets far away from it as well as any surfaces it may have come into contact with.
Candles
When Fall hits, stores overflow with their autumn candles and everyone moves inside to get cozy.
However, if you are not using candles that are made from soy, coconut or a vegetable-based wax with unbleached 100% cotton wicks, you may potentially be releasing toxins into your home.
Most candles are made from paraffin wax, use lead wicks and release synthetic oil and fragrances. These can trigger respiratory illnesses in your pets.
Lit candles and the resulting hot wax are also a potential danger to pets as they can easily be knocked over.
Chocolate and candy
For humans, Fall brings Halloween and Thanksgiving, two holidays that mean a lot of chocolate and other sweets. However, your pets cannot enjoy these the same way we can.
Chocolate is toxic to cats and dogs, as they cannot metabolize caffeine or a chemical called theobromine like we do. When consumed, other artificial sweeteners in candy are also linked to hypoglycemia and liver damage in dogs.
Compost and mulch piles
The decaying organic matter or molding food products in compost and mulch piles can cause serious harm to pets if ingested.
If ingested, animals can be poisoned, causing tremors or seizures.
Creating piles of leaves and gathering compost are routine Fall chores, so be careful to keep your pets away from these piles and manage these piles and their discarding properly.
Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin pie spice is made of a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Although small amounts of these spices in most baked goods will not usually cause harm to pets, other pumpkin spice products such as essential oils or large amounts of the spices directly can cause harm to your pet.
