Surgery Centers of Northern Colorado
by Jon Geller, DVM
At emergency hospitals, caseloads always increase around the holidays, as pets manage to find new ways to get into trouble. Some of these cases can be humorous, but many are life threatening.
When Sue Wilson adopted a new kitten as a Christmas present for her daughter, she had no idea that her family was about to embark on a $2,000 ordeal that would turn their holiday into a nightmare.
 |
Holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s can generally be fun for families with pets. In a recent survey of pet owners, 50 percent indicated that they buy Christmas gifts for their dogs and cats.
As the Wilsons found out, holidays can also be times of trouble for pets. At emergency hospitals, caseloads always increase around the holidays, as pets manage to find new ways to get into trouble. Some of these cases can be humorous, but many are life threatening, as the Wilsons discovered.
Probably the most common cause of holiday problems that end with pets in the emergency room is feeding leftovers (intentionally or unintentionally) to pets. Dogs have been known to show unexpected athletic ability in crawling up on counters and tables to salvage turkey carcasses. Cats will circle high chairs, while toddlers happily throw large quantities of food scraps overboard.
Enterprising dogs may raid unattended bowls and bags of Halloween candy and ingest enough chocolate to have seizures and cardiac arrhythmias. Dark chocolate or baker’s chocolate is especially toxic. (Cats are usually more discriminating when it comes to chocolate.)
A Christmas tree can provide hours of delight as well as a smorgasbord of potentially deadly temptations for a pet. One dog that we X-rayed had chomped through an entire string of Christmas lights. Others have swallowed ornaments of various sizes and shapes, often not discovered until they are deposited in the yard a day or two later. Newly opened packages containing slippers, dolls, or clothing can be irresistible to some dogs.
The Wilsons enjoyed watching their new kitten play with the tinsel on the Christmas tree. They laughed as she pulled at the tinsel with her mouth, and chased it as it wrapped around her tail. However, when the Wilsons woke up Christmas morning, their new kitten was throwing up, lethargic, and in pain.
Twelve hours later, their kitten was prepped for intestinal surgery at the emergency hospital. The tinsel had pulled through the walls of her small intestine as the muscle wall tried to propel it along. Two hours and $2,000 later, two feet of intestines had been removed, and the Wilson’s kitten recovered from its surgery. It was truly a Christmas to remember.
Other holiday dangers threaten pets. House plants like poinsettias, holly berries, and lilies can be toxic to cats, sometimes causing irreversible kidney failure. Thinking of grilling a turkey? Grilling utensils and brushes, as well as skewers and charcoal ash have found their way into dogs’ stomachs. (These make for interesting X-rays.) Punch bowls and unattended mixed drinks can lure some dogs, who may then be found staggering drunkenly around the house (they will later recover).
Enjoy the holidays by being vigilant about potential dangers to your pets. Although emergency hospitals are open 24/7 during the holidays, we hope that you get to spend them at home enjoying your family and pets. +
Dr. Geller is an emergency veterinarian at Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital and P.E.T.S. of Northern Colorado in Greeley, as well as a freelance writer. His work has appeared in Dog Fancy Magazine, Bottom Line Personal, and Mother Earth News. In addition, he has a current blog at thebark.com and medhelp.org, and answers dog owners’ questions online at Dogchannel.com.