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Spring Pet Safety

Spring is a lovely time of year, winter is finally leaving, things are starting to bloom, and we can finally enjoy some sunshine. But spring comes with its dangers as well, here is a basic list of some things to look out for as we enter the spring season.

Melting Snow:

As the snow melts it starts to uncover all the things left over from last year. From rodent feces, to old garbage, to grass mold and other irritants. Try to keep your yard area as clean as possible, and keep an eye out when walking your pup in public areas. Dogs tend to scoop anything up that smells interesting to them and can cause GI upset (vomiting or diarrhea).

Common Spring Toxins:

Flowers are starting to bloom, and that can cause problems for our feline companions. Cats are very sensitive to many different types of plants, one of the most common being lilies. Plants with bulbs (commonly tulips or lilies) can cause many different issues which can range from mild GI upset to much worse conditions such a neurological issues. It is best to keep those types of plants away from cats and to watch for any signs of distress or illness in your outdoor kitties.

The other toxin would be the excess salt build up left after the winter. When the salt mixes with melting snow and can cause local irritation to their feet/skin. They will then lick at that irritation and could take in large amounts of salt, or lick the area raw. A quick trick is to wash off your dog’s feet when they get in to wash off the excess salt water.

Parasites and Lyme disease:

Though we are now seeing fleas and ticks year round, we tend to see a boost in the amount of ticks/fleas around during the spring season.

Intestinal parasites can be picked up at any time, and outdoor cats are most likely to have intestinal parasites. Outdoor kitties are natural hunters and small rodents often have fleas and intestinal parasites which would then be passed out to your cat.

Tapeworm can be contracted from fleas, when a pet ingests a flea it can contract the tapeworm directly from the flea.

And finally the dreaded tick – ticks are getting worse every year, and we all dread the Lyme disease carrying ticks (Deer tick/Black-legged tick). Stay vigilant and check your pet after every walk or hike in grassy areas. Feel for bumps and check to ensure they are not ticks. If you find a tick, bring your pet into us to have it removed properly and identified. If it is a black legged tick we will let you know right away and put in a reminder to test for Lyme in 6 weeks.

 

Written By: Dartmouth Veterinary Hospital 

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