A Toulouse vet warns of the dangers linked to the end-of-year celebrations for dogs and cats
Through Lucie Fraissé
Published on
Christmas and its gifts, New Year’s Eve and its feasts until the early hours of the morning … For animals, the holiday season can be one of almost all dangers. And the emergencies of the on-call clinic Veterinary emergencies of Toulouse regularly stock up on owners accompanied by their animals in distress at this time of year.
Dark chocolate: beware of danger!
Jarek Szczepaniak is one of the veterinarians of the establishment located in Purpan. And every year at Christmas time, he sees ailing cats and dogs arriving. “With dogs, the big danger is the ingestion of a foreign body: Christmas tree decoration, small toy, nursery subject… And then of course there is dark chocolate which can cause damage. “
So watch out for the boxes of sweets lying around on the coffee table! Because if dogs can be prone to indigestion which can be treated quite easily, the massive ingestion of dark chocolate can be downright. deadly. “It is estimated that ingesting 50g of chocolate per kilo can be fatal. Clearly, a 10 kilo dog who eats 500g of dark chocolate is in danger. ” In question : theobromine molecule present in cocoa.
“In the event of massive chocolate ingestion, the animal must be made to vomit. And it is better to avoid grandmother’s remedies such as swallowing half a pot of salt or the bottle of milk: this puts dogs in danger. must go straight away to the veterinarian or to the clinic: hospitalization in intensive care may be necessary. “
Watch out for narcotics
More surprisingly, at this time of year, veterinarians are also more often consulted to take care of cats or dogs that have swallowed … narcotics ! “It’s already not terrible for humans, but it’s even worse for animals,” sighs the Toulouse veterinarian. ” But OK, a veterinarian is not the police : if someone arrives with a dog who has ingested drugs, there will be no denouncing, we are there to treat! So you really should not hesitate to come so that we can make the animal vomit as soon as possible. “
Crushed dogs: this is not anecdotal
The party in full swing, the dance floor that fills up, the dogs wanting to participate… and the drama that can happen quickly. “You have to watch out for small dogs, in the midst of all the people dancing or heckling: they can quickly getting crushed. On one already had cases, it is really not anecdotal! “
Beware of overly playful cats
The natural player of cats can also be a problem. Witness, this feline taken in charge a few days ago at the Vet-Urgentys clinic and which must have been urgently due because he had played with it nylon net which surrounded the tree of its owners. “The thread got stuck behind the tongue and sheared his intestine. “
And then having animals is a responsibility, even when you leave the house. So be careful to anticipate your departure if you leave your home for several days: take your precautions so that everything goes well for him in your absence.
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