Pet Safety

I was pulling out Christmas decorations this morning which brought to mind the dangers of some holiday items to pets.
As some of you know I worked in the veterinary field for about 14 years, the last 6 years in emergency. My husband is also a emergency/critical care veterinarian. We've seen some interesting cases to say the least.

It's been awhile so I thought I'd make a list of either toxic items, or things we've removed from dogs/cats stomachs, throats and mouths.

Chocolate's a given. I think everyone knows that one. Now if they take a bite of a snickers, most are fine. It's the quantity and degree of chocolate. Darker chocolates and baking chocolates are the worst.

Tinsel ~ awful stuff, can cause them to choke or get entwined in the intestines. Can require surgery.
Ribbons/bows...same thing.
Poinsietta's are toxic. Along with Holly and Mistletoe.
So are any lily's. Here's a list of toxic plants.
Needles ~ I've seen several removed from cats throats, tongues, roof of mouth and surgically from the stomach. Even worse if thread is attached.
Thread ~ same thing, can get entwined in the intestines and have to be surgically removed.
Hooks~ Bulb hooks, fishing hooks... same thing. They get stuck and have to removed.
Socks/Hose ~ I've seen many socks, kneehighs and panty hose removed from dogs surgically.
Dental Floss ~ again..very bad if swallowed. I even saw cat who had to have the tape from cassette tapes removed surgically.
Bells/accessories ~ little holiday collars with bells, etc. They can and have eaten the bells.
Scraps ~ everyone does it sometimes, and it's easy to do.. but scraping off the ham/turkey for the dogs/cats.. not good. The seasonings can make them sick and pork can cause pancreatitis.
**The incidence of pancreatitis in dogs increases dramatically around Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, as well-intentioned owners feed their dogs fatty foods and even fat trimmings, which cause a potentially deadly inflammation of the pancreas. So avoid feeding fatty food and large quantities of a new food, as this can cause diarrhea or vomiting in dogs and cats.

Bones, rawhides, corn cob (really bad)... especially those "Greenies" that are so popular. Hubs has removed those from a couple of dogs.

Watch what's wrapped under the tree.. I had a dog that used to open presents all the time.
Candles.. although I have them everywhere, I have been known to put out a kitty-tail fire on occasion.

I know most pet owners know these things, but sometimes they don't.. and those are usually the sad cases. Nothing wrong with repeating it :)

Oh and I won't go into details here.. but keep pets away from paper shredders. Keep them unplugged and put away. Seriously.. i've seen bad things.

I asked my husband to send me a list too.. so I might update this throughout the day.

Update: Coins, rocks, buttons, batteries, popsicle sticks, nipples off of bottles/nursers, all kinds of balls.
He just recently removed a hacky sack from a dogs stomach.
**oh and to the women, dogs and cats have been known to eat feminine products often. Yucky to think about, but even yuckier to remove.**

Update 2: Raisins and Grapes can also be toxic.