Imagine a beautifully landscaped home consisting of attractive plants outdoors along with some fine-looking indoor accent plants. This is, of course, what we all strive to achieve with a well planned and executed landscape design and a little interior decorating. But what if you had placed living landmines in and around your home ready to explode with poison?
We all have the desire to create a beautiful curb appeal to our homes and are willing to purchase and place certain plant products in our yards and flower beds in order to satisfy our objective. However, some of you green thumbs out there unknowingly place certain plant species in your yards that potentially could cause harm to your pet.
A toxicant can be described as a substance that when introduced or applied to the body, it can by its inherent chemical properties, interfere with cellular function. When an animal encounters any toxic substance, there are general physiological consequences that may result in response to ingestion. Some of these consequences on a histological scale include the manipulation and alteration of cell membrane integrity. The cell membrane is composed of a lipid bilayer with various ion channels that tightly regulate specific concentrations of certain materials within the cell, allowing some substances in- while keeping others out. It is critical to keep this membrane intact; otherwise, there can be devastating physiological consequences. When an animal ingests toxic material, there may be disruptions in this membrane that will inevitably lead to interference with receptor function as well as fluid and electrolyte movements. Along with alterations in membrane integrity, cellular adipocytes – or fat cells, may accumulate within the cell which can push certain cellular organelles into the cell periphery and impede cellular function. Your pet may have altered energy metabolism along with delayed or inactive protein synthesis. Microscopically, alterations in cell growth patterns including neoplasia – or an abnormal mass of tissue may occur. With these modifications to the variety of cells in the animal’s body, cell death will begin to occur whether it is uncontrolled cellular necrosis, or pre-programmed cellular apoptosis.
Physically, you may see numerous abnormalities in your pet as a result of what is going on from the physiological standpoint. Signs of toxicosis may include, but are not limited to vomiting, diarrhea, depression or excitement, dilated pupils, convulsions, ataxia – or uncoordinated movements, hyper salivation – or excessive drooling, and general abdominal pain.
According to the ASPCA and the Animal Poison Control Center, plants were included in the top 10 pet toxins of 2010 (along with human medication, human food, insecticides, rodenticides, chocolate, household toxins, herbicides and outdoor toxins). The following list is from the ASPCA and is comprised of a variety of common plants that could potentially harm your pet.
Photo courtesy of Emily Buck Gabriel, DVM
1- Sago Palm (indoor plant for hardiness Zone 5 within Ohio)
a. The sago palm is a plant that if ingested by your pet can result in detrimental side effects, such as gastrointestinal abnormalities, seizures, and liver failure.
2- Lilies (Lilium species)
a. There is quite a variety of the lily species; however, it is the true lilies, Lilium, not the commonly planted ‘Daylily’, Hemerocallis, that is highly toxic to cats. If a cat were to ingest even a small amount of the plant, it can result in acute kidney failure and possibly death.
b. The white Easter Lily is commonly displayed indoors during the Easter Season. Use caution with indoor cats.
3- Tulips
a. Tulips contain toxins that are specifically in the bulb portion of the plant. If the bulb is ingested, it can result in irritation to the gastrointestinal tract and the esophagus as well. More severe cases where a high amount of the bulb is ingested may result in variations in heart rate and respiration.
4- Chrysanthemum
a. If eaten, the Chrysanthemum plant may cause excessive drooling and gastrointestinal upset that could lead to diarrhea. If a large amount of the plant is eaten, depression may occur, as well as ataxia.
5- Buckeye
a. If our state tree’s wonderful nut is ingested by your pet, you may see signs including vomiting and diarrhea, depression or excitement, and ataxia.
6- Daffodils
a. This flower contains various properties that may cause severe vomiting in your pet. Other signs of ingestion includes abdominal pain, diarrhea, and in some cases cardiac arrhythmias – or abnormal patterns in the heart rate.
7- Oleander (indoor plant for hardiness Zone 5 within Ohio)
a.If this shrub is ingested by your pet, you may see some physical signs including severe vomiting, hypothermia, bradycardia- or slow heart rate, and in serious cases, death.
8- Autumn Crocus
a. If this plant is ingested, consequences may result in general gastrointestinal upset including blood vomiting, bloody diarrhea, shock and multi-organ damage. Signs of ingestion of this plant may be seen right away, but also may take a few days to develop.
b. The corm of this plant also has potential dermal toxicity. Do not let children handle the corms of this plant.
9- Azalea/Rhododendron
a. Ingestion of this plant species may produce vomiting, hyper salivation, diarrhea, and depression to the central nervous system. If a high amount of the plant is ingested, there may be cardiovascular consequences that occur that could potentially result in death.
10- Amaryllis (indoor plant for hardiness Zone 5 within Ohio)
a. This plant is regularly found in gardens and if ingested by your pet, could cause vomiting, depression, abdominal pain, hyper salivation and lack of eating as well.
So don’t fear fellow green thumbs! This coming spring, create a masterpiece in your front yard or construct a beautiful bouquet for a loved one, but just remember – those wonderful smells that we have come to love are exponentially amplified and simply irresistible to our furry friends. Be informed of what you are planting so you and yours, including your pets- can enjoy the natural beauty of plants!
If you want more information on these plants and other possible toxic plant materials, feel free to call Buck & Sons Landscape Service Inc. If you witness or suspect that your pet has ingested any of the previous substances, please contact your local veterinarian.
By Aaron Buck, student – University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine
Special thanks to Dr. Michael Biehl and The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the ASPCA for the information throughout this piece.
Animal Poison Control Center. ASPCA. Web. 1 Sept. 2011. <http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/>.
