POISON PREVENTION FOR PETS

March is Poison Prevention Awareness month, and our team here at Wiscoy for Animals feel responsible for your animal’s health. Part of that begins with educating our customers. Our blog will continue to provide helpful information as a supplement to the in store experience at Wiscoy for Animals (424 West Aaron Drive, State College, PA 16803).  If you are looking for the best place for pet supplies in State College, Wiscoy for Animals has helped our customers with our knowledge, expertise, supplies, and resources for nearly 30 years now. In this blog, we’ll go over some poison prevention need-to-know items as well as provide some additional resources for our pet parents.

POISON PREVENTION FOR PETS HELPLINES 

It’s a good idea to save these phone numbers in your phone’s contacts. You don’t want to waste time by looking up these numbers if there’s an emergency. Here are a few that we recommend:

• Your local veterinarian’s number
• ASPCA Poison Control Helpline: (888) 426-4435
• Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661

It’s worth noting that a consultation fee applies for the poison control helplines. The fee for ASPCA is unlisted, but the Pet Poison Helpline starts at a cost of $59. However, it goes without saying that this price is far better than the alternative.    

NEED TO KNOWS

Poison prevention for pets comes down to being knowledgeable of the dangerous items and understanding your pets. If your pets are particularly susceptible to getting into things they shouldn’t get into, as the pet owner it is your responsibility to counter these efforts with efforts of your own. Closing doors, locking cabinets, or ensuring that toxic items to are placed in unreachable spots are helpful, easy measures. Knowing is the next step:

Foods Dogs and Cats Cannot Eat:

• Fruits:
  • Grapes, raisins, avocados, cherries, nightshade family of plants.
  • Vegetables:
    • Mushrooms, garlic, onions, chives, rhubarb. 
    • Others:
      • Macadamia nuts, chocolate, caffeine, ice cream, alcohol, xylitol, raw yeast dough, and nutmeg.

Most Common Ways Pets are Poisoned:

• Medications
• Foods
• Household chemicals (bleach, pesticide, antifreeze, detergents, etc)

If your pet ingests these items, this is an emergency. Do your best to avoid feeding these to your pets at all costs. As your local pet supplies store in the State College area Wiscoy for Animals (424 West Aaron Drive, State College, PA 16803) carries many dog-friendly and cat-friendly treats and chews that are better than human foods. Feel free to ask one of our knowledgeable staff members for advice or assistance if you need it as we are always happy to help out our customers.

POISON PREVENTION STRATEGIES FOR PETS

Here are some of our best poison prevention strategies:

• Keep poison control hotlines and contact information readily available. In an emergency, time is of the essence.
• Stay informed on what plants, foods, and chemicals in your home are poisonous for your pets. Use this knowledge to make better decisions regarding your organization, placement, or storage of these items.
• There’s no need to tempt your pets by leaving harmful things out. Having a deep understanding of your pet’s behavior is critical, and even if they aren’t the type to get into things, it is better to be safe than sorry. Take extra precautions if you must by pet-proofing your kitchen, garage, cleaning closet, or other potentially harmful areas.
• Having a pet first aid kit prepared isn’t a bad idea. Speak with a staff member to see what kind of supplements and first aid products we have.   

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Doing your own research can only benefit you and your pets. Here are a few online resources that we trust.

• Fuzzy Rescue: Toxic Foods Dogs Can’t Eat
• ASPCA: People Foods to Avoid Feeding to your Pet
• Hill’s Pet: Toxic Food for Cats

POISON PREVENTION FOR PETS
CONCLUSION

Poison prevention for pets comes down to being aware of the situations and circumstances and properly preparing for those situations. We recommend that you take the household precautions of ensuring that toxic foods, chemicals, and medications are properly stored away from your pets.  

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for any questions, online or in person, for assistance in these matters. We work hard to be the best place for pet supplies in State College, PA. Our #1 priority is customer service and we aim to provide more than just supplies for our customers by readily divulging our knowledge, expertise, advice, tips, resources, and more.