Aloe vera
Great for burns, toxic to cats and dogs. Who knew? If you keep an aloe plant on hand for burns, make sure to keep it out of reach for your pets.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, depression, diarrhea, anorexia, tremors, change in urine color.
Amaryllis
Pretty, common as a garden ornamental, and a very popular potted bulb for the holidays…and toxic to both cats and dogs. Be careful with the bulbs, they contain the most toxins.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, depression, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, anorexia, tremors.
Azalea/Rhodedendron
Not only toxic to cats and dogs, this popular garden staple is also dangerous for horses, goats and sheep–and ingestion of just a few leaves can cause serious problems.
• Symptoms: Acute digestive upset, excessive drooling, loss of appetite, frequent bowel movements/diarrhea, colic, depression, weakness, loss of coordination, stupor, leg paralysis, weak heart rate for 2 or more days; at this point, improvement may be seen or the animal may become comatose and die.
Baby’s Breath
This sweet filler of many a floral arrangement seems innocent enough, but not so innocuous when it comes to your pet’s digestion.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea.
Begonia
This popular garden and container plant is toxic to both dogs and cats. The tubers are the most toxic part.
• Symptoms: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
Carnations
The carnation isn’t the most poisonous of the bunch, but it’s ubiquity in floral arrangements makes it one to keep your eye out for.
• Symptoms: Mild gastrointestinal signs, mild dermatitis.
Castor Bean
Not in everyone’s garden or bouquet, but castor bean plant is a popular landscaping plant used in many parks and public spaces. Watch out for it on those dog walks.
• Symptoms: abdominal pain, drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, weakness and loss of appetite. Severe cases of poisoning can result in dehydration, muscle twitching, tremors, seizures, coma and death.
Chrysanthemum
The smell of chrysanthemum is enough to keep me away, but dogs and cats may still be drawn to it. It’s not likely to cause death, but it is a popular plant and can cause quite a bit of discomfort. In certain cases, depression and loss of coordination may also develop if enough of any part of the plant is consumed.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, dermatitis.
Cyclamen
These pretty flowers are popular in the garden and in pots–and they are toxic to both cats and dogs. The highest concentration of the toxic component is typically located in the root portion of the plant.
• Symptoms: gastrointestinal irritation, including intense vomiting. Fatalities have also been reported in some cases.
Daffodil
Most people aren’t going to let their pet chow down on pretty daffodils, but who knows what may happen when you turn your back. These harbingers of spring are toxic to cats and dogs; the bulbs being the most toxic part.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, salvation, diarrhea; large ingestions cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias.
Gladiola
Although gladiolus are great in the garden, they are more popularly used in floral arrangements–since it is the corm (bulb) that is most toxic to dogs and cats it may not present much of a problem, but still…
• Symptoms: Salivation, vomiting, drooling, lethargy, diarrhea.
Hosta
If you have shade in your yard, I’m guessing you have a host of hostas. Am I right? I’ve seen many hostas unbothered by dogs and cats, but the plant is toxic to both–so make sure your pet doesn’t have a taste for them.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, diarrhea, depression.
Ivy (California Ivy, Branching Ivy, Glacier Ivy, Needlepoint Ivy, Sweetheart Ivy, English Ivy)
I really can’t see a dog or cat approaching a wall of ivy and begin munching away, but then again, some of the things I have heard about pets eating have really surprised me, so…be warned. Ivy foliage is more toxic than its berries.
• Symptoms: Vomiting, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, diarrhea.
Lilies
So lovely, so fragrant, so dangerous to kitties! Members of the Lilium family are considered to be highly toxic to cats, even when very small portions are ingested. Many types of lily (Tiger, Asian, Japanese Show, Easter, Stargazer, Casa Blanca) can cause kidney failure in cats. Curiously, lilies are not toxic to dogs.
• Symptoms: Kidney failure.
For more please go to www.ASPCA.com for the complete list & side effects.