Who would think that the beautiful, cheery flowers that you place around your home and garden could harm your pet?
It’s hard to believe that chrysanthemums, crocuses or foxgloves could harm or kill anything but the fact is that many contain properties that can, at the least, give your pet a rash or, at worst, be fatal.
Of course, you don’t really expect your pet to start chewing on a flower but it isn’t entirely unusual – stranger things have happened! Forewarned is forearmed.
Being aware of what flowers could be harmful to your pet or dog will put you in good stead.
Dogs and harmful flowers
Common flowers which could cause uncomfortable rashes or dermatitis to your dog include cactus, chrysanthemums, ficus, primrose and schefflera. Shocking isn’t it – especially from such pretty flowers!
Flowers that give your dog upset stomachs include the Cala lily, carnation, chrysanthemum, cyclamen, daffodil, freesia, peony and tulip.
Unfortunately, it gets worse – flowers which can cause organ damage are small amounts of azalea, crocus, foxglove and juniper.
Lethal flowers include cyclamen, delphinium, foxglove, lantana, larkspur, rhododendron and oleander. Many of these flowers are located in the garden so it`s not out of the question for your dog to chew on them while playing around outside.
The way to avoid any harm is to simply ensure that you do not possess any of these blooms or flowering shrubs. However, if you do, you will need to keep a very sharp eye on your dog if you have these flowers in or around your home and an even sharper eye when you`re out walking with your pet.
Cats and harmful flowers
So what`s the story with cats and toxic flowers? The list is very similar to that of dogs. Flowers which can cause rashes are: agapanthus, cactus, chrysanthemums, ficus and primrose.
Flowers that give your cat an upset stomach include agapanthus, amaryllis, aster, Cala lily, carnation, chrysanthemums, clematis, cyclamen, daffodil, freesia, gladiolas, hyacinth, peony, morning glory and tulip.
Flowers that can damage the kidney, liver, stomach and heart are azalea, crocus, foxglove, juniper and lily.
Flowers that may cause death are azalea, cyclamen, delphinium, foxglove, lantana, larkspur or oleander.
Unlike dogs, it’s hard to get cats to do anything they don’t want to do and they are likely to chew at your flowers. The only way of dealing with is to keep the flowers in cat-free zones. If you do see that your cat has eaten something green or colorful, contact your vet right away.