How many --

How many people have had their cat retun home sick or worse still die as a result of ingesting something poisonous,immediately suspicion falls on a neighbour when it could be something in the garden,most people know lillies are deadly to cats especially when they brush against them and then lick the pollen off,here is a list of plants that are toxic to cats.
http://www.chesterfieldcats.co.uk/Chesterfield cats protection plants toxic to cats page.htm

 

Actually, I've had none. But I would believe, cats are not going to munch on plants, at least mine don't.
Sometimes grass in the summer. I would believe to poison a cat you have to hid the poison in something yummy. Or perhaps someone set out mouse/rat poisoning and the rat/mouse ate it and the cat munched that or ate some rat/mouse poison.

 

Because they are the most likely suspect Walnut. Don`t get me wrong, I know how much you love our furry friends. LOL

 

Have you come across a dog list yet ??

 

My cats domunch on plants, wellmostly grass,but they grazed to the groung my Ciperus alternifolius, and they are well on the way with my (formerly) beautiful Beaucarnea recurvata. Go figure. Palms' fronds are also yummy, apparently, but now too high for them to reach.

However I never saw them anywhere near lilies. I think most animals used to be outdoors have a pretty good istinct for what is good or bad for them talking of plants.

 

In answer to Amanita' request, there's quite a bit of info on these sites:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nsaids.html

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/poison.html

also with the festive season looming close, remember chocolate and grapes are no no's for canines.

 

Terrier some people will not listen to advice for some obscure reason.

 

Well I don't know, honestly a friend of mine in Lucca has a farm and a dog who literally ambushes grapes: as soon as they are ripe he eats them. Lower branches grapes are all his. Healthiest dog I ever saw.
I will admit that another friend's dog behaves like someone on LSD if he gets to a piece of chocolate (and he persistently tryes to steal it as soon as anyone turns their backs). :D

There was a discussion about ragwort some time ago: someone said one leaf is enough to kill a horse (which not all sources agree upon, but anyway, that is not the point). Well, when I bought my horses I asked the breeders how they dealt with poisonous grasses in pastures. They said the horses were ridden on long trail treks also by inexperienced people who don't now the first thing about horses and herbs and were let to graze freely in wild pastures. The simple fact is, horses that are used to be outside, and graze in more natural enviroments, are better botanists than we are and know what to eat. It may very well be different for horses that are consistently stabled and only fed on grain and hay, but that is the experience of these people how after all have bred and raised huge numbers of haflinger horses so far.
The last hay bale I opened had some yellowish dried flowers mixed in. I did not notice them immediately, because the light in the hay loft is something less then ideal but they became pretty evident because the horses carefully avoided them. Picked all other hay and left those behind. Yup, it was ragwort, and I had quite a heart attack. I carefully check hay now to avoid them getting any of the stuff, but the thing is, they noticed it before I did.

I am not saying that one should abandon all caution and ignore warnings. I spent hours studying lists of stuff that is poisonous for horses and trying to memorize how they look etc. BUt I am aware that nobody can keep an eye on what animals eat 24 h a day. It is just impossible, and anyone claiming the contrary is something less than honest. Yet animals have lived and live in the wild, and in our gardens for thousands of years, and to respectable ages, so I have reason to believe that they have at least SOME ability to look after themselves.

 

Ivory, I would totally agree with you. I have no experience of horses whatsoever, but I do with chickens. I believe that, given the chance and the ability to free range, chickens are great self medicators when it comes to knowing what to eat and what not to. Supposedly, foxgloves (digitalis) are deadly poisonous to most animals. However our lot scoffed a load of young plants I had in the garden, but only at a set time of the year. The same goes for lavender. It got ignored the whole year, until winter when it was the only available lush vegetation around. Perhaps they know how to purge themselves...

We need to be careful with the animals in our care, but as you say we need to give them some "common sense".

 

Ragwort is highly toxic to (i think) all animals, including HUMANS. Like poisonous mushrooms, it's not likely to kill you straight off, but has an acumulitive sffect, it also tastes pretty awful which is why animals usually dont touch it unless they're very hungry. The chocolate and grapes thing is similar. Young dogs usually are not badly affected by these chemicals, it's the older ones that fall foul to it. The way I look at it is it's not worth the risk of losing a pet for the sake of keeping these substances out of reach of animals.

 

aaron said,

people don't have "common sense" never mind animals.

 

Sometimes I think animals have a lot more than humans.