Valentine’s Day Tips for Pet Owners

Valentine’s Day Tips for Pet Owners

PSI Offers Valentine’s Day Tips for Pet Owners

February 7, 2012

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and love is definitely in the air, but so is potential danger for your pets. Pet Sitters International (PSI) offers pet owners a few hints to keep pets safe this Valentine’s Day.

Two of the most common Valentine’s Day gifts, chocolate and flowers, can be extremely hazardous to pets.

Last year, The American Society for the Protection Against Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) saw a 74 percent increase in cases of chocolate ingestion in the week before Valentine’s Day.

Animals are particularly sensitive to theobromine and caffeine, two ingredients in chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is to your pets. Be sure to paw-proof all Valentine’s chocolate.

Many pet owners don’t realize that all members of the Lily family are extremely poisonous to cats. This is not a clever ploy by florists to sell more roses. Be sure any Valentine’s bouquets are lily-less.

These measures should keep your furry valentine feeling just fine. If your pet does ingest anything harmful, call your vet or a local emergency animal hospital immediately.