March 2024 Wags and Purrs Comfort Corner

March 2024

Wags and Purrs Comfort Corner

Poisonous Substances

Not only is March Poison Prevention Awareness Month, there's a week dedicated to the prevention of pet poisoning. You may not even be aware of common every day household items that your pets have access to that are toxic to them.

The most important thing a pet parent can do to minimize the risk of accidental poisoning is to remove access to toxic items. To reduce the risk of a food-based poisoning, buy a refrigerator magnet listing what foods are dangers to pets and make sure everyone is aware of what foods are dangerous to our furry family members. Make sure young children know not to share their food, candy or gum with pets and explain that it can make their pet very sick.

Common food items toxic to pets:

Alcoholic beverages
Apple seeds
Apricot pits
Avocados
Cherry pits
Chocolate
Any caffeinated product
Grapes
Macadamia nuts
Mustard seeds
Onions and onion powder
Peach pits
Raisins
Rhubarb leaves
Walnuts
Xylitol (artificial sweetener toxic to pets. Many sugar free foods, such as peanut butter, candy and gum contain Xylitol)
Yeast or raw dough

Common Plants Toxic to Pets

Lilies (all varieties)
Azaleas / Rhododendrons
Sago palms
Tulips
Hydrangeas
Pothos (also known as Devil's Ivy)
Latana
Daffodils
Hostas

Common Household Items Toxic Pets

Aleve
Antifreeze
Bait traps
Batteries
Bleach
Dibutyl phthalate (often called DBP) commonly found in glow sticks + glow jewelry
Dishwashing detergent
Drain cleaners
Fertilizer
Foam insulation
Foil
Glue
Hair dye
Insecticide
Lead paint
Liquid potpourri
Mothballs
Motrin
Mouse and rat poisons
Oven cleaners
Paint removers
Pool chemicals
Tea tree oil
Toilet bowl cleaner
Tylenol
Varnishes
Windshield washer fluid
Zinc

Health Tip for the Season

In the unfortunate circumstance that your pet does get into a poisonous chemical, call either the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline at 1-800-213-6680 as soon as possible.

You can also induce vomiting by squirting hydrogen peroxide into your pet's mouth. Not sure how to do this? Go to your favorite dollar store and purchase a condiment squirt bottle and easily reuse. Word of caution - once opened, hydrogen peroxide is least effective after 30 days.

Poison Control will need information from you to be able to help. Have your pet's weight, what the pet has eaten, how much, and how recently - if this information is known to you. If at any time your pet begins to heavily drool, become unsteady or disoriented, or loses consciousness, seek veterinary care immediately.

There is one emergency veterinarian clinic in Monroeville: Avets and there's a second one opening soon - keep an eye on our Comfort At Home Pet Services website for more information. Follow us on your favorite social media platform to also keep up to date on helpful tips such as this to take great care of your pets!

Training Tip for the Season

Just like you might babyproof your home for children, grandchildren, or visiting tiny humans, it's also good practice to do the same for your pets.

Store all household and yard chemicals in a locked area away from where pets eat or sleep. Utilize safety locks for all lower cabinets within easy reach of pets.

Pet Sitter Tip for the Season

Professional Pet Sitters Week is March 3 – 9 this year. This is a week to celebrate Professional Pet Sitters for all they do for pets! Professionals are insured, bonded and always educating themselves on pet care topics for the betterment of all pets.

Don’t forgot to show your appreciation and thank your pet sitter this Professional Pet Sitters Week! Maybe even leave a card signed by your pawsitively grateful pets addressed to your favorite pet sitter!

2024 Best of the Burgh Nominations!

It's that time of year! Time to nominate Comfort at Home Pet Services LLC for the 2024 Best of the Burgh! We need your nominations to get on the ballot. Please visit the link below. Click on the Services category. Scroll to Pet Services and enter "Comfort At Home Pet Services, LLC" and your email address and click the Nominate button. You're done! Thank you for your nomination!

2024 Best of the Burgh Nominations

Homemade Spinach Dog Biscuits:

Ingredients

1 cup cooked spinach, pureed
1/2 cup water from your cooked spinach
1 whole egg
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix spinach, spinach water, oil, and egg. Turn your mixer on medium-high and let your dough churn for about 60-seconds or until it's mashed up.

Dust your workspace with flour and turn your mixed dough out. Knead the dough and roll it out until about ½ inch thick.

Cut shapes out with cookie cutter of your choice. Bake your biscuits for approximately 25 minutes or until just starting to turn golden around the edges.

Cool thoroughly before letting your pet enjoy!

Spinach and Chicken Cat Treats

Ingredients

1/2 pound steamed organic boneless and
skinless chicken thighs
1 cup fresh organic spinach leaves
1 cup organic quick-cooking oats
1 organic brown egg
1 tablespoon organic catnip
1/4 cup flour

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

Steam the boneless and skinless chicken thighs until cooked through. You can swap for boneless and skinless organic chicken breasts, salmon, or tuna with cat loving results too. Let the chicken cool for 20 minutes before the next step.

Place the chicken, oats, spinach leaves, egg, and catnip in a blender or food processor, and pulse on low until the mixture blends together. It should still be a bit chunky but also smooth, similar to the texture of wet sand.

Pop the mixture into a bowl and add the flour. You can also add a dash of salt or sugar to mix up the flavor. Use your hands to knead the dough until it's no longer sticky, then place on a flour-dusted work surface.

Use a rolling pin to create a rectangle of dough around 1/2 inch thick. With the

help of a pizza cutter or small cookie cutter, create small shapes for the finished

treats.

Place the kitty treats on a parchment-lined sheet tray, and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, cool until room temperature.

Barking Truth

Clients, followers and friends have voiced their appreciation of our educational blogs and monthly newsletters and have urged us to release a pet care podcast. We are excited to announce that we have answered the call with Barking Truth, a podcast exposing the truth in the pet industry to keep all pets safe, healthy and well.

We will be releasing a new podcast every Wednesday and hope you can tune in and support pets everywhere by uncovering the truth of pet care.

Be sure to follow us on Anchor, Spotify or your favorite podcast service.

Wags and Purrs Comfort Corner strives to provide educational, informative and fun content to our readers! We love hearing your feedback on our newsletters and blogs and want to know what you, dear reader, would like to see in future newsletters and blogs. Are there topics you are interested in that we haven’t covered or you would like more specific information? Please feel free to let us know. We’d love to hear from you!

Please email suggestions to Jen@comforthomepetservices.com

Check out our latest blog posts

Who to Call for Animal Related Emergencies

Poisonous Yard Items

Pet First Aid and Emergency Techniques