marijuana ingestion in pets

Happy Earth Day Everyone~

Cheers to the ground we walk on, water we bathe in, and air we snort through our nostrils. May we all do our part to keep her clean, healthy, and flourishing.

Here is something we can all do to promote ecological health. I’ve mentioned it before and will highlight it again: Switch to Ecosia! Ecosia is the search engine that plants trees. Its just like Google, but instead of profits going to pockets, the site plants trees all over the world. “Try it, you’ll like it” (musical encouragement here).

With the almost unbelievable statistics circling around about football fields of forests being cleared every second of every day, supporting tree planting projects seems like a pretty fantastic idea, and Ecosia makes it very easy. Just go to ecosia.org, download, and go about your business.

Ok, off that soapbox.

On the subject of nature, I thought I’d also write about some pet information I’ve come across lately that may prove useful to know someday:

#1 Blocked male cats. If you have a male cat, make sure to keep an eye on whether he is going pee or not. If you have indoor/outdoor cats, that may be hard to track, but just keep an eye. Since working at an emergency pet hospital, blocked cats has been a surprisingly common and extremely expensive pet emergency to come through the door. Symptoms: meow-crying in pain, straining to pee, urinating only small amounts or droplets of blood, lethargy, not eating. If any of that is happening, get that cat to a vet. Blockages can be deadly if left untreated 😦 Poor kitty.

#2 Grapes. Most of us know about chocolate being poisonous to dogs, but its important to note that grapes are too. I had no idea, but luckily, it seems like a lot of people do know about this because its a common reason for people to call the emergency room. Ingesting even a single grape or raisin can cause serious damage to a dog or cat’s kidneys, so its important to get them seen by a vet if this happens. While I’m on the subject, lilies, the plant, are also toxic to pets. Best familiarize yourself with foods, plants, etc that are toxic to pets (click here for a comprehensive list). If you think your pet may have gotten into something, you can call the ASPCA poison control hotline to figure out what to do, that number is 888-426-4435. Stay on the safe side, shall we?

#3 Marijuana ingestion – symptoms – unable to stand, urinary incontinence, vomiting, unresponsive or over-reactive when you bring your hand towards their face, lethargic…these are a scary combination of symptoms that pet owners often bring their pets to the emergency room for, not always aware of (or admitting to be aware of) the cause. If your pet is otherwise healthy and suddenly starts showing these symptoms, be aware that they may not be dying, they may just be highly intoxicated. Treatment usually involves induced vomiting, fluids, sometimes hospitalization, and a lot of rest. It is a good idea to bring your pet to the vet if you know its gotten into your stash, even if you are worried about what the doctor will think. Definitely bring your pet in if the ingested substance contained chocolate or raisins, or if your pet is vomiting. I promise, the Doctor is not going to get you into trouble, so you can be honest right away instead of making them do detective work to figure out what’s wrong. According to one of the Veterinarians I spoke to about this topic, if the pet got into straight marijuana, it doesn’t necessarily need to go to the ER since Marijuana itself is not toxic. But if the pet is vomiting, it is a good idea to bring the pet in so they can be given anti-nausea medications. The combination of vomiting and decreased cognitive functioning is dangerous in this case because it can lead the pet to aspirate, ie swallow its own vomit, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which can be deadly. If the pet ingested a marijuana treat containing chocolate or raisins, that must be brought to the hospital because those substances can damage the kidneys.

#4 Spaying/Neutering is important not only to prevent unwanted puppies and kittens, but also because there are health consequences of not neutering. Pets that are not fixed can face complications including testicular cancer and pyometra, a life threatening infections of the uterus.

Hm, what else…a new tap dancing album?

https://saxandtaps.bandcamp.com/releases

Also, some photos from EWAP: The Electronic Waste Awareness Project