Petplan’s “Eat This, Not That!,” ~ Edible Pet Health Hazards Guide

“Eat This, Not That!,” is a comprehensive primer on edible pet hazards, which covers different dangers for pets, ranging from toxic medications and foods to seasonal risks, just in time for the holiday season. 

I was contacted by Petplan and asked if I could share a couple of stories about edible pet hazards while promoting their new guide eat this, Not That. Those who have followed me from some time do know that I have a Monday Mischief post every week, weather I am talking about something destroyed or something ate I have had my fair share of posts on what not to eat.

I will start with a couple of stories that I have about this subject. Long ago I used to own a Himalayan that was named Pug.

Pug

Pug loved to chew on plastic grocery bags, she would chew on them break pieces off and then I would find the colored pieces of bag in her stool when I cleaned out the litter box. I was lucky and Pug never had to have a Veterinary visit from eating the bags. I had heard that cat’s like to chew on the bags because of the oil in them. Have no idea if that is true or not but that is what they told me long ago. Besides eating bags one day I saw her running through the house with something black hanging out of her mouth. I caught her and it was a very long thick string. I realized it was my tie for my robe. I tugged on the string and it was coming up so instead of causing harm by tugging more on it I cut the string off. I hauled her into work with me since I am a Veterinary Technician and worked at a clinic. I told my boss he needed to do surgery on her and remove the piece of string from her stomach. He didn’t believe me and told me he wanted to do a barium series and see if it was plugging anything up. I told him no, that she had swallowed the string, I cut it off and it was in her stomach. So we anesthetized her and he did a exploratory surgery on her going right to her stomach, opening it up and pulled out the string. He stitched her up, recovered her and she never ate another string for as long as she lived (might be because I never gave her the chance to again).

My next story was more recent. This involves a clients dog at the clinic I work at. The Client brought her dog Ruby in for an exam because their was a abscess on  the side of her rectum. It first appeared to be a anal gland abscess. After a couple of weeks on antibiotics and not getting any better we removed the anal gland. Ruby healed up nicely from the surgery until a couple weeks later the owner brought her in because she had another abscess close to where the other abscess was. This time we had a board certified surgeon come in and do an exploratory surgery. He followed the draining tract in the hind leg  where he then pulled out a toothpick. After surgery the surgeon called the owner and told her what he had found, the owner goes “oh yea, one night my dad was eating bacon wrapped chestnuts and one went missing”. The toothpick had made it’s way to the intestines where it then went through them and migrated into the muscle of the hind leg where it became infected and abscessed.

My Monday Mischief post involves Nellie stealing the Indian Corn decoration and eating it. I’ve had this decoration in the house for the past three weeks and she never touched it. I get home from my vacation and she grabs one and starts to destroy it and then proceeded to eat it. She ate the corn off like a person would eat corn on the cob. I took it away from her because if she bit into the cob and broke pieces off to eat they could get lodged in her intestines. Corn on the cob is just the right size to cause a obstruction.

Here is a sneak peek of Chapter one of the eat this, Not That guide. Head on over to Petpan’s website and check out all 4 chapters. All kinds of great information for pet owners.

What is Petplan?

Petplan is insurance for dogs and cats.

What they cover (taken from their website):

From nose to tail, our lifelong protection empowers pet parents to get their dogs and cats the treatment they deserve. All Petplan pet health insurance policies include coverage for:

• – illnesses and injuries
• – hereditary and chronic conditions
• – veterinary exam fees
• – prescription medications
• – diagnostic treatments and imaging
• – cancer treatments
• – alternative therapies
• – and more!

Their website is easy to navigate and full of great information. You can also call them at 1-866-467-3875.

How many of you have insurance for your pets? If you don’t and you are considering it check out Petplan for all your pet’s insurance needs.

What strange things has your pet’s eaten?

On a side note: today my fur angel Norman turns 14. How I wish I could give him a big hug. Here is his Birthday video from 2011.

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