October brings cooling weather here in the Ohio region. People begin to have compost piles. Composting can be a great way to reduce, reuse, and recycle Mother Nature. With these great piles comes some dangers for your pet. Some decomposing organic material can contain mycotoxins that can cause hyperthermia, agitation, excessive panting, or even sometimes seizures. Make sure that your compost pile is safely secure and dogs and cats can not use their digging skills to get into all your old garbage.
The fall weather is the ideal time for mushrooms to start sprouting in your yard, parks, and along your walking route. Some mushrooms may be toxic to dogs. Mushroom toxicity can result in vomiting, diarrhea, severe digestive problems, and even liver failure.
October also brings Halloween!! Halloween is generally a fun holiday for us humans, but it can get our furry friends into trouble. Make sure to keep Halloween candy, chocolate or not, away from your animals. Even the smallest bit of candy can harm our smaller animals! Candy and gum with Xylitol and other sweeteners can kill animals. As well as the dangers of sweets during this season, please keep your pets safety in mind on and around beggars night. Keep dogs and cats, whom may become spooked by the costumed children and noises, confined during this time. It is most important to keep cats, especially those dark and black in color, inside during the month of October. Unfortunately they tend to fall into the wrong hands during this time of year and could find great harm. If your neighborhood participates in beggars night, remember that the noise of your doorbell could bother your animals. If it does, consider leaving a basket out, or sitting outside so your pets won’t have to hear the bell over and over that night.