Springtime Safety Tips for Pets

With spring in full swing, which means that Spring Cleaning and long overdue home improvement projects are most likely taking up a bulk of your free time. While it’s a perfect time to tend to the needs of your home, don’t forget about the pets! The springtime can be potentially hazardous to pets, especially ones who are looking to do a bit of exploring after the cold winter months.

Before diving head first into your projects, take some time to make sure your pets are as safe as possible:

• Preparing for Easter? Remember to keep all the chocolate secured or locked away until need be, as it is quite dangerous for cats and dogs to ingest it. Also, keep an eye out when using the colorful, artificial grass to decorate baskets. Cats love to chew on it, but it can cause some serious digestive issues.

• It can be pretty easy to zone out when cleaning, but its crucial to keep close watch on the chemicals and cleaning agents used and make sure that your pets don’t get into them. After you are done cleaning, lock the cleaning products away for safe storage. Also keep pets out of freshly cleaned rooms, ensure that pets don’t go in and start smelling or licking surfaces that could still have residue from cleaning products on it.

• Springtime is the perfect time to get out in the garden and flex that green thumb of yours. Unfortunately, not all plants are pet-friendly. Plants like Easter lilies, azaleas, and rhododendron are highly poisonous when eaten by pets, so avoid them at all costs. Also, keep the pets away from the garden if you are using snail killer, fertilizer, or pesticide spray.

• Spring showers will often times bring all sorts of bugs and critters to the surface. It’s a good idea to double check on your pet’s medication and make sure they are up to date.

• Part of enjoying the warm weather means opening windows for a nice breeze throughout the house. Before doing so, check the condition of your window screens and make sure they can keep your pets from falling out of open windows.