Easter is a wonderful time for great food and fun springtime decorations, many of which could be potentially harmful for pets. The safest thing to do is to keep things out of reach of pets, on high shelves or in cabinets or sealable containers. Certain decorations should be used out of reach of pets that might like to chew on your seasonal decor.
Things to be aware of:
Chocolate – can cause elevated blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, and increased cardiovascular and nervous system activity especially in dogs (in general, the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it can be).
Raisins – Can cause acute renal failure (sudden kidney failure) and anuria (lack of urine production), and this includes ingesting fresh grapes.
Candy – Nothing is a worse combo than Raisinettes which have both chocolate and raisins, so all candy should be placed out or reach of pets!
Easter Lillies – All parts of the plant are toxic to cats, and ingesting any part would require immediate medical attention.
Decorations – Items like Easter grass (long strings of green material, sometimes paper or plastic) are potential linear foreign bodies and if plastic can be toxic to cats.
There may be more items to consider too, so keeping tabs on where your pets are and what they are doing in the middle of everything else going on can be challenging but vital to making sure they are safe. The best thing to do in case of emergency is to take your pet to the nearest Emergency Care Center in your area. Have a very safe and very fun holiday weekend!