Flaming katy is a very attractive plant with beautiful flowers. But are flaming katy cats safe? In this article we are going to discuss more about that.
Are flaming katy cats safe?
Flaming Katy plants are not safe for cats, dogs and for humans as well.
If you are wondering what makes it poisonous, they comprise cardiac glycoside or cardiotoxins which could impact on the normal heart function of living beings.
Further they would contain a group of bufadienolide compounds which could also be quite harmful for pets as well as for humans.
Those compounds could impact the sodium potassium pump of the heart cell membrane and it could cause cardiac arrests, arrhythmias etc.
There could be several symptoms which we are going to discuss in detail as we proceed on with the article.
Before going ahead, I will touch on some of the basic information of the plant, they are native plants in Madagascar.
Further many people tend to grow them as ornamental plants as well as garden plants. Some of the common names of the flaming katy plants are such as chandelier plant, Christmas kalanchoe, devil’s backbone etc.
How to identify the symptoms?
The symptoms would vary depending on the quantity of the plants your pets or kids have consumed.
Whenever pets or humans consume these plants they would start showing the following symptoms.
- Excessive slobbering along with signs of gastrointestinal irritation
- diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Restlessness / lethargy
- Red urine
- Consider that you have consumed the plant in larger amounts, then it would cause for severe symptoms such as follows,
- cardiac arrests,
- heart rate changes, changes in pulse
- Weakness
- Intense coldness
- Dyspnea
- Anorexia
- Tachycardia
- Tremors,
- Vomiting
Ultimately, chances are that they would cause fatal damages. If you consider the symptoms of poisoning of dogs, they will tend to show symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, dilated pupils, lethargy, tremors, seizure and unsteady gait as well.
As such if you are growing these plants, it is important that you be more vigilant on your pets as well as on your kids.
What if my cat eats a flaming katy?
First of all, check whether your cats have leftovers of the bitten plant pieces on the coats or in their mouth area.
If you spot any, wash them away so that you could avoid any potential inconveniences. After that you may consult your vet.
As aforesaid, flaming Katy plants are quite harmful for the cats. Having said that, the highest percentage of toxins could be found at these stems and in their leaves.
Moreover, they would have a higher level of toxicity during the summer season. Simply because summer is their active growing season and their blooming season.
You would come across the aforesaid symptoms when your cat consumes the parts of your plant.
Further, chances are that their toxicity could be lethal as well. especially when your pets consume the plant in big quantities.
If you encounter such symptoms, you need to immediately contact the vet and inform them. It could be a life-threatening emergency as such you need to provide the medical treatments as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, there is no antidote for the poisoning of the cats. Having said that, your vet might go for inducing vomiting of the cats.
To do that they may use activated charcoal or even could provide hydration through an IV. In addition to that, they would attend and remedy the rest of other symptoms as well.
Further there is a high potential that your pets will have to be admitted in the hospital for some days until they recover. Best is to provide prognosis after they get the treatments also.
Keep in mind DO NOT try to induce vomiting at home. Always follow the instruction of your veterinarian.
Is Flaming Katy toxic to dogs?
Flaming Katy plants are toxic for dogs. In fact, they could be highly harmful when the dogs consume them in larger quantities.
When they consume the parts of these plants, they would tend to show the aforesaid symptoms.
As such whenever you come across such a situation, you need to make sure that you attend to them quickly and direct them for treatments.
How to treat if my dog eats a flaming katy?
If you come across any situation where your pets have consumed the flaming katy plants, you need to treat them as soon as possible.
The sooner you do the treatments, the better it would be. As such, first and foremost, you should call your veterinarian and get his instructions.
They would possibly ask you to induce vomiting. Provide some water or milk for the dogs and see how they react.
Further , you may bring them to the treatment centers. DO NOT induce vomiting or provide them any other remedy unless you do not get instructions from your vet to do so.
Do not give any incorrect antidote also, as if you do something wrong, it could create further repercussions.
If you cannot get through to the vet, you may even consult the animal control center and get their consultation if you wish to vomit or before you give anything to the dogs.
If the poisoning has occurred in a kid, you may place your finger in the throat and make them throw up but you cannot do that with your dogs.
If you do that, most probably you will end up getting bitten by your puppy. Further it could cause discomfort for your dogs as well.
It is quite common to see that vets suggest you induce vomiting by using hydrogen peroxide.
They will recommend how much to give; however, it is good to have a bottle in hand to use in case if they recommend you to do so.
When you use them, your puppies would not like the flavor, and they will end up throwing up In a short period.
Is Flaming Katy poisonous to humans?
Unfortunately flaming Katy plants are toxic for humans also. They would be poisonous if you consume the parts of the plants.
As such be mindful to keep these plants away specially from your kids. In case they eat them, they will start vomiting and could further create problems in the heart as well.
Apart from that, they will have gastrointestinal irritation, restlessness etc.
How do I treat it?
In case if your kid eats parts of the flaming Katy plant, you could spot them choking and staying unconscious.
As such, You need to bring them to the hospital immediately. Further check whether your kids are still having any remaining of the plant parts of their mouths.
Give them some water to drink. It is important that you do not make them throw up. Moreover, you may contact the local poison information center as well.
How to prevent your pet from eating flaming katy?
If you are both a pet lover and a kalanchoe lover and if you insist yourself in having both of them together at your house, you could try the following steps to prevent your pets from eating the plant.
You only need to practice little tricks which would be helpful to avoid your pets consuming plants.
Make sure that you grow the flaming katy plants in a place where your pets cannot reach them. Maybe you could place the plants on shelves or on tables.
Try using repellent sprays which would help to keep the pets away.
If not, you could consider placing some orange and lemon peels in their pots as the pets will not prefer those fragrances.
Conclusion
So, now you know flaming katy is a poisonous plant and you have to keep that away from your pet and little kids.
Make necessary arrangements to avoid unfortunate accidents. Hope this article was useful and now you have a better understanding on the flaming Katy plants toxicity. Happy gardening!
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