EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day is all about flowers, candy and cozy candlelight \u2014 but El Paso Animal Services says those same traditions can quickly turn into an emergency for pets.<\/p>\n
El Paso Animal Services marketing and public engagement manager Michelle Anderson says pets can get into everything from plastic wrapping and ribbon to chocolates and certain flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of pets like to play with this kind of stuff\u2026 making sure pets don\u2019t get a hold of them, any sort of string or ribbon,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
Animal Services is urging pet owners to keep gift wrap, bows, and any plastic packaging out of reach \u2014 especially after celebrations, when pets may sniff through bags or trash.<\/p>\n
Common Valentine\u2019s hazards for pets<\/p>\n
Anderson says some of the biggest risks this time of year include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Chocolate and candy (including sugar-free products)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Xylitol (a sweetener found in some candies and gums)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Flowers and plants \u2014 especially lilies<\/p>\n
\u2022 Candles and open flames<\/p>\n
\u2022 Plastic wrap, ribbon, string, bows, and small toys<\/p>\n
\u201cThings like lilies are very, deadly to cats,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
She also warned pet owners to watch for candy and products that may contain xylitol.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny candies with chemical xylitol in it is also very toxic to animals as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Warning signs your pet may be sick<\/p>\n
Animal Services says pet owners should call a veterinarian if a pet shows signs of illness after getting into something they shouldn\u2019t \u2014 especially ongoing vomiting or diarrhea, or if they stop eating or drinking.<\/p>\n
Anderson says it\u2019s also important to make sure pets are microchipped and families are careful with doors and gates when guests are coming and going.<\/p>\n
A second message: kitten season is already starting<\/p>\n
Anderson says the shelter is also seeing early signs of kitten season \u2014 and February is a key month to focus on spaying and neutering.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo February is also spay neuter Awareness Month,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
And once kitten season ramps up, she says it can mean a surge in shelter intake.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we start seeing hundreds of kittens coming into the shelter basically weekly,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
El Paso Animal Services encourages the community to use low-cost spay\/neuter options when available and to consider fostering or adopting during peak months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day is all about flowers, candy and cozy candlelight \u2014 but El…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-165002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}