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Poinsettas

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desgnr - 08 Dec 2007 15:17 GMT
Are Poinsettas dangerous to cat's ?
Mrs. Dud - 08 Dec 2007 16:32 GMT
>Are Poinsettas dangerous to cat's ?

Yes. Poisonous.
AMUN - 08 Dec 2007 20:02 GMT
But on the bright side.
The cat will only eat it once. :p

Train your cats not to go on tables, and you can fill the house with all
manner of plants and never worry.
It IS possible.

>>Are Poinsettas dangerous to cat's ?
>>
> Yes. Poisonous.
yngver@aol.com - 10 Dec 2007 17:27 GMT
On Dec 8, 10:32 am, Mrs. Dud <Mrs. Dud @ Buffalo State College.edu>
wrote:
> >Are Poinsettas dangerous to cat's ?
>
> Yes. Poisonous.

No, they are not, even though this myth is persistent and many people
still believe poinsettias are toxic.

See:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/poinsettias.htm

Note that
"The ASPCA Animal Poison Center in Urbana, Illinois says it regards
poinsettias as having such low toxicity risk that it doesn't even
recommend decontaminating animals that may have ingested them.  The
center says that there can sometimes be gastrointestinal distress from
having ingested something alien to the digestive system."

Every year this myth goes around and every year press releases are
issued to disprove the myth, but people go on believing it.
-yngver
AMUN - 10 Dec 2007 18:45 GMT
> On Dec 8, 10:32 am, Mrs. Dud <Mrs. Dud @ Buffalo State College.edu>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> issued to disprove the myth, but people go on believing it.
> -yngver

A BIT poisonous is still not going to do the cat much good.
When in doubt, keep kitty away.
(unless you enjoy cleaning up cat vomit) :p

We have cats, and poinsettias, and never had any problems.
And I've posted before that one of our cats LOVES chocolate.
(but none of our others will touch it)
Most people think that is poisonous to cats as well.

Perhaps it depends on the tolerance of the individual cat ?

Just as some people are deathly allergic to certain foods, that others eat
with no problems.
eg. milk, or peanuts.
And I'm not even going to get into those idiot humans that eat broken glass
and motorcycles.
yngver@aol.com - 10 Dec 2007 23:48 GMT
> <yng...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
> And I'm not even going to get into those idiot humans that eat broken glass
> and motorcycles.

Who said poinsettias are even "a BIT" poisonous?  To quote from the
link:

"The America Society of Florists joined with researchers at Ohio State
University to test various parts of the poinsettia plant on rats.
Their conclusion was that there was no toxicity or any other side
effects even when the rats were given large doses."

Of course, if a cat eats a lot of poinsettia, it might get sick and
vomit, same as if it ate a lot of any other harmless plant. Our cats
sometimes vomit after chewing on grass sold as kitty grass, which is
supposedly the point, from the cat's point of view. It's highly
unlikely any cat is going to eat more than a bite of  poinsettia
anyway, since they have an unpleasant taste.

As for chocolate, the most toxic version is baking chocolate, followed
by dark chocolate, followed by the least toxic kind, which is milk
chocolate. I assume it's not baking chocolate, which is quite bitter,
that your cat enjoys.
-yngver
AMUN - 11 Dec 2007 06:46 GMT
>> <yng...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>
[quoted text clipped - 62 lines]
> that your cat enjoys.
> -yngver

Uh, the American Society of FLORISTS says plants are good ?
That's like the tobacco industry claiming cigarettes are good for growing
children, or politicians who say "trust your government to do what is best
for you".
I tend to discount interest groups who make claims supporting THEIR
products.

As I said earlier,  our cat's just seem to ignore any houseplants.
But I do know other people with cats who can't have a plant in the house.
All I can guess is "training" made a difference, or just luck.

Oh,... and the cat only seems to like milk chocolate bars.
But will not touch chocolate milk though.
We gave up trying to figure out why long ago, and just accept it has brain
damage. <g>
yngver@aol.com - 11 Dec 2007 16:56 GMT
> <yng...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 73 lines]
> I tend to discount interest groups who make claims supporting THEIR
> products.

So you don't believe the research at Ohio State University?

Well, there are plenty of other sources:

How about the ASPCA?:
"Poinsettias
Did you know that Poinsettias are not the deadly flowers that popular
legend has made them out to be?

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are part of a family of plants
known as spurges.  During the 1820s Joel Robert Poinsett, the U.S.
Ambassador to Mexico at the time, first brought poinsettias to the
U.S. from a Mexican city he had visited. It was during the early part
of the 20th century that the myth of the plant's toxicity began when
the two-year-old child of a U.S. Army officer was alleged to have
become ill and died from consuming a poinsettia leaf.

As a result of this rumor, the toxic potential of poinsettia has
become highly exaggerated.  In reality, poinsettia ingestions
typically produce only mild to moderate gastrointestinal tract
irritation, which may include drooling, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Therefore, while keeping this plant out of the reach of your pet to
avoid stomach upset is still a good idea, pet owners need not fear the
poinsettia and banish it from their homes for fear of a fatal
exposure."
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_dyk

TThe American Veterinary Medicine Association of America (AVMA),
doesn't include poinsettias on its list of plants that are a threat to
animals.
The National Capital Poison Center in Washington, DC and poison
control centers across the country list the poinsettia as a non-
poisonous plant.

From the Minnesota Poison Control FAQ,
http://www.mnpoison.org/index.asp?pageID=26

"What is the truth about Poinsettias?

The fact is that they are not poisonous. Nor are they edible and it
can be expected that, when eaten in quantity, they may cause stomach
upset with possible vomiting. This may happen when an overactive puppy
devours an entire plant. In the case of a child who eats a single
leaf, no ill effects would be expected. "

Even more info at http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/poinsettia.asp,
if anyone is still not convinced.

> As I said earlier,  our cat's just seem to ignore any houseplants.
> But I do know other people with cats who can't have a plant in the house.
> All I can guess is "training" made a difference, or just luck.

Our cats aren't interested in houseplants either, except for the
occasional spider plant. But if one of them did chew on a poinsettia,
I'd know better than to panic.

> Oh,... and the cat only seems to like milk chocolate bars.
> But will not touch chocolate milk though.
> We gave up trying to figure out why long ago, and just accept it has brain
> damage. <g>

I'm guessing it's not the chocolate itself the cat likes, but maybe
the fat. I also wouldn't panic if one of our cats ate an M&M she found
under the couch, and as mentioned, I very much doubt any cat would be
willing to eat the most toxic kind of chocolate, which is baking
chocolate. I'd worry more about dogs--my old roommate's dog ate three
dozen chocolate chip cookies one day when we were distracted by
something happening in front of our house, and he didn't even get
sick. He also once ate a 1.5 lb. box of Valentine's Day chocolates. I
imagine that amount would be pretty toxic to a small dog, however.
-yngver
MaryL - 08 Dec 2007 18:48 GMT
> Are Poinsettas dangerous to cat's ?

Yes, I would consider them dangerous to cats.  They are listed as "low
level" toxicity and some links do not even include poinsettias -- but I
wouldn't take a chance.  Here are a couple of references:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html
http://www.geocities.com/taliskercats/plants.html
MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly:      >'o'<
Duffy:  http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly:  http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together:  http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

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