Flocked trees and pets

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

A friend of mine just forwarded on FB a post from a friend. Their cat licked/bit their new white flocked (artificial) Xmas tree and almost died. It had to be on IVs to flush the toxins out of its system. Not sure if it would be toxic to dogs, but definitely was to the cat. Something to think about and watch out for.

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jaxs mom · ‎04-18-2012

Thank you for the warning. You shouldn't have to worry about your pet dying because it licked your tree.

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Julie928 · ‎04-08-2013

Thank you for posting this. One of our trees is lightly flocked and I always make sure I vacuum around it to pick up any flocking that may have fallen off. Our dogs seem pretty good about leaving the tree alone (so far). One thing that I love but didn't do this year was add those old-fashioned icicle strands to the trees. I love how that looks but with a new (and slightly hyper) dog in the house I'd rather be safe than sorry.

spent2much · ‎03-10-2010

We don't put up a tree any more, but THANK YOU for the warning to everyone that does!

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Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

I bet the cat did more than "licked or bit". How about ate?

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Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
I bet the cat did more than "licked or bit". How about ate?

In my experience dogs are far more likely to eat/swallow something than a cat. Cats are picky eaters to start with - far more than dogs. A cat would be curious and ingest what's "on" something by licking it, getting it wet, chewing a bit, etc. - but actually swallow? It's my feeling that's more a dog thing.

Regardless, I wouldn't want anyone with a pet to find out the "hard way."

My indoor kitties always went for the tree over the years, real or fake. They couldn't resist climbing, knocking over, batting ornaments, etc.

My niece's indoor/outdoor kitty pays the tree no attention at all. Doesn't care a fig. There's better stuff outside I guess, so she's not impressed!

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Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

Cats do eat things they shouldn't. We always like to think animals are too smart to ingest anything harmful, but it's just not so.

I continually have to watch my youngest (one-year-old) cat; he will chew and swallow just about anything. Plastic wrappers/bags, bits of carpeting that he's scratched up, twister ties - you name it. He's too young and too "curious" to know better and I'm not risking the "curiosity killed the cat" cliche.

My friend's senior cat nearly died two years ago after he ate all the leaves off a plant that she had been given. The leaves were poisonous to cats and they had to rush it to the emergency hospital and have it regurgitate the leaves (while their son stayed home and counted how many had been eaten so they could make sure they got them all). It was very touch and go.

I've kept toying with the idea of putting up a tree again (haven't for the past couple of years) but the thought of my four cats toppling it and getting into things they shouldn't stops me. Better safe than sorry.