Pet~Pourri: Pets and Purses

Does your pet like to get into your purse? I had a cat that used to dig through my purse to pull out my tissues. One of my grandmother’s dogs used to dig in her purse for her lipstick. He loved to chew on the container. I don’t think she had one tube that didn’t have tooth marks on it. At the time I used to think it was cute and funny. I’ve since learned better. If you have a pet that likes to dig through your purse there are some dangers you need to be aware of.

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Purses can be danger zones for your pet. Most women carry quite a few things in their purses. Anything from gum and candy to makeup, to medication, and hand sanitizer. All of these things can be dangerous to your pets.

In a previous blog I told you about the dangers with sugar free gum and candy. Xylitol is poisonous to your pets. Most of the time they will eat the whole package, wrapper and all. Just a couple sticks can make your pet very very ill and a whole package of gum can kill them.

If you carry prescription medications or other drugs in your purse and your pet ingests them, this is bad as well. My cat used to bat my pill bottles around thinking it was a toy. Not bad in itself, but if the lid wasn’t sealed correctly and the cat ate one of the pills…this would be bad. Asthma inhalers if chewed through can also kill your pet.

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Most smokers carry cigarettes in their purse as well. Most people know that second hand smoke is bad for people and pets in a household, but ingesting the tobacco can kill your pets as well. Nicotine can cause illness and even death. According to Dr. Wendy Brooks, "a 40 lb dog would get very sick after eating one cigarette but would need 11 cigarettes to die from nicotine poisoning."

Hand sanitizer is also dangerous. They contain high concentrations of alcohol. Ingestion is like drinking a shot of hard liquor and causes hypoglycemia in pets. A little 2-ounce bottle = 4 shots of vodka. Ingesting a little bit could get your pet drunk. Ingesting a lot could kill you pet.