By: Alida Laub, Sophia Swerdloff, Lucy Glowacki
The debate between real and artificial trees has arrived once again, bringing with it problems for pets.
(Ozona Elementary, FL) Most people believe that artificial trees are better than real trees because real trees can be harmful to pets.
Artificial trees are better for pets’ health than real trees because real trees bring sap, needles, and other problems into the home. Pets also sometimes like to drink the water we use to keep these real trees alive.
“Live trees can be an issue because dogs tend to like to drink the water around at the base and chew on the leaves, and ingest the leaves, and that can cause some gastrointestinal upset.” Dr. Douglas Janson, Associate Veterinarian at TLC Animal Hospital said. “The most common thing we’ll see would be…vomiting, diarrhea, [things]of that nature.”
Many people have said the same thing as the Associate Veterinarian. Cheryl Mckenna, a classroom assistant at Ozona Elementary said that her cat drank out of the water when she had a real tree, and she worried that her cat may get sick.
Decorations on the tree can also be hazardous to pets. Tinsel, ornament clips, candy canes, and ornaments themselves may get eaten and pets could choke or scratch their throat.
Another threat from real trees is oil and sap. Pine needles and sap may drop from the tree and get eaten.
Oil could get stuck in your pet’s fur, and since sap in still in the tree, it could drip down and the pets could eat it. Sap could stick in your pets fur and the presence of the sweet sap could attract bugs in the house.
“[Christmas tree sap] is not something we consider to be toxic, but at the same time it can cause some GI upsets,” said Dr. Douglas. “Both types of trees can be an issue. …Each type of tree does have their individual strengths and weaknesses.”
Even though artificial trees are the right way to go, both trees can drop needles and be hazardous to pets. When you are setting up your artificial tree needles may shake and fall, but when you have a real tree needles fall constantly.
“[With fake trees, puppies] also like to chew on the branches and sometimes we’ve seen cases where they’ll actually break off a piece and eat it [which can sometimes]… lead to the need to have surgery,” warned Dr. Douglas.
A way to protect against this is put a fence around your tree. Your pet will not get past this.
“One thing I suggest is that when families are putting up the Christmas tree, to watch your pets very closely to see how they’re going to react,” Dr. Douglas advised. “Certain animals, either dogs or cats, certain pets won’t really care. They’ll kind of ignore the tree and if that’s the case, that’s wonderful. If not, then the real secret is finding out what your pet’s vice is. If they’re getting into the tree, come up with creative solutions…to deter them.”
Dr. Douglas cited fences and moving the tree to another room where your pets are not allowed as good ways to prevent your pets from messing with trees. He even mentioned how one of the vet techs at TLC Animal Hospital wrapped her vacuum cleaner around the tree to deter the cats, who don’t like the vacuum.
“I actually personally have a fake [tree]because I figured that maybe my dogs might be less likely to mess with it than a real tree – my cats too,” explained Dr. Douglas.
Real trees are hazardous to pets because pets can drink the water and ingest the sap, making them sick. The choice between real and artificial trees is yours, but keep your pets in mind when picking a tree this season.
