Protect Your Pet From These Wild Animals
You love your pet and want to keep them safe from threats lurking in your local park or wildlife, or from creatures that might bury themselves in a trash can in an alley near you. Owning a cat or dog means being suspicious of all the things that could potentially harm them, many of which you probably haven’t even considered.
Aside from household hazards that can be dangerous to your dogs, such as chocolate or all plants that can cause a toxic reaction in your beloved cat, the animal kingdom poses many threats, many of which vary in severity. Whether you take your brave dog on a desert hike or have a cat whose curiosity leads to squirrel clashes, here are some of the other animals you should keep your distance.
Snakes and spiders
Any venomous reptile or spider poses an immediate danger not only to you, but probably more to a carefree dog that is about to sniff out foliage without even considering itself a prey. You should definitely be wary of rattlesnakes if you hike or live in any number of states where they live.
The brown recluse is another predator known to be especially harmful to both dogs and humans. They hail from the Midwest and South-Central United States, Wet Street said , and can deliver a lethal dose of venom to any reckless puppy (or human).
Of course, there are other snakes and spiders, most notably the black widow, that should make you pause, or at least induce some vigilance when you might find yourself in a danger zone with your pet. Cats are especially known for provoking the wrath of black widows, who usually only attack when prompted. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, a black widow bite can cause a dog or cat to have “muscle rigidity and may feel painful in the abdomen (belly).”
If a venomous snake or spider strikes your pet, always take it to the nearest veterinarian or veterinary clinic.
Raccoons, Skunks and Squirrels
You are likely to see a raccoon rather than a brown recluse, as raccoons tend to bask in human trash. Likewise, skunk, given that they are more common than venomous spiders. In addition, these more standard critters are known to carry rabies, so they require caution.
As veterinarian Anne Hohenhouse at New York Veterinary Center told ABC News in 2009:
Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes, depending on where you are in the United States, are the main vectors of rabies … A raccoon is more likely to be attacked [and retaliated] than vice versa.
Proteins are also included in this equation. While squirrels tend to be prey rather than prey in most cases, especially when chased by a dog, they are known to resist and bite when cornered.
If you think your pet may have been attacked or in contact with an animal with rabies, seek help immediately. It is a difficult condition as there are various possible clinical signs of rabies. Many of the changes you may notice are behavioral, while the cliché about foaming at the mouth is actually quite rare .
VCA Animal Hospitals explains that the disease manifests itself in two ways called “raging rabies” and “dumb rabies”. Frenzy occurs when a dog begins to show signs of aggression and arousal and suddenly stops being interested in food, but may start trying to swallow dirt and dirt. As the organization explains, everything goes downhill from there:
Eventually paralysis occurs and the rabid animal may not be able to eat or drink. Hydrophobia (fear of water) is not a sign of rabies in dogs. This is a feature of human rabies. The dog finally dies in a violent attack.
Dull rabies is more common. VCA Animal Hospitals explains how this is usually displayed:
There is progressive paralysis of the limbs, distortion of the face and similar difficulty in swallowing. Owners often think the dog has something stuck in its mouth or throat. Caution should be exercised during examination, as rabies can be transmitted through saliva. Ultimately, the dog falls into a coma and dies.
Rabies is very deadly for cats and dogs, only a small fraction of infected animals survive . However, vaccinations are common, safe and effective.
Fire ants, bees, wasps, etc.
Anyone who is allergic to bees or is simply paranoid about stinging insects understands that bees, wasps, and hornets are annoying. But fire ants? You probably haven’t given much thought to such a colony since childhood, but they are still a problem when you have a marauding dog or cat that knows nothing.
Unsurprisingly, fire ants are a big threat to dogs that stick their noses where they shouldn’t. As Vet Street writes:
A dog pressing its nose to the ground for examination may suddenly cry out, jump back and start picking its nose. Most likely, his nose fell into a colony infested with fire ants that carry stinging bites. Fire ant bites are not as serious as the other threats on our list, but they do send dogs to veterinary clinics for paw pain and nose injuries.
This is less of a concern for everyone than a geographic concern: fire ants are known to inhabit the south from North Carolina to Texas and the drier arid regions of southern California and the Southwest, along Wet Street. If your dog has buried its muzzle in a colony of fire ants, you do not need to rush to the vet – just rinse the affected area with cold water.
Update 1/8/20, 6:45 pm: This story has been updated to correctly identify VCA animal hospitals.