Description
This article is from the Pet Owner's Guide
to Common Small Animal Poisons, by Julie Dahlke, DVM, a
graduate of the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary
Medicine.
Plants: Japanese Yew - XXX
Scientific Name -- Taxus cuspidus
Common names -- Yew, Spreading English Yew, Canada Yew
Plant with similar toxicity: Zygadenus nuttzii, common name
Deathcamas.
The Yew plant is an ornamental yard plant, most often used in
landscaping around the foundation of a house. It is an extremely
poisonous plant and the animal needs to eat only one-tenth of one
percent of its body weight to get a toxic dose. (For example, a 50
pound dog would need only 0.05 pounds or less than 2 ounces of the
plant to get a potentially fatal dose!)
The toxin in the Yew is an alkaloid and works by depressing electrical
activity in the heart. Signs may include sudden death from heart
failure. If the animal shows clinical signs of toxicosis other than
sudden death those could include: trembling, incoordination, diarrhea,
and collapse.
We rarely recognize clinical cases of JapaneseYew poisoning in animals
at the University, although that may be partly because of the
difficulty in proving the presence of the toxin as well as the great
toxicity. In cases where animals are found dead it is very difficult
to prove the Yew caused the death unless the animal is necropsied (a
veterinary term for an autopsy) and evidence of ingestion - evidence
that the animal actually ate the plant -- is found. There are no
specific blood or chemical tests to determine if Yew toxicity is
present. While Yew poisoning does not seem to be very common, the best
advice is to know what ornamental plants are present around your house
and other buildings and to make sure the Yew is not one of them!
Continue to:
Share and Enjoy
Bookmark this story so others can enjoy it:
Tags
small animal, pet, poison, guide, plant, drugs, chocolate, cleaning products, fertilizer, flea, insecticides
