Easter can be perilous for pets

Easter isn't just dangerous to marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies.

Real pets are often put in the peril, too, warns webvet.com, which just released its "Seven Deadly Sins of Easter."

Chances are you've been warned before about getting a live bunny: Most wind up in shelters or "on the streets, which is a sure death sentence," the website says.

Chocolate's another familiar no-no: Chemicals caffeine and theobromine can trigger problems in dogs and cats, ranging from vomiting to abnormal heart rhythms to even death.

Less well known are the hazards of other seemingly innocent holiday traditions.

Which of the following might make your dog or cat quite ill?

(a) An Easter lily.

(b) Plastic Easter basket grass.

(c) Xylitol, the artificial sweetener.

(d) Rotten eggs.

(e) Candy wrappers.

(f) All of the above.

Gee, the answer's (f).

Lilies. They're toxic to cats. "All portions of the plant are poisonous to a cat's kidneys when eaten and, even with prompt veterinary care, treatment is not always successful," says webvet.com.

Plastic grass. This indigestible stuff can cause choking or gastro-intestinal obstructions that require surgery. Appetite loss and vomiting are symptoms.

Other candies, especially ones with xylitol. Jelly beans, marshmallow critters and other candies can, if eaten, disturb a pet's digestive tract. In a half-hour, a "small amount" of xylitol can cause a host of maladies, from low blood sugar to seizures to liver failure, webvet.com says.

Rotten eggs. Keep track of what gets hidden during an egg hunt. Animals do get sick finding real eggs left to spoil. Plastic eggs should also be rounded up, because dogs might go for the goodies inside or choke on the egg itself.

Wrappers. Pets shouldn't be ingesting shiny noise-makers either.

At least, there's no warning about ingesting Easter ham.

Then again, as PETA people might point out, ham is very hazardous to pigs.