Many of us look forward to the excitement of Easter festivities like Easter egg hunts, baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, and parades. But the joys of the holiday can mean danger for your pets. Each year thousands of pets are injured and/or become deathly ill. Like children, cats and dogs love to nibble on goodies in the Easter basket. Unfortunately, our curious pets enjoy everything in the basket, even the colorful plastic grass, toys and foil-wrappers on candies. Your pet may also ingest ribbons, bows, streamers and other decorative items – even ribbons and bows tied around their necks. Don’t be tempted to decorate your puppy or kitty; they don’t enjoy it and it may result in choking or strangulation. Did you know that chocolate can poison your pet? Chocolate is toxic to both cats and dogs, and other candies and wrappers can become lodged in the stomach or cause your pet to choke.

As spring approaches, lilies will become more common in households as potted plants or in bouquets. Unfortunately, several types of lilies can be deadly to cats. Easter lily, tiger lily, rubrum lily, Japanese show lily, some species of day lily, and certain other members of the Liliaceae family can cause kidney failure in cats. (So far, toxicity has not been reported in dogs.) Eating just one leaf of this toxic plant can result in severe poisoning and within a short time your cat will exhibit signs of toxicity. Minutes to hours after ingestion, your cat may stop eating and begin vomiting. As the toxins begin to affect the kidneys, your pet may become lethargic, and within five days, kidney failure will cause death. To help educate cat owners about the dangers of lilies, and other plants, the CFA and the ASPCA have developed website information for cat owners at http://www.cfainc.org/articles/lilies.html. Among the site's materials are photos of common types of dangerous lilies and a list of non-toxic plants. Cat owners are encouraged to visit this site to learn more about how they can keep their cat's home poison safe.

Reprinted from The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc.

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Kitty Dyes Eggs

How To Cook Perfect Hard-boiled Eggs

Place a desired amount of eggs in a saucepan. Cover the eggs with enough cold water, so that the water level is approximately one inch above the eggs. Keeping the saucepan uncovered, heat the eggs and water over high heat until the water boils rapidly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cover. Allow the water and eggs to stand for 18 - 20 minutes. Immediately pour the hot water from the saucepan, and run cool water over the eggs until the are cool enough to handle. Drain.

Coloring Eggs

To dye the perfect Easter eggs the natural way, here's what to do. Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar. Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.) Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl. If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with the dye and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Coloring Eggs With Food Dyes

Lime - 24 yellow, 4 green Purple - 15 blue, 5 red Cantaloupe - 24 yellow, 2 red Jade - 17 green, 3 blue Plum - 10 red, 4 blue Spearmint - 12 green, 6 yellow, 2 blue Raspberry - 14 red, 6 blue Maize - 24 yellow, 1 red Watermelon - 25 red, 2 blue Teal - 15 green, 5 blue Grape - 17 blue, 3 red Fuchsia - 18 red, 2 blue Orange Sunset - 17 yellow, 3 red Jungle Green - 14 green, 6 yellow

The History of Fabrege Eggs

Reprinted from Just Jeanne

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