The holidays are a wonderful time of the year, but with all the chaos and rush, potential hazards for pets can be overlooked. While a health emergency involving your pet is not pleasant at any time of the year, dealing with a dangerous situation over the holidays is difficult. So it is best to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Here are some common plants and decorations that can be hazardous to the health of our four-legged family members, according to The Modesto Bee and other sources:

• Mistletoe. Keep the mistletoe at a height suitable for adults to kiss under, but make sure your pet can’t get to it. These plants contain lectins and phoratoxins, toxic chemicals that can affect the heart, causing low blood pressure and slowed heart rate, says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Poinsettias. These colorful red and white plants are lovely holiday décor, but they are also filled with a milky white, latex sap that can be very irritating to your pet’s mouth and stomach, says the FDA. According to the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) the symptoms of poinsettia poisoning include drooling, and sometimes, vomiting and diarrhea.

• Table scraps. It’s hard to ignore those pleading eyes, but giving Fido fatty, rich food from the holiday table may result in pancreatitis, a potentially deadly and painful disease. Cats can also suffer symptoms such as decreased appetite and weight loss. And be careful of bones. Make sure your garbage is secure, because bones retrieved from the trash, can get stuck in a dog or cat’s esophagus or trachea, leading to gagging or choking. Splintered bones can also damage the mouth, esophagus and stomach and even travel down to the intestines where the shards can create life-threatening blockages.

• Grapes, raisins, and currants. Keep bowls of these fruits, and baked goods that contain them, away from your pets. While researchers have not pinned down the cause, these fruits are toxic to animals and could lead to kidney failure.

• Baking chocolate. Most pet owners know that chocolate is off limits for pets, but baking chocolate is especially dangerous, says The Modesto Bee. “It’s got theobromine and caffeine,” says Robert Poppenga, a veterinary toxicologist at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, adding that these two ingredients are more highly concentrated in baking chocolate than in milk chocolate. Two one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog.

•Tinsel and other stringy decorations. Cats are fascinated by lights, tinsel, ribbon, and any type of string decorations. However, these seemingly harmless decorations can lodge in the gastrointestinal tract if swallowed.

If you suspect your pet may have consumed an off-limits holiday hazard, call your veterinarian or the Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661.