Protect Your Pet From Three Common Poisons
I have spent several nights over the last few weeks working at a veterinary emergency hospital near San Francisco. We see an incredible range of cases, but during my last two shifts in particular I treated a huge number of dogs for exposure to toxic substances.
There are literally thousands of household products, plants, foods, human medications and chemicals that are poisonous to dogs and cats. To view two (non-comprehensive) lists of potential poisons, click here (for household products) and here (for plants).
Despite the huge number of hazardous plants and materials out there, I have noticed that three of them seem to be more commonly ingested by pets than the others. So, although I encourage you to be proactive about protecting your pet from all potential poisons, please be especially aware of these three.
I recommend that pets never be allowed access to any poisons. However, please be especially careful with the three listed above. Dogs are more likely than cats to be exposed to each of these poisons because they are less selective about what they eat.
If you suspect that your pet has consumed any poisonous product, contact a veterinarian immediately. Acting quickly can help to prevent serious consequences.
If possible, always bring the packaging from the product that was consumed, as well as any remaining product to the veterinarian’s office when you seek treatment. This will help the vet to positively identify the type and amount of toxin consumed.
Remember, however, that the best way to keep your pet safe from poisons is to make sure he or she does not have access to them in the first place.
You have questions. 
I also heard RAISINS/GRAPES and MACADEMIA NUTS are really bad for dogs too!
- Lucky
Just wanted to tell evryone about something that happened to a friend’s pit bull. He is 6 years old and is left alone. Before going to work, his owners noticed an empty potato chip bag on the counter, but left without throwing it away. When the returned home it was to find their beloved dog had put his head into the bag, and somehow could not get it off. He suffocated.
Very sad but if you notice the bags of chips lately, they are very strong.
Dobie3d
Not very helpful for cat owners. This linked in from Catster.
My one cat has enjoyed tea since he was a kitten. My father makes hot tea every morning to take to work, he always leaves a very small amount in the bottom of the glass measuring cup (which he brews it in) on the counter. Jake usually finds it later in the day and licks up the remaining contents. This has NEVER hurt him, perhaps because it’s such a small amount. However, we drink/make a lot of ice tea in the summer months and he has never once shown interest in that nor does he show interest if we make ourselves nice cup of hot tea.
For cat owners: Onions, Garlic, & Related Root Vegetables. Onions contain a substance (N-propyl disulphide) which destroys red blood cells in the cat, causing a form of anemia called Heinz body anemia. Garlic contains a similar substance in a lesser amount. Tomatoes are members of the Solanaceae family of plants, which includes the Deadly Nightshade, and contain a bitter, poisonous alkaloid called Glycoalkaloid Solanine, which can cause violent lower gastrointestinal symptoms. The Feline Future web site offers a rare description of a cat which was close to death from ingesting just one cherry tomato
Although milk is not toxic to cats, it may have adverse effects. Simply put, adult cats fed a nutritious diet don’t need milk, and many cats are lactose-intolerant, which means that the lactose in milk and milk products produces stomach upset, cramps, and gassiness. If your cat loves milk, and begs for it, a small amount of cream may be okay, two or three times a week.
[...] Check it out here, for the safety and the life of your dogs. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Im so grateful for this info.. I have 2 small dogs I have rescued and are my life blood as my kids are in college and have careers…I would do anything for them.. including writing to congress when we found the many reasons China was involved in the poisoning of our pets and the ways they suffered.. I again found myself involved with Congress about China again when the paint issue came about.. h ow many years had this been going on?? before we found out? all these kids with learning disabilities. I check all toys.. and read all food..
This is extra help… thank you
gail
I have an indoor cat who has the habit of only eating his food if I sit with him at the food bowl. When he’s hungry, he will call me to accompany him to the food bowl. If I ignore him, he will call even louder. It’s probably my fault cos when he was only a few months old, I will sit with him near the food bowl to watch him eat. He even wkes me up in the early mornings just to have permission / company to eat his food.
How do I break his ‘bad’ habit. Please help as he’s now 4 year old and still so dependent.
Thanks.
My 4 year old Rat Terrier ate a package of chewing gum that contained “Xylitol” yesterday evening and had to be hospitalized overnight at the emergency vet’s office and again all day today to check her glucose levels. She is home now, but we will not know for the next four days if she has permanent liver or kidney damage. We luckily caught her eating the gum and knew enough about xylitol to call the animal poisoning hotline. They made us give her hydrogen peroxide to throw up right away and then take her immediatly to the vets. She ate 13 pieces of gum and wiegh’s 22 lbs. They said that even 2 small pieces can be fatal if you do not purge your dog’s system right away and seek vetrinary help.
The gum brands that contain xylitol that I know about are STRIDE, TRIDENT, ORBIT, ICE BREAKERS, and there are a lot of other sugar free gums, mints and candies with this ingrediant. If you have dogs, THROW THE GUM AWAY!!! It is not worth your animal’s life!
My cat has been chewing on a sweet potatoe that started growing and I planted it. I stupid me thinking it was like Rosy’s grass and was a vegetable would not hurt her. I have seen no bad reaction. Please help???
my dog was poisoned a few years ago after eating rancid nuts that had been left in the bottom of a bag for months (probably part of an old cookie or something). She was severely poisoned, was hospitalized for 2 days, but pulled through. I now never leave nuts ANYWHERE. I also had no idea, before this incident, that rancid nuts could be the equivalent of arsenic to dogs. Please be careful!
My siamese cats used to love tinned plum tomatoes.. never did them any harm. Maybe something in the canning process destroys the toxins – I dont know.
My husband does a lot of work on his cars, and one day left a dish of used brake fluid around, which Willow then stepped in. We showered her off with shampoo immediately and hubby never leaves chemicals around any more. I make sure he puts them in well sealed containers right out of the way of the cats (particularly as his workshop houses the litter trays). I keep my garden chemicals well put away as well.. I cant imagine what horror would come about if Al or Willow ate some weedkiller or ant powder.. I shudder to think (btw I dont let them out if I’ve put anything like that down on the garden, just in case..)
GRAPES!!!! DON’T FORGET GRAPES! We were totally unaware of the damage we caused our dog by giving him grapes. He loved them so much that we used them in his training. Eventually he went into renal failure, had siezures, and we finally had to put him to sleep, after a long time of trying to save his life.
Yes, we had to deal with the knowledge that we killed our own dog because we were unaware and just plain stupid for not checking with the vet.
Don’t make our mistake: check with the vet!
Thank you for posting this! And thanks to Dogster and Catster for sending us all the link. My 5-pound Chihuahua absolutely loves chocolate and will do just about anything to get some when we’re eating it – climbing up on us, jumping in the air, etc. Because she’s so small, I’m deathly afraid of keeping chocolate in the house anywhere but the high kitchen counter. I also own three cats, and a similar post regarding poisons for cats would be appreciated, also. With more and more people making homemade nutritious food for pets because of the pet food scare, this topic is extremely important.
For years I have known dogs to eat chocolate (from my 10 pound boston terrier to my in-laws sheep dog) but it was always milk chocolate. Our 6 month old Lab got a bar of dark chocolate off the counter while we were away. She was acting wierd when I got home, barking at me and wanting to get as far away from me as she could. After a while she settled down and snuggled with me. She was acting normal so we put her to bed in her kennel thinking she was over it. Acouple hours later when we woke up she was dead. Learn from my mistake – even if they start acting normal get them checked out if they have dark chocolate.
uh oh
Sugar Water!! Nearly killed my little yorkie. I had a hummingbird feeder fall on the patio. Thank God the glass didn’t break, because she lapped up all the sugar water. I was gone to the store at the time and by the time I got home she was throwing up large amounts of blood. She is only 3 pounds and I saw her throw up about a 1/4 cup of pure blood! I rushed her to the vet and he gave her a vitamin K shot for poisioning (because at the time I didn’t even realize it was the sugar water). My husband had come home for lunch and cleaned it up. Anyway the vet kept her over night, even took her home with him. He kept her on an IV because she had thrown up so much blood. Thank God he saved her life.
I have removed ALL hummingbird feeders from my patio!!
I live in Fl. and we recently found out about Bufo Toads. We have 3 Italian Greyhounds and our little girl greyhound put her mouth on a Bufo toad one nite when we were walking them and all of a sudden she started gasping/foaming at the mouth and couldn’t breath! We were far from our house but sprinklers were on near us and my husband dashed her under a sprinkler and started to flush her mouth out. We raced home and called Emer.Vet and they said keep rinsing out her mouth and if no improv., get her in immediately. Dogs can die quickly after an encounter w/a Bufo Toad! The poison on the toad makes them foam up at the mouth and throat and eventually suffocate! We’ve had several of these instances and now we watch closely for those darn toads on our walks! Very poisonous!
I found all the comments very informative .
I also was told that garlic was bad for dogs except if its cooked .
I was just wandering if this is true
Thanks for putting XYLITOL on your list!! Ever since my Pug nearly died from eating breath mints last Christmas, I have been trying to spread the word about this toxic substance. http://www.studiopet.com/xylitol.html. Xylitol can be found not just in chewing gums but also BREATH MINTS, and sugar free SWEETS, JELLOs, TOOTHPASTES, etc. Thanks again!
Grapes and raisins should be of as much, if not greater, concern than chocolate. Recently, my dog hate a half cup of chocolate covered raisins and nuts. I called the APCC and was told that the concern was NOT the chocolate but the RAISINS…They can cause death within 48 hours. I quickly ran my dog to the ER, had him purged, charcoal pumped into his tummy and on IV fluids for two days. Thank goodness he is fine. Thank goodness I DID know about the dangers of raisins.
My cats eaten mice and she has no problem.
My cat likes chees, ice cream, mushrooms, and she eats any meat we drop on the floor. I sthere any poisons to cats in any of them?
My doggy loves gum! When we go on a walk he “truffles” discarded wads (he pretends like he has to go #2). Usually I can get it out of his mouth but sometimes he swallows it fast! I am so scared of him getting sick from gum :(
This probably won’t be much help to city dwellers, but I feel I should pass this on because of my experience. I take long walks in the woods with my dogs, and one thing I was never aware of until it happened was that deer poop is extremely toxic to dogs if they ingest it (and you know how some dogs will eat just about anything!). Last winter, my dogs were romping in the snow, eating the snow and having a great time, but as it turned out, some of the snow had deer poop in it. My smaller dog swallowed some of it and ended up suffering from convulsions and nervous system problems. The vet said that some of the berries that deer eat, juniper berries for one, are not toxic to them, but are very toxic to other animals. The vet also said that deer poop should be considered as dangerous as anti-freeze. I sure wish someone had warned me about this beforehand.
I remember, one time, as I was heading off to school, Sweets had chewed a package of mouse poison. I was quick to spot it and call my mum for advice, and she called the Poison Control Center. We gave Sweets some peroxide in her food, and everything came out before it could do any damage. I stayed home that day, and we took Sweets to the vet. That was about a year ago, and she’s fine. I was lucky I caught her in time.
My peek-a-poo recently ingested a small piece of Tom’s Mouse Bait before I was able to stop her. I immediately took her to a vet who administered 2 doses of hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to get her to vomit. She was able to excrete almost all of the poison. She was on a Vitamin K regimen for a month and luckily appears to be healthy. It was an eye-opening experience for me.
I have three dogs and last year we had alot of rain and these mushrooms started growing in our yard. I didn’t think anything of it but my dog’s ate them and they got severely sick. They had excessive drooling (and I mean like a faucet) severe diarreha and vomiting. I thought they were going to die, and they very well could have. Luckily, it didn’t do any permanent damage to their organs and from now on I closely watch their play area for mushrooms.
Sadly, iIlost my cat to cancer this past April. But I continue to read the news and comments on Catster.
With all the news about Xylitol being toxic to cats and dogs, I am now wondering what it might be doing to our human bodies. My one son says that it has a laxative effect on himl.
I think that I will stop chewing gum with this product. Better safe than sorry.
It could be years, if ever, before we know what health problems this can cause. I have heard it said that, if you cannot pronounce an ingredient on a product, then don’t use/ingest it.
[...] have heard from several cat folks who felt that my recent post on common poisons in pets didn’t really apply to them. I see their point. The poisons [...]
I ALSO HEARD ONIONS ARE NOT GOOD FOR DOGS,IS THIS TRUE.
I don’t see any comments here about grapes and/or raisins. Our Boston Terrier has severe kidney damage from eating grapes and raisins. Our granddaugter, Kacie, was living with us and eating a lot of these foods and loves to share with the Boston, Lizzie. Lizzie, of course, will eat anything that Kacie eats. Lizzie suffered a grand mal seizure and we rushed her to the vet, where they found the kidney damage. Lizzie is now on low protein, prescription diet food and is doing well. The vet said to never give grapes to dogs. I searched the internet and found that this is supposedly common knowledge, but no one ever told me that it was dangerous.
Susan, YES, raw onions are really bad for dogs. Also, raw potatoes. I’d forgotten about those. Sorry to those of you who mentioned grapes, I guess I scrolled down too fast and missed them.
Months ago I had to rush my lab puppy to the animal hospital E.R. She consumed an entire bottle of Iron pills. This overdose could have been fatal. We think of keeping pill bottles away from children, but not animals. I wouldn’t leave pills lying around, but didn’t think that a puppy could get a bottle open. she didn’t, she just chewed the bottle opened. The bottle was up on the dining room table, but she climbed up on a chair and took it off the table. Word to the wise-keep all medications, even vitamins in the medicine cabinet. If you don’t, your pets may find a way to get ahold of them. Also, I highly recommend getting pet health insurance. My puppy almost died because I couldn’t afford the expensive treatment and the animal hospital wanted all of the money up front. I don’t think this is fair, or humane, but that is how they do business. Fortunetly my puppy vomited up most of the pills and my local vet was able to give her cheaper medication to prevent any long term damage.
My dogs have been eating chocolate – in moderation – since they were a year old. My older dogs – Tilly & peach are 10 years old, the next is Two Tone at 9 years and his son Jeffery at 8 years.
i don’t buy into the chocolate myth of destruction for your pet. It is like life, everything must be taken in moderation. If I were to eat 10 pounds of chocolate alongside my dog – then we both would be pushing the scales to capacity and possibly a few daisys too.
katherine
I just bought a puppy and after a few days it started acting funny like convulsions and felt that he was going to die on me. I took him to my vet and found out he had low blood sugar level. He was hypo-glycemic! Vet gave me medicine and said this was more prone to small dogs like mine. Now I look for signs all the time of low energy and act on it quickly.
Make a new list and list all possible poisons!
We need it posted in home and let your children know too.
Thanks for info
Katherine – I hope your dogs don’t end up paying the price for your refusal to be cautious with chocolate. That would be very sad, and extremely unfair to your pets. If so, that would be 100% your fault. And I’m not trying to offend you or be disrespectful, but your pets rely on you to protect them not only from items that indeed ARE poisonous, but also from items that COULD be harmful to them. I’ve always been told, by my aunt who is a vet tech., that if you aren’t sure about something, DO NOT give it to your pet, regardless of how much they beg.
MY mom’s dog used to have seizures on an average of a couple a week so my mom took her into the vet and asked us if she is being fed chocolate. At the time my mom would occassionaly give her a small amount of it. Right away the vet told us that the chocolate was most likely the cause for the seizures as the blood tests they did to test for epilepsy and other such diseases came back negative. Coincidentely, Sasha hasn’t had ONE seizure since then.
We need to remember that even though we can’t see with our own eyes the effects chocolate has on our pets, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t damaging our pets internally. Our pets can’t speak english therefore we don’t know if they are feeling ill because of chocolate or not. We need to remember that our veterinarians are intelligent people so they know the truth. If our vet tells us chocolate is bad, then its BAD, period! I doubt they would lie to us, and neither would others who have tested its effects on animals.
P.S. – just out of curiousity, are peas dangerous to animals? Particularly cats? What about pickles? Our dog loves pickles.
I have also heard that some pollen is very dangerous to cats, especially Lily pollen. We always take the pollen off to be on the safe side.
Thanks for the post about deer droppings – will be even more cautious with our GS pup. My dog loves frozen grapes, though he’s only had 6 in his life (found out the day after giving him some that grapes were bad…whoops). Now he has to make do with frozen celery and ice.
to the idiot who posted CHOCOLATE in MODERATION 1. you should not own a dog. you are not fit. 2 if you have children see number 1. CHOC. is a toxin to the nervous system. Maybe you give your kids whiskey and they like it and havent DIED yet but will have liver damage. You are an idiot. Seriously ADOPT them out. I live in Santa Barbara CA the most expensive city in the USA and for a reason. We love our pets here and you would be reported to any authority people could find. I am surprised they allow pets in your trailer park. Poor dogs how sad.
i was wondering if anyone knew what I could spray on our houseplants that would keep our cats from chewing on them.
Grapes are indeed able to kill a dog. We managed to do it. We had no idea that grapes were on the list until after our beloved dog died. We gave them to him as treats in training because he loved them SO MUCH. Our current dog does NOT and NEVER will come into contact with a single grape!
Charlie’s person
[...] A very nice family I met last night received a Christmas present from an acquaintance. They placed it, still wrapped, underneath their tree. Unbeknownst to them the package contained a pound and a half of dark chocolate. [...]