In my 10 years at an emergency animal hospital I’ve heard the response, time and again, when asked if their pet could have gotten into anything toxic: “We don’t use poison in our house, there’s nothing here that he could have gotten into that’s dangerous.” The truth is, poisons are everywhere in most people’s homes, but because they are not harmful to us, we don’t think of them as poisons. No pet is 100% safe from poisoning but it helps a lot if we are able to recognize the things that can harm our pets and know who to call if our pets are exposed to poisons.
Poisons, also known as ‘toxins’ are found throughout our environment. Things that are safe for humans are not necessarily safe for pets. The foods we eat, the medications we take, the plants that beautify our homes, our laundry and household cleaners, car care products and the insecticides/rodenticides that keep pests at bay, all pose a potential danger to our animals. Our pets depend on our awareness to protect them from harm.
Did you know that the Tylenol you take to relieve your aches and pains can kill your cat if you drop one and he inadvertently eats it while playing with it. Cats love to play with little things that skitter across the floor and he may not actually eat it until days later. If you notice your cat is having difficulty breathing, has facial swelling, drooling, vomiting, having diarrhea, or is extremely lethargic or stuporous, you should take him to your vet for examination. If you suspect that he may have gotten one of your Tylenol (acetaminophen), let your vet know right away. This toxicity is hard to diagnose because the symptoms are the same as several other ailments. The best chance your cat has is your communication with your vet about any possible exposure to medication. The treatment for acetaminophen toxicity is most effective when started immediately at onset of symptoms. Dogs can also get acetaminophen toxicity but it is less common because their body weight is usually greater and the body weight to mg dosage is slightly higher in dogs. The prognosis for dogs is much better than for cats. This condition is very painful for your cat and untreated he can die within 18 to 36 hours. If you drop any medication, search until you find it, your pet’s life could depend on it.
Ibuprofen is another common medication that should not be given to your pet. The regular strength pills that you buy over the counter contain 200 mg each. One Ibuprofen can destroy a cat’s kidneys. One tablet of this dose can cause severe vomiting or gastric distress within 1 to 4 hours as well as gastric ulceration in a dog. Three tablets in a 14 lb. dog could cause permanent kidney damage or possibly kidney failure. Puppies love to chew and many dog breeds chew well into their 2nd or 3rd year. Even a small dog chewing a bottle of pills could consume 10 to 20 pills in the process. Twenty regular strength ibuprofen can kill a medium large dog (Golden Retriever, Shepherd, Collie, Dalmatian, etc.) within a few days unless treatment is started as soon as possible.
Aspirin can be given to dogs but you must not do so without checking with your vet first. Aspirin can cause general gastric distress, so it is advisable to use highly buffered aspirin or Ascriptin, which is aspirin with Maalox, if your vet recommends aspirin treatment for your pet. Then monitor their stool at least twice a week for signs of dark ‘tarry’ stool or bright red blood which would indicate GI or colonic ulceration. If this develops discontinue the Aspirin and contact your vet. Some dogs have inherited clotting disorders and taking an aspirin for arthritis every day can cause their blood to become so thin that they can ‘bleed out’ from a cut or bruise or even just shaking their head. If you notice your dog bleeding from the nose, or mouth, or if he has blood in his urine or stool, or if he’s vomiting and it looks like he ate coffee grounds, see a vet immediately, especially if he has been treated with aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medication.
Most prescription medication is dosed by the age of the person who will be taking it. Never try to medicate your pet with medication prescribed for you or even for one of your other pets. Pets are dosed by body weight and should only be medicated by a professional. Just like people, animals can have allergic reactions or experience overdose from medications that were not prescribed specifically for their current condition. Don’t keep medications that the dog/cat is no longer taking as they can expire. When your pet is prescribed an antibiotic, make sure that he takes the full prescription as directed. Failure to do this can cause a relapse that is resistant to antibiotics and can mutate the bacteria which he can pass on to others that will also be resistant to antibiotics. But, I digress, we’re talking about toxins. Any medication -- not just cardiac, high blood pressure, anti-depressants, or anti-convulsant medications -- no matter how harmless they appear, can be toxic or even lethal in high enough doses, even vitamins, iron pills, potassium or calcium supplements, diet pills, decongestants, etc. When your pet finds this neat bottle that makes noise when he bites it or shakes it, he won’t read the label (as if he would bother if he could read), he won’t know that it can kill him or make him sick. You have to keep it out of his reach, like on top of the refrigerator or in a high cupboard. My cat is forever going through my bottom cupboards looking for mischief to get into.
Toxins can also be found in foods that we eat regularly. Dogs are susceptible to chocolate toxicity if they eat more than 100 mg per pound of body weight. It is the theobromine in chocolate that causes toxicity in dogs. As a reference point, there are 45 mg of theobromine in an ounce of milk chocolate and 400 mg per ounce in pure unsweetened (bakers) chocolate. So you don’t need to panic if your 100 lb. German Shepherd eats a plate of chocolate chip cookies (the cookies may make him nauseous but no more than if we ate an entire batch of cookies) - however, if your 15 lb. poodle eats the same batch of cookies he’s going to be a very sick puppy! Symptoms of chocolate toxicity are nervousness, vomiting, shaking, and sometimes a condition referred to as ‘hyperesthesia’ which means overreacting to noises, touch, lights, etc. The combination of the theobromine and the caffeine is what causes the symptoms. Dogs can also get caffeine toxicity. This is less common but not less dangerous. Some dogs will eat anything that doesn’t eat them first, and have been known to chow down on coffee bean hull mulch or tear into a bag of coffee beans or ground coffee and eat it all (including the bag). Caffeine toxicity symptoms are the same as chocolate toxicity. If you catch your dog eating chocolate or coffee grounds, the best thing to do is make him vomit before the toxins have a chance to cause symptoms. If he is allowed to absorb the theobromine/caffeine and develops symptoms he will have to go to the vet, maybe have his stomach pumped, and spend some time on IV fluids to flush it out of his system. (The most expensive box of chocolates you never ate.)
After a party (or during if you have some sick friends) your pet could get into glasses of beer or other alcohol left sitting around. Alcohol is a depressant, your pet will be sedate, probably nauseous, and displaying abnormal neuro signs including staggering and lack of eye focus. Sometimes pets displaying these symptoms may also have extremely dilated pupils. If you have teen-age children you may want to check their rooms for remnants of torn bags or boxes, spilled ‘herb-like’ residue, anything that may indicate your pet has ingested some hallucinogenic substance. The more you can tell the vet about what your pet has eaten, the better the treatment they can provide. Don’t be shy, if your cat ate marijuana, tell the vet what it was! Treatment varies for different toxins. Without knowing what toxin they are treating, they can only treat the symptoms and it may not save your pet.
Some other hazardous substances are household cleaners, laundry products containing bleach, and ammonia. These can be knocked over, or spilled during use and if not cleaned up right away, your pet could step in them, lick them, or in some cases just sniff them and suffer toxic effects. Cats are particularly at risk in these situations because they can come and go without your seeing them and then they go off in a corner and lick their paws to get it off. All you can tell is that they are vomiting. Is it hairballs or toxins?
Animals are interested in anything that interests you. When painting a room, it is a good idea to have your pets locked in another part of the house. They will want to see what you are doing and besides making an absolute mess with tails and paws and curious noses, they can also become intoxicated by the fumes, or ingest the paint or thinner. If they do get paint on their fur, DO NOT WASH THEM WITH TURPENTINE! Most interior paints now days are latex based and clean up with soap and water. If your pet does get into enamel, use a paint thinner that does not contain turpentine, wipe the paint off quickly, preferably outside, and then wash your pet thoroughly 2 or 3 times in a mild degreaser dish soap like Dawn, or Joy. Then rinse at least twice. If you can still smell the thinner after you towel him off, wash him again. If they drink the paint or thinner, call your vet, check the side of the product for emergency instructions, or contact poison control. Do not give your pet anything before doing this because some caustic substances recommend milk, antacids, food, or water, while others advise making the pet vomit.
An unusual but highly dangerous toxin is found in pennies. Yes, those things you have laying around on the table, kept in jars and cans, rolled in paper, and collected without a thought can harm or even kill your pet. Pennies made after 1983 contain large amounts of zinc. The symptoms of zinc toxicity are depression, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. It can cause hemolytic anemia, and even acute renal failure (this applies to human babies as well!). So if you drop one, trust me, it’s definitely good luck to pick it up!
Your pet can also become toxic from substances indicated to be safe to use on pets. How? Well, most commonly it’s an allergic or hypersensitive reaction to flea products, grooming sprays, or vaccines. We see this a lot in cats, kittens and puppies that have been treated with strong flea spray or compound flea treatments, (i.e.; flea bath followed by flea dip followed by flea spray on their bedding and a flea collar around their neck) even a healthy medium sized dog could get sick with that kind of overdose. When you choose a flea product, check the label and don’t use it with other flea products unless recommended by the manufacturer. Even then, watch your pet for several hours after treatment, if he begins to drool, cry, scratch and rub incessantly, vomit, becomes stuporous or hypersesthetic, wash him immediately in a mild dishsoap containing a degreaser. Repeat 2 or 3 times and then rinse several times. Check the skin for signs of hives or irritation (the belly is a good place to check this). If the symptoms continue, call your vet to get treatment with antihistamine, steroids, or other medications indicated by the symptoms. Your pet may even have to be put on IV fluids to flush their system, depending on the severity of the reaction.
As dangerous as it sounds on the inside of your home, your pet faces even more hazards outside. Motor oil, fertilizer, and insecticides can burn your pet’s skin, eyes and nose, and if ingested can cause a variety of toxic reactions. To remove any of these types of substances from your pet’s fur/skin, use multiple washings with degreasing dishsoap and multiple rinsings. If swallowed, check the label and call your vet, your local poison control or call the National Animal Poison Control line. Have the label available to read ingredients to them. Your pet can also get sick from eating grass that has been treated with fertilizer or insecticides. Ortho, a chemical company that makes a lot of different insecticides and fertilizers, has it’s own tox line for information on it’s products (see list below).
Another hazard your pet faces is ‘double trouble’ from mouse and rat poison. Not only can they eat the poison itself, but they can kill and eat a mouse that was already dying from eating poison too. This is called secondary poisoning. We see this mostly in cats and small dogs who are, depending on the amount of poison the mouse ate, within the weight range of the toxin. The biggest problem here is, you don’t always know that the pet ate the mouse, then you don’t know which poison the mouse ate. By the time the symptoms become evident enough to diagnose rat poison, it’s usually too late. Don’t think that just because you don’t use mouse/rat poison that your pet is safe from this situation. Rat poison doesn’t kill instantly, older generation poisons kill within 3 to 5 days while the newer generation poisons (synthetic) kill within 24 to 36 hours. The vermin can travel quite far from the site of poisoning before he actually dies. If your cat or dog goes outside unsupervised, they are at risk! If they run loose, the poisoning may even be intentional! Many people don’t like animals messing in their yards or killing birds at their feeders so they will put out poisoned meat to solve the problem.
Pets can’t tell if something is bad for them, they will lap up antifreeze like it was ice cream, it smells and tastes very sweet, (human toddlers will drink it like KoolAid) and it can kill them within 24 - 48 hours. When you flush your radiator, drain the old antifreeze first into old gallon milk containers and take them to a safe disposal area, any gravel or mulch covered dirt area with good drainage, (it could damage grass or plants if poured on your lawn or shrubs). Then, make sure that you use soap and lots of water to wash any spillage off of the pavement. They now make ‘pet safe’ antifreeze (propylene glycol based) but until it’s in universal use we must still guard our pets against this deadly threat. If you suspect that your pet has gotten into antifreeze, even a little bit, get him to a vet immediately! With quick treatment the prognosis is guarded. When treatment is delayed only a few hours the prognosis becomes grim.
Dogs love to explore smelly things, they rip open trash bags, and eat rancid raw meats and moldy food. Then, they come in and throw up on your carpet (if you’re lucky), or they get bloated (where their stomach gets big and round like they swallowed a large balloon) or lay around refusing to eat for a couple of days until they break with bloody diarrhea and coffee-ground vomit. If your pet has been outside unsupervised, and develops any of these symptoms, call your vet immediately. Gastroenteritis, Bloat, Pancreatitis, Ileitis, and a variety of toxicities are some of the many consequences of such dietary indiscretions. All are serious, and untreated can be fatal.
Even those pretty plants on your windowsill or in your garden can poison your pets. Dogs and cats alike love to eat grass and chew on plants. This practice is not unlike our eating salad. But we wouldn’t eat salad made from poisonous plants or ones that had been sprayed with insecticide or weed n’ feed. Make sure that the plants that your pet as access to are safe for him to eat. I have included a partial list of the most common toxic house and garden plants below. If a plant is toxic but you just can’t bear to part with it, hang it high!
Aloe Horsechestnut Pothos Azalea Hydrangea Primrose Buttercup Iris Privet Hedge Plants Caladium Lupine Rhododendron Crocus Mistletoe Wisteria Daisy Oleander Yew (Hemlock) Elephant Ear Onion Garlic Philodendron Holly Poinsettia
Also, the pits from Apricots, Cherries, Choke Cherries, Peaches, Plums and Sloe. These contain a natural form of cyanide.
So what do you do when Fido or Felix come in from their ‘great escape’ and aren’t acting normally? Call your vet and describe their symptoms. If your vet is closed, call an emergency vet center, and if you don’t have one of those in your area you can call the National Animal Poison Control Line (there is a charge for this service, they will charge $30 to a Visa/Mastercard). I’ve listed some of the local emergency center numbers for the Baltimore/Washington area, but if you live outside that region you should look up your numbers in the phone book or get them from your regular vet and keep them by the phone in case of emergencies.
Remember, the best defense is a good offense. If you keep your pet inside except when you can be with him outside, keep all medications out of his reach and keep him away from situations where he can become poisoned, you may never have to experience the previous paragraph!
| National Animal Poison Control ($30 - Visa/MC) | 800-548-2423 |
| University of Illinois Veterinary School Tox Line ($2.75 pr min.) | 900-680-0000 |
| Maryland Poison Control (human) | 410-706-7701 |
| Ortho Toxicology Line (only for Ortho products) | 415-233-3737 |
Note: Your Local County/City Poison Control number can be found in your phone book and even though it’s for people, they can still give you advice if you can’t reach anyone else.
| Animal Emergency Center in Timonium (Eastern) Baltimore Area: | 410-252-8387 |
| Emergency Veterinary Center in Catonsville - (Western Baltimore Area): | 410-788-7040 |
| Annapolis Emergency Veterinary Center - Anne Arundel County Area | 410-974-6306 |
| Harford Co. Emergency Veterinary Clinic - Harford County Area | 410-569-0173 |
| Hyattsville Emergency Veterinary Hospital | 410-831-1088 |
| Beltsville Emergency Veterinary Hospital (Near DC) | 301-464-3737 |
| Virginia/Maryland Veterinary Emergency Service: Alexandria Animal Hospital, Alexandria, VA | (703) 823-3601 |
Disclaimer: This article was written to provide you with information as to those items that can be toxic to your pet. Any medical advice should be obtained from your veterinarian. Remember, if you recognize that your pet has been poisoned call your vet immediately!!!
Written and contributed by Sam Connelly, Animal Emergency Center in Timonium (Eastern) Baltimore Area, MD, 8/25/97