Suspect poisoning? US: ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · UK: 01202 509 000 · Severe symptoms → nearest emergency vet now.

Poisoning questions, answered

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The four most-used triage calculators:

chocolate · open tool My dog ate dark chocolate — how much is dangerous? grapes & raisins · open tool My dog ate one grape. Should I panic? xylitol · open tool Dog ate sugar-free gum with xylitol — emergency? lily · open tool Cat licked a lily petal — is that fatal?

Full answer library

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Cats · Food safety My 6-year-old cat snatched a slice of ham from the counter that had been left out overnight — is this dangerous? One small piece probably won't kill her, but deli ham left out overnight is a bad combination — high salt… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat stole a crumb of raisin bread off the holiday table — how urgent is this? This is urgent — raisin bread can cause rapid kidney damage in cats, and cooking doesn't destroy the toxin.… Cats · Emergency guide Are cat treats containing boric acid safe for my 10-year-old cat with kidney disease? No — boric acid is a stomach poison used in insecticides like roach baits and ant killers, and it has no… Dogs · Emergency guide My senior dog keeps chewing my Dieffenbachia plant — what happens if he does this every day? Even though a single chew is rarely fatal, repeated daily exposure is not something to ignore. Dieffenbachia… Cats · Emergency guide My 8-year-old cat with heart disease found a dropped ACE inhibitor pill on the kitchen floor — is it safe to give her a quarter of it? No — a fraction of a human ACE inhibitor tablet can cause shock in a cat, regardless of whether it's been on… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat snags bites of the cooked lamb I set on the counter overnight — is it worth training him to leave it alone? Lamb itself won't hurt him, so this is a housekeeping problem, not an emergency. Cooked, plain, boneless lamb… Cats · Food safety My 12-year-old cat, 3.5 kg, snuck two bites of oily mackerel off the family Christmas table — should I be worried? No emergency here. Two bites from a 3.5 kg senior cat on a fatty fish is unlikely to cause real harm — the… Dogs · Emergency guide My 3 kg Chihuahua ate three pecan halves an hour ago and now seems hunched. How urgent is this? This is urgent — a hunched back is a classic sign of pancreatitis, which is a serious risk from the fat in… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat licked a teaspoon of pesto off a plate — what signs should I watch for and when will they appear? Watch for vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of appetite within the next 6 to 12 hours. Pesto is built on garlic… Cats · Food safety Can a nursing mother cat safely eat a small piece of a granola bar with raisins and chocolate chips? No, keep it away from her. Raisins and chocolate are both toxic to cats, and even a small amount can be risky… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat chewed and swallowed several crushed pear pits — does her tiny size make this more dangerous? Yes, her small size significantly increases the risk. Pear pits contain amygdalin, which converts to cyanide… Dogs · Food safety My 5 kg terrier licked a tiny amount of garlic powder from a spilled spice jar — is that one lick an emergency? Probably not an immediate emergency, but you need to watch her closely. Garlic powder is concentrated, and… Cats · Food safety Is it okay to give my 4 kg indoor cat a few bites of plain cooked beef as a daily treat for months? It's safe protein, but doing it daily can unbalance her diet. Plain cooked lean beef is fine as an occasional… Dogs · Food safety My 7kg dog just ate a tablespoon of raw molasses within the last 20 minutes and is now panting—what should I do first? It’s not an emergency, but keep a close watch on him for the next hour. Molasses is very high in sugar and… Dogs · Food safety Is it safe for my 6 kg pregnant dog to eat a half cup of raw onion that she ate 20 minutes ago? No, this is dangerous and requires immediate veterinary attention. Onion, even raw, contains compounds that… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog gets a small slice of banana every morning with his breakfast, is this okay long-term? Yes, a daily slice is safe for a dog that size, but it's not ideal nutritionally. That much sugar adds up… Dogs · Food safety My 5 kg dachshund developed diarrhoea two hours after eating a few mustard seeds off the kitchen counter — is this just an intolerance or something worse? It's not just an intolerance — mustard seeds are toxic to dogs and that diarrhoea is your first warning sign.… Dogs · Food safety Can my 12 kg beagle safely lick honey straight from a raw comb with the wax cells still intact? Yes, in small amounts. The wax is indigestible but harmless — it passes right through. The real issue is… Dogs · Emergency guide My 4 kg Labrador puppy just ate three crushed pear pits — is this an emergency? Yes, this is an emergency. Pear pits contain amygdalin, which turns into cyanide when chewed, and a 4 kg… Dogs · Food safety My 6 kg dog vomited once after eating papaya with seeds — should I worry about the seeds? The vomiting is most likely from the seeds rather than the flesh, since papaya flesh itself is gentle on a… Cats · Emergency guide My 2 kg kitten was in a cupboard with naphthalene mothballs for an hour — what should I check for? Cats are extremely sensitive to naphthalene, and even fumes from mothballs can cause oxidative damage to red… Dogs · Food safety My 7 kg dog ate a treat that listed dried apricot and I'm worried about cyanide from the pit residue — what should I watch for? Commercial treats sometimes use whole dried apricot pieces that still contain small fragments of pit or… Dogs · Food safety My cat licked pet dental gel off the bathroom cabinet where I keep it — is this dangerous even in a small amount? Yes, if the gel contains xylitol, even a small lick can be problematic for a cat, though cats are less… Cats · Emergency guide Can a 2.5 kg Munchkin cat safely eat raw asparagus tips, or is cooked better for a cat that small? For a 2.5 kg cat, raw asparagus is not a good idea because the tough stems can pose a choking hazard or even… Dogs · Emergency guide I've been giving my 4 kg cat a small pecan half every day for weeks — she now has muscle tremors. Could the pecans be the cause? Yes, pecans can absolutely be the cause. They are high in fat, which can trigger pancreatitis in cats, and… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat has eaten a teaspoon of cooked eel with every meal for the past month — could this high fat cause long-term problems? Yes, daily is too much. That high fat stacks up over weeks — your cat may gain weight, develop pancreatitis… Cats · Food safety My 2 kg cat chewed a whole raw asparagus stem — is a cat that small at higher risk than a bigger one? It's the same asparagus — as it's not toxic to cats, her tiny size doesn't raise the poisoning risk. What… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat licked the bottom of my chia pudding bowl after breakfast — could the soaked seeds have been a problem for her small size? Soaked chia seeds are fine for cats, and a few from the bottom of a bowl won't hurt her. The danger is dry… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg terrier licked a coin-sized smear of zinc oxide diaper cream off the floor — should I treat this as an emergency even though she seems alert? Yes, treat this as an emergency. Zinc oxide is absorbed through the gut and destroys red blood cells, leading… Cats · Emergency guide What happens if my 3.5 kg cat eats half a pecan every week for six months, assuming it's fresh and not moldy? Even fresh pecans are not a good regular food for cats. They are extremely high in fat, and repeated exposure…

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