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

Poisoning questions, answered

Every question has a direct answer, a symptom checklist and clear next steps — plus a matching tool that estimates the real risk.

Prefer to run the tool?

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
Dogs · Food safety My 9 kg pregnant spaniel ate a few cubes of cooked taro off my plate — is this dangerous for her puppies? No, this won't hurt the puppies. The taro was cooked, which destroys those sharp calcium oxalate crystals… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat ate three chrysanthemum petals off the dining table while my other two cats watched — should I worry about the other cats getting exposed? Your cat needs a vet call now. Pyrethrins in chrysanthemums hit the same nerve sodium channels as permethrin… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg indoor cat snatched a piece of seasoned grilled chicken from a party buffet plate — is this an emergency? No, it's not an emergency, but watch for a mild stomach upset. The real risk with party chicken is the… Cats · Food safety For my 4.5 kg cat with a sensitive stomach, is plain cooked barley in a stew safer or riskier than oatmeal? Both are safe in small amounts, but barley can be gentler. Oatmeal often causes more gas in cats, while… Dogs · Emergency guide What's the risk if I accidentally put two extra drops of gentamicin ear medication in my 12 kg dog's ear every day for a week? That's a serious risk requiring an immediate vet call. Aminoglycoside antibiotics like gentamicin accumulate… Dogs · Food safety My 5 kg Chihuahua licked a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses — is that more dangerous for her than it would be for a 30 kg Labrador? Yes, her small size makes the same amount riskier. A teaspoon of molasses is a significant sugar and… Cats · Food safety My 3-month-old, 1.5 kg kitten ate one small piece of pitted cherry flesh — could this cause cyanide poisoning in a kitten? No, the flesh itself contains negligible cyanide; the risk is in the pit, stem, and leaves. For a kitten that… Cats · Food safety Can a few fresh rosemary leaves give my 4 kg cat with a history of food sensitivities diarrhoea or an allergic reaction? It's possible, though not common. Rosemary is safe in culinary amounts, but any new herb can irritate a… Dogs · Food safety Can an 8-week-old, 1.5 kg Chihuahua puppy safely eat a couple of frozen raspberries from the freezer? Yes — raspberries are safe for puppies, but this situation has two quirks worth noting. An 8-week-old has a… Cats · Food safety My 2.8 kg cat slipped a few mouthfuls of cornmeal that was left open on the counter for three days — is it safe to let her keep eating it? No. Plain cornmeal itself is safe for cats, but cornmeal left open on a counter for three days is a different… Cats · Food safety My 7 kg cat scavenged three crisps from my chicken curry bowl last night — should I be concerned? Not an emergency, but there's a reason to keep an eye on things. Those crisps absorbed curry oil and probably… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat gets a tablespoon of plain kefir every day — will this hurt her long-term? No, but this daily routine is unnecessary and could cause problems. A tablespoon is a large dairy serving for… Dogs · Food safety Can an 8-week-old, 2 kg puppy safely eat cooked crab meat that might have tiny shell fragments? Yes, that tiny amount is safe, but watch for shell splinters. A piece of crab meat the size of a pea is… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat ate a whole stick of sugar-free gum containing sorbitol — how much is too much and when will signs appear? A whole stick is too much for a 4 kg cat and warrants an urgent call. Sorbitol draws water into the… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg dog with chronic liver disease ate an extra heartworm pill an hour ago — does his condition make the overdose more dangerous? Yes, his liver disease significantly raises the risk. The liver processes these medications, and an already… Cats · Food safety For my 3 kg cat, is eating a small piece of tangerine peel worse than eating a piece of orange peel? No, both are equally risky due to the essential oils in the peel. Tangerine and orange peels contain similar… Cats · Food safety For my 5 kg cat, are plain cooked scallops safer or riskier than plain cooked shrimp as an occasional treat? They are equally safe when served plain and cooked. Both are low-fat protein sources that most cats tolerate… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog loves crunchy snacks — do any common dog treats or dental chews secretly contain chip-like ingredients like onion powder? Yes, some flavored dental sticks and jerky-style treats do contain onion or garlic powder for taste. Owners… Dogs · Food safety My 7 kg dog ate about a quarter cup of cooked quinoa and vomited once an hour later. What happens next? Vomiting is the likely reaction, not poisoning. Plain, rinsed quinoa is safe for dogs, but the sudden fiber… Dogs · Food safety My pregnant Shih Tzu (3rd trimester) just ate two large slices of raw cucumber — could this trigger contractions or is it safe for her right now? Safe. Cucumbers won't trigger contractions in a pregnant dog and pose no risk to her puppies. They're… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg rescue cat learned to open cupboard doors - how do I prevent her from getting into my turmeric powder, and is a pinch left in an open dish dangerous? Yes, lock it away. A small pinch in food is fine, but an open jar invites disaster - she'll knock it over and… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg cocker spaniel gets itchy after eating a few raw arugula leaves. Is this an allergy? Arugula is safe, but any food can cause an allergy in an individual dog. The itching, not poisoning, is the… Cats · Food safety How do I stop my 4 kg domestic shorthair from climbing onto the counter and finishing my glass of milk while I'm in the other room? Keep the milk out of reach — put it in the fridge or on a high shelf your cat can't jump to. Adult cats are… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog ate several bite-sized pieces of raw green onion an hour ago — what symptoms should I watch for over the next few days? Yes — this is toxic. Green onion belongs to the allium family and damages red blood cells, so the danger is… Dogs · Food safety My 7 kg nursing Border Collie ate a whole cooked garlic clove this morning — is this dangerous for her and her litter of five puppies? Yes, it is dangerous. Garlic destroys red blood cells and can cause hemolytic anemia, and because it is… Dogs · Food safety My 4 kg terrier snatched a piece of haddock coated in garlic butter from the Christmas buffet table — is that amount dangerous for a small dog like him? The haddock itself is safe for dogs when cooked plain, but the garlic butter coating changes things entirely.… Dogs · Emergency guide My pregnant 12 kg dog ate a THC brownie about an hour ago — does pregnancy change how I should handle this compared to a non-pregnant dog? The pregnancy itself does not change the immediate danger, but it does add an important layer: the THC can… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10-week-old puppy just ate a whole green block of rat poison I found in the shed — what do I do? This is an immediate emergency. Find the empty packaging now — the color and shape won't tell us the active… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg cat licked a teaspoon of sugar and now has diarrhoea and gas — is this an allergy? It's more likely a simple intolerance, not an allergy. Sugar has no nutritional value for cats and can draw… Cats · Food safety My 2-month-old, 1 kg kitten ate a tablespoon of plain cooked bulgur — is that okay for her tiny system? Yes, that small amount of plain cooked bulgur is safe. Her developing digestive system can handle a little…

Page 163 of 337

The library keeps growing. Can’t find your situation? Open the matching toxicity calculator and enter weight plus amount for an instant risk level.