Suspect poisoning? US: ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · UK: 01202 509 000 · Severe symptoms → nearest emergency vet now.
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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
Cats · Food safety My 3.5 kg cat ate a few mustard seeds and the vet induced vomiting — what does recovery look like over the next 48 hours? Recovery depends on how much she absorbed. The vet likely gave activated charcoal to bind any remaining… Cats · Food safety My 3kg indoor cat keeps trying to eat a sliced nectarine I left on the kitchen counter for 15minutes while I cook; how can I prevent him from getting it? Store the nectarine where the 3kg cat can’t reach it, like in a sealed container inside a closed cabinet.… Cats · Emergency guide My 12-week-old, 1.5 kg kitten licked a pea-sized blob of alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel off the floor. Is this an emergency? Yes, call your vet or the ASPCA poison line (888-426-4435) now. A kitten's tiny body cannot handle even a… Dogs · Food safety How much maple syrup is too much for my 20 kg dog? He licked about a tablespoon off the kitchen counter. A tablespoon is too much for a 20 kg dog. That much pure sugar can cause a temporary spike in blood sugar… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat ate a bite of raw taro root 3 hours ago, and the vet gave her fluids. What should I watch for at home now? Watch for persistent drooling, pawing at her mouth, or any swelling around her lips and tongue — these are… Dogs · Food safety My 8-week-old, 2 kg puppy ate two small chives from the herb garden. Is his small size a bigger concern? Yes, his small size makes this more urgent. Even two chives contain enough allium compounds to damage a… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat with early-stage kidney disease licked a bit of cumin-seasoned roast chicken gravy. Is the cumin itself a problem? No, the tiny amount of cumin in gravy is not a problem. The real concern is the salt and fat in the gravy… Cats · Food safety My 6 kg cat ate a whole slice of deli ham and the vet gave anti-nausea medication. What does recovery at home look like? Recovery usually means a quiet cat and a normal appetite returning within 24 hours. The high salt can make… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog ate one chocolate chip cookie and the vet induced vomiting. What should I expect over the next 48 hours at home? Expect him to be tired from the medication and possibly have a sore throat from vomiting. Offer small sips of… Dogs · Food safety For my 10 kg dog, is one peeled lychee flesh safer or more dangerous than one grape? One peeled lychee is safer than one grape for a 10 kg dog. Grapes are unpredictably toxic and can cause… Cats · Food safety My 4.5 kg nursing queen just raided the berry bowl and ate six blackberries off the counter while I made her tea. Any risk to her or the kittens? Yes, safe for both her and the kittens. Blackberries pose no toxin risk, and cats are unlikely to be… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat swiped a spoonful of shelled hemp hearts off my husband's BBQ snack plate — should I worry? It's safe. The seeds themselves won't hurt your cat. Shelled hemp hearts are fine in small amounts; just keep… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat with a known heart murmur ate a small azalea leaf from a bouquet — is this more dangerous for her? Yes, this is a critical emergency for any cat, and her heart condition makes it worse. Azalea toxins slow the… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg terrier ate a lime wedge with peel, but my other 15 kg dog didn't touch it — how do I handle them separately? Focus on the terrier who ate it. Lime peel oils are irritating and can cause drooling, vomiting, or diarrhea… Cats · Food safety Is the same teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin safe for both my 3 kg kitten and my 7 kg adult cat? Yes, a teaspoon is a safe starting amount for cats of any size. Pumpkin is non-toxic and can help with mild… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg dog ate a piece of beer-battered fish — is the cooked beer in the batter still toxic? Yes, alcohol and hops remain toxic even after cooking. The amount in a bite of batter is likely small, but… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat ate a fallen pill — is tramadol more dangerous than her usual gabapentin if she overdoses? Yes, tramadol is far more dangerous in an overdose. Gabapentin overdose mainly causes severe sedation and… Cats · Food safety My 6 kg cat keeps stealing and chewing on bare corn cobs from the compost weekly — will this cause a blockage over time? Yes, this is a high-risk habit that could lead to a fatal intestinal blockage. Unlike dogs, cats are less… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat ate several chunks of dragon fruit with the pink skin 3 hours ago — when should I expect diarrhea or vomiting? If it's going to happen, you'd likely see signs within 6-12 hours. Dragon fruit flesh is safe, but the tough… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 3 kg, 10-week-old puppy just ate one single green grape I dropped — is this an emergency for his small size? Yes, treat this as an emergency and call your vet immediately. There is no known safe amount of grapes for… Dogs · Emergency guide I found 'ciprofloxacin hydrochloride' listed in my 20 kg dog's new joint supplement chews — is this safe for long-term use? No, this is not safe and you should stop giving the chews immediately. Ciprofloxacin is a potent prescription… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat gets a few small cubes of cooked rutabaga with her dinner every night — is this safe long-term? Yes, that's safe. Cooked rutabaga in small amounts is a non-toxic vegetable for cats. The main risk is that… Cats · Food safety Is it safe to give small pieces of grapefruit flesh to my 4 kg nursing queen who's feeding three kittens? Small pieces of the flesh alone are not poisonous, but there's no reason to offer it to a nursing cat. The… Cats · Emergency guide My cat ate a laundry detergent pod that was sitting in a bowl of leftover pasta sauce on the table — what should I do right now? This is an emergency. Laundry detergent pods contain highly concentrated surfactants and solvents that damage… Dogs · Emergency guide My 6 kg border collie slipped out into the garden at a BBQ and chewed on some wilting foxglove leaves from a border — what do I do? This is an emergency even if he looks fine right now. Foxglove contains digitoxin and digoxin — the same… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg indoor cat has been licking molasses out of an open jar on the kitchen counter for the past three months — what long-term problems could this cause? The biggest concern is the sugar content. Molasses is nearly pure sugar, and regular daily exposure in a 4 kg… Dogs · Food safety My 4 kg Shih Tzu got into a pack of crackers I'd tossed with smoked paprika and ate three — could the spice irritate his stomach? Yes, it could. Smoked paprika is far more pungent than sweet paprika, and the capsaicin-like compounds in it… Cats · Food safety Is it safe to give a few raspberries to my 2 kg miniature pinscher as a treat, or is her tiny size a problem? Her tiny size doesn't make raspberries dangerous — they're safe for cats and dogs regardless of weight. The… Cats · Food safety My 0.8kg kitten nibbled a raw turnip pea‑size piece 20 minutes ago and shows no signs yet, should I be worried? No, a single tiny raw turnip nibble isn’t an emergency for a 0.8kg kitten. Turnip isn’t toxic to cats, and… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10 kg dog with a sensitive stomach got a 25 mg diphenhydramine dose for itching and now has diarrhoea. Is it from the pill? Yes, diarrhoea can be a side effect, though it's less common than agitation or tremors. A sensitive stomach…

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