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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.

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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 4.5 kg indoor cat keeps knocking strawberries off the counter — how do I keep him from getting to them? Strawberries are safe for your cat, but the real concern is where you keep them. Wash and slice, then store… Cats · Food safety Only my 3 kg cat ate a bite of cooked eel at dinner — is it safe for my other two cats to sniff or lick the plate afterward? The eel itself is fine for your eating cat if it was plain cooked and the portion was tiny. Fat is very high… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat swallowed a levothyroxine tablet hidden in a spoonful of tuna sauce an hour ago — what should I do? Yes, this is urgent. A single tablet can push a cat into acute hyperthyroidism: heart rate and body… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat gets a small mango chunk every day — could this cause gas, diarrhoea, or itchy skin over time? Mango flesh is safe in tiny pieces, but daily feeding may upset a sensitive stomach. The skin and pit contain… Dogs · Food safety My 6 kg Dachshund ate a smear of creamy peanut butter on a whole‑wheat cracker an hour ago — is that a problem? The main danger is xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is fatal to dogs. Check the label immediately and… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg dog chewed open a boric acid roach bait package and ate three pellets — how dangerous is this amount and what should I do first? This is an emergency. Three pellets can deliver a toxic dose to a dog of that size. Boric acid is corrosive… Cats · Food safety My 6 kg cat grabbed two raw asparagus stems off my cutting board while I was cooking — should I be worried about choking? It's safe — asparagus isn't toxic to cats, raw or cooked. The real issue is texture: raw stems are tough and… Cats · Food safety My 9‑kg adult cat ate two small bites of plain cooked turkey 45 minutes ago and now has a mild tremor—what signs should I expect and how long might they last? The plain cooked turkey isn’t toxic, so the tremor you’re seeing isn’t a typical turkey‑related sign. Cats… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat chewed a jade plant leaf and now has loose stools — is this just a sensitive stomach or something worse? That's not a sensitive stomach — it's the plant doing its job. Jade plant sap contains compounds that… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog licked corn syrup off a cupcake dropped at a party — could that cause stomach upset? Corn syrup is concentrated sugar, and a lick off a dropped cupcake is unlikely to cause serious harm in an 8… Cats · Food safety How can I stop my 5 kg indoor cat from finding raw potato peelings in the kitchen trash? Raw potato peelings and any green parts contain solanine, which is toxic to cats. Keep your trash can inside… Cats · Food safety My 2 kg cat had a lick of chocolate hazelnut spread — is this a stomach issue or something more serious? This is not a stomach issue — it's a chocolate poisoning risk. Even a lick of chocolate hazelnut spread… Cats · Food safety Only one of my two cats ate cooked pheasant — is it safe for the other cat who didn't touch it? Yes — cooked pheasant is safe for both cats, and the one who didn't eat it has zero risk from this incident.… Dogs · Food safety I gave my 12 kg beagle two whole boiled parsnips. Is that too much? Two whole boiled parsnips are a lot for a 12 kg beagle, but they won't poison him. Parsnip is safe — no toxic… Cats · Food safety My 2.8 kg cat licked one small bite of hot chocolate from my mug — is that an emergency? Yes — any amount of hot chocolate is an emergency for a cat this small. The theobromine in the chocolate is… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat licked the cap of a diphenhydramine eye drop bottle that has been open for six weeks — should I call the vet? Yes — call your vet or a poison line now. Diphenhydramine degrades when exposed to air and light, and the… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat drank a full bowl of water from a garden sprinkler during a BBQ party — what should I watch for? This is urgent — water intoxication can develop quickly when a cat drinks a large volume fast. Watch closely… Dogs · Food safety My 7 kg Labrador stole some roasted vegetables covered in olive oil from my plate — is he safe? He should be fine — olive oil itself is safe for dogs in small amounts, and the roasted vegetables are not a… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 12 kg dog ate two slices of homemade chocolate cake made with cocoa powder — how dangerous is this? This is an emergency — cocoa powder is far more concentrated in theobromine than milk chocolate, and two… Dogs · Food safety My 9-month-pregnant dog ate seven ripe mulberries from the garden — will it affect her puppies? She should be fine — ripe mulberries are safe for dogs in small numbers, and seven berries from the garden… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog with a sensitive stomach ate half a water-packed sardine — could this upset his belly? It might — even water-packed sardines are rich in omega-3 and protein, which can trigger loose stools or gas… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog grabbed a piece of seasoned, cooked turnip from my dinner plate — is the seasoning a problem? The seasoning is the real concern here — plain cooked turnip is safe for dogs, but garlic, onion, or heavy… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg cat chewed a small wedge of lime thinking it was lemon — are the peel oils in lime more dangerous than lemon oils for cats? Same problem, basically. Limes and lemons belong to the same citrus family, so the peel oils and acid do the… Cats · Food safety Which everyday cat treats and wet foods secretly contain cooked liver, and is a 5 kg senior cat at risk from vitamin A toxicity if she eats them daily? Liver hides in a lot of cat treats, especially the grain-free and freeze-dried varieties, and some wet foods… Dogs · Food safety My 6 kg Shih Tzu ate several tangerine peels while my other dog ignored them — is the peel-eater the one I need to watch? Yes, focus on the dog who ate the peels. Tangerine peel contains essential oils that can irritate a dog's… Cats · Food safety My cat keeps licking raw parsnip peels I drop on the kitchen floor — is that safer or worse than giving him cooked parsnip pieces? Raw parsnip peels are the riskier option. They contain higher concentrations of furocoumarins, which can… Dogs · Emergency guide My 3 kg Chihuahua licked dried oven cleaner residue off the kitchen floor — does his tiny size make this more dangerous than for a large dog? Yes, his small size makes this significantly more dangerous. Oven cleaner contains sodium hydroxide, a strong… Cats · Food safety Is ground flaxseed safer for my 5 kg cat than whole flaxseeds, and what's the actual difference between the two? Ground flaxseed is much safer and more useful for cats than whole seeds. Cats can't break down whole… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat knocked over my plate of pasta with salami slices mixed in and ate most of it — what should I watch for over the next day? Salami is very salty and fatty, often made with garlic, and pasta dough can be hard for cats to digest. Watch… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat ate half a plate of plain boiled noodles — my dog wouldn't touch them. Will my cat be okay? Yes — half a plate of plain boiled noodles is fine for a 5 kg cat. The danger with noodles isn't the pasta…

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