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 · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat ate a slice of fresh pear and had diarrhoea the next day — could the fruit cause that? Yes, the pear flesh itself can cause diarrhoea, especially in a cat with a sensitive stomach. While the fruit… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg dog with a heart murmur got one paw stuck in a glue trap — does his condition make this more urgent? Yes, his heart condition makes this significantly more urgent. The panic and stress of being trapped can… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg cat just ate a whole stick of sugar-free gum with sorbitol 10 minutes ago — what's the first thing I should do? First, check the gum wrapper for the exact ingredients and note the time. Do not try to make your cat vomit … Dogs · Emergency guide Only my 8 kg terrier licked a cane toad in the yard and is now drooling; my other dog didn't. What do I do for both? Focus on the terrier first — this is an emergency. Using a damp cloth, wipe inside his mouth and gums… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat ate about a tablespoon of unsweetened dried cranberries — when would diarrhoea start and how long could it last? Diarrhoea from this amount of fibre and sugar could start within 6 to 12 hours, but some cats might not react… Dogs · Food safety My 15‑week‑old German shepherd puppy chewed tomato plant stems and leaves an hour ago — is this dangerous? Yes — green parts of the tomato plant, including stems, leaves, and unripe fruit, contain solanine, which is… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat chewed off and swallowed a 2-inch piece of a pothos leaf — how much plant material starts to cause serious mouth swelling? Any amount can cause immediate pain. The insoluble calcium oxalate crystals are released with the first bite… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg senior cat licked up a pea-sized blob of whitening fluoride gel toothpaste, not the regular paste — is the gel form more dangerous? Yes, all fluoride toothpaste is dangerous, and gels can be more concentrated. That small amount is enough to… Cats · Emergency guide In my three-cat home, only my 4 kg diabetic cat chewed an insulin pen — how do I manage the other two cats who didn't touch it? Your diabetic cat needs immediate veterinary care for hypoglycemia risk. For the others, the main task is… Dogs · Emergency guide Only my 8 kg schnauzer ate two naphthalene mothballs from a closet; my other 25 kg dog didn't touch them. How do I handle both dogs and clean the house? Your schnauzer needs to see a vet immediately — naphthalene causes red blood cell damage and seizures. Bring… Dogs · Food safety How many shelled hemp hearts can I safely give my 15 kg dog as a daily supplement, and what happens if he eats a whole 100-gram bag at once? A teaspoon sprinkled on food a few times a week is a safe amount for a dog that size. The hemp hearts… Dogs · Food safety Is one small piece of store-bought teriyaki beef jerky safe for my 18 kg pregnant dog in her final trimester, or should I avoid it completely? Avoid it completely. That jerky is very salty and almost certainly contains onion or garlic powder, which can… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg terrier has been eating a small chunk of anticoagulant rodenticide bait every day for two weeks. What will happen? Yes, this is an immediate veterinary emergency. Repeated daily doses cause the poison to build up in your… Cats · Emergency guide If my 5 kg cat licked boric acid powder 20 minutes ago, what symptoms will appear and when? The first signs usually appear within 1-2 hours. Watch for excessive drooling, repeated swallowing, and… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat just groomed lily pollen off her chest — what's the first thing I should do in the next 30 minutes? Call an emergency vet now. Even pollen groomed off fur can cause fatal kidney failure in cats, and her small… Cats · Emergency guide What happens if my 4 kg cat chews a little snake plant leaf every day for a month? Repeated exposure will cause ongoing oral irritation, leading to inflamed gums, chronic drooling, and a sore… Cats · Food safety Which common cat food products or supplements might secretly contain crab as an ingredient? Check the labels of seafood-flavored wet foods, broths, and lickable treats — crab is often listed as "crab… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat just ate a few bites of kale that were sautéed with garlic — what steps should I take in the next hour? The kale itself is safe, but garlic is toxic to cats. Remove any remaining food and note roughly how much… Cats · Food safety My 6 kg senior cat ate a spoonful of cottage cheese that was left out overnight and now has blue mold on it — what now? Watch her closely for vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of appetite over the next 24 hours. Mold can produce toxins… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat ate a whole daffodil bulb and is now vomiting — what do I do in the next hour? Yes, this is an emergency. Do not try to make her vomit again, as the bulb fragments can tear her throat on… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10 kg dog ate a 10 mg baclofen pill and now has diarrhea — is this just a stomach upset or something worse? Diarrhea is the least of your worries — baclofen is a severe neurotoxin for dogs. A 10 mg pill is a massive… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat with chronic kidney disease licked diclofenac pain cream off my arm — does her condition make this more urgent? Yes, her kidney disease makes this critically urgent. NSAIDs like diclofenac are directly toxic to the… Dogs · Emergency guide My 20 kg dog walked on ice melt and rock salt — which is worse for his paws and if he licks them? Ice melt is often worse. Many ice melts contain calcium chloride, which is exothermic — it burns paw pads on… Dogs · Food safety Can I give a teaspoon of plain yogurt to my 8-week-old, 2 kg puppy for his sensitive stomach? Yes, a tiny amount like a teaspoon is generally safe, but introduce it slowly. His digestive system is still… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg dog gets gas from broccoli — are Brussels sprouts better or worse for causing stomach upset? They're about the same. Both are cruciferous vegetables containing similar complex sugars that ferment in the… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg cat had diarrhea after eating a few bites of plain cooked cod — is this a common allergy or just intolerance? It's more likely a simple intolerance or that the fish was too rich too quickly. True fish allergies in cats… Dogs · Emergency guide My 5 kg, 4-month-old puppy ate a piece of cooked pork rib from our dinner plate two hours ago and won't stop gagging — should I rush to the vet? Yes — rush to an emergency vet now. Cooked bones shatter into sharp fragments that can lodge in a puppy's… Dogs · Emergency guide My 9 kg spaniel just swallowed one of my 20 mg fluoxetine (Prozac) capsules off the bathroom floor about an hour ago — what should I do right now? Call your vet or the ASPCA poison line at 888-426-4435 immediately — one 20 mg capsule can be a significant… Cats · Toxicity calculator My 4 kg domestic shorthair licked a shallow bowl where I'd mixed crushed zinc supplement powder into beef stew — could that amount actually harm her? Yes — even a small amount of zinc supplement powder mixed into wet food can be enough to toxicify a 4 kg cat.… Dogs · Food safety My 5 kg Chihuahua just ate a raw rutabaga peel while I was cutting vegetables and is now throwing up — should I be worried? Rutabaga itself is safe for dogs, but the peel is tough and fibrous, and a 5 kg Chihuahua's small stomach can…

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