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

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
Dogs · Emergency guide How can I train my 10 kg dog to leave the raw dog food bowl alone when I turn my back in the kitchen? Training a solid "leave it" is crucial, but with raw food, physical management is your first line of defense.… Dogs · Emergency guide Is one 500mg paracetamol tablet a toxic dose for my 30 kg dog, or is his large size protective? Yes, one 500mg tablet is a toxic dose for a 30 kg dog and requires immediate veterinary care. While a larger… Dogs · Emergency guide My 5 kg dog just chewed open and ate about a quarter of a pet toothpaste tube — what are my first three steps in the next 30 minutes? First, secure the remaining tube and read the ingredient list — look specifically for xylitol. Second, call… Dogs · Toxicity calculator If both my 5 kg Chihuahua and my 40 kg German Shepherd lap from the same antifreeze puddle, is the small dog in more immediate danger? Yes, the 5 kg dog is in far more immediate and severe danger. The lethal dose is about 4–6 ml per kilogram of… Dogs · Emergency guide My 7 kg dog licked a single pump of hand sanitizer off his front paws 10 minutes ago — is one lick an emergency for a dog his size? Yes, you should treat this as an emergency and call your vet now. For a 7 kg dog, one pump contains a… Cats · Food safety Is a tablespoon of plain cooked turkey safe for my 3 kg cat, but risky for my friend's 8 kg cat with kidney disease? For your healthy 3 kg cat, a tablespoon of plain, skinless, unseasoned turkey is a safe occasional treat. For… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat ate two brine-cured olives an hour ago and seems fine — how long should I monitor her and what signs matter most? Monitor her closely for at least the next 12 hours. The main concerns are salt toxicity and dehydration.… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat chewed open a 25 mg diphenhydramine blister pack overnight — what signs mean he ate one? Yes, this is an urgent risk — call your vet or the ASPCA Poison Control line (888-426-4435) now. Cats often… Cats · Emergency guide My 2.8 kg cat licked a dab of super glue off the kitchen floor — is that more dangerous than if she'd licked white craft glue instead? Super glue is far more dangerous. Cyanoacrylate bonds skin instantly and can seal your cat's lips or eyelids… Dogs · Emergency guide My 7 kg Jack Russell swallowed one of my fluoxetine (Prozac) 20 mg capsules dissolved in his dinner gravy — is this more dangerous than a dry pill? Yes, dissolving the capsule in food speeds absorption. The drug reaches the bloodstream faster when it's… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg diabetic cat got into her insulin pen — is an insulin overdose more immediately dangerous than the same amount of metformin? Insulin is far more immediately dangerous. It drops blood glucose rapidly, and a cat that has taken too much… Dogs · Food safety Are commercial dried octopus chew treats safe for my 5 kg Shih Tzu, or is the rubbery texture a choking hazard even when sold as pet snacks? Dried octopus treats are a genuine choking risk, even when sold specifically as pet chews. The texture stays… Dogs · Food safety My 6 kg terrier keeps knocking over the agave syrup bottle on the counter — what's the most reliable way to prevent him from getting to it? The most reliable method is storage, not training. A food-motivated terrier will learn to target an open… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog ate three nutmeg cookies that were left out for a week and went stale — is the nutmeg still toxic or does going stale reduce the danger? The nutmeg is still toxic regardless of whether the cookies are stale. The compound that causes tremors… Cats · Food safety Should I train my 4 kg indoor cat to leave pickles alone, or is it easier to just store them somewhere she can't reach? Training is unnecessary for pickles. Cats are not naturally drawn to the sour, salty flavor profile, so the… Cats · Toxicity calculator Are zinc supplement chews for cats safe for my 4 kg senior cat with kidney disease? No, zinc supplement chews are not safe for cats with kidney disease. The kidneys are already struggling to… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog on heart medication ate a few cooked chives from my plate — is the risk higher for him? Yes, the risk is higher. Chives damage red blood cells, which reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen.… Dogs · Emergency guide What happens if I give my 12 kg dog a spoonful of the clear aloe vera gel from the leaf every day for a month? Daily aloe gel can cause ongoing digestive upset. Even the clear gel contains trace amounts of the irritating… Dogs · Emergency guide My 5 kg dog ate three raw potato plant leaves — is this more dangerous for her small size than for a large dog? Yes, her small size makes it much more dangerous. The toxic solanine dose is relative to body weight, so… Cats · Food safety How can I keep my two 5 kg cats from chewing on the raw endive in my vegetable garden? Use physical barriers and deterrents. A low wire mesh fence around the garden bed is the most reliable… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat snatched two Brazil nuts from the holiday nut bowl — what should I watch for in the next 48 hours? Watch for vomiting, diarrhoea, and lethargy. The high fat content can cause pancreatitis, which shows as a… Dogs · Food safety Only my 10 kg beagle ate a bowl of plain pasta while my other two dogs didn't — how do I handle this in a multi-dog home? First, check that the pasta was truly plain, with no garlic powder or pesto sauce hidden in the folds. If it… Dogs · Emergency guide My 25 kg dog ate a whole tube of ear ointment — is that worse than swallowing one antibiotic pill? Yes, a whole tube is more dangerous. The ointment likely contains a steroid, which can cause severe stomach… Dogs · Toxicity calculator How long after my 5 kg dog eats xylitol peanut butter will symptoms show, and what should I watch for in the first two hours? Symptoms can start within 30 minutes — and they can hit fast. Watch for vomiting, wobbliness, or sudden… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg golden retriever has been chewing kalanchoe leaves from my living room plant every day for three weeks — what heart damage could that cause? Yes — this pattern is dangerous. All parts of kalanchoe contain bufadiolide cardiac glycosides that weaken… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8-week-old, 1.8 kg puppy licked a dime-sized dab of my steroid cream off my bare forearm while I was sitting on the couch — how worried should I be? You should be concerned. Puppies have thin skin and a large surface-to-weight ratio, so even a tiny smear of… Dogs · Food safety At a backyard BBQ with ten guests, my 8 kg beagle stole three cooked mussels off a guest's plate before I noticed — will those mussels hurt him? Three cooked, shelled mussels are very unlikely to harm an 8 kg beagle. The flesh of cooked mussels is safe… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg Devon Rex cat got onto the counter and ate a generous lick of garlic-and-chive flavoured cream cheese — is that amount dangerous for a cat this small? That amount is a mild risk for a 3 kg cat, mainly because cream cheese is very fatty and the garlic-chive… Dogs · Emergency guide How do I keep my 20 kg Labrador from eating azalea bushes in the front garden? Azalea leaves are dangerously toxic — a few mouthfuls can drop his heart rate and blood pressure within an… Cats · Emergency guide How much zinc oxide cream is too much for a 4 kg cat — is a thin smear from my finger enough to worry about? Even a thin smear is enough to worry about. Zinc oxide cream is highly concentrated, and a 4 kg cat needs…

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