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
Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog licked raw gasoline off a rag in the garage 45 minutes ago and now seems wobbly — is this worse than if he'd lapped up a puddle? Yes, this is an emergency — call the ASPCA poison line at 888-426-4435 or your vet now. Raw gasoline on a rag… Dogs · Emergency guide My 3-month-old, 4 kg puppy chewed and swallowed two pieces of sugar-free gum with sorbitol — is his developing system at extra risk? Yes, call your vet. Puppies are more vulnerable to dehydration from the explosive diarrhea sorbitol causes… Dogs · Food safety Can my 8-week-old, 2 kg puppy safely eat one ripe gooseberry from the garden? Yes, one ripe berry is safe, but watch him closely. Puppies have sensitive stomachs, and the natural acidity… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg dog received naloxone for a tramadol overdose at the vet yesterday — how long do I monitor him at home and what does recovery look like? Monitor closely for at least 24-48 hours after returning home. The antidote naloxone works fast but wears off… Dogs · Emergency guide Could leftover mashed potatoes with green potato skin mixed in cause poisoning in my 8 kg dog? Yes, that's a risk. The toxic solanine is concentrated in green skin and sprouts, and mashing hides both the… Dogs · Emergency guide My 4 kg Pomeranian swallowed a button battery — is the risk higher for her than for my neighbor's 30 kg Labrador? Yes, the risk is dramatically higher for a small dog. The battery is the same size, but her esophagus and… Dogs · Emergency guide Can a single prenatal vitamin give my 15 kg dog with a sensitive stomach diarrhoea without causing full poisoning? Yes, diarrhoea or an upset stomach is a common first reaction, even from one pill. The iron is directly… Dogs · Food safety Can my 20 kg pregnant dog have a few slices of fresh, pitted peach as a treat? Yes, a few small slices of the flesh are safe. The main risks are the pit and overfeeding. Ensure every piece… Dogs · Food safety My 3-month-old, 2 kg puppy ate a couple of coriander seeds he found on the kitchen floor — is that okay? Yes, a couple of seeds are safe. Coriander itself isn't toxic to dogs. The concern with puppies is their tiny… Dogs · Food safety Which is riskier for my 7 kg dog: a few pomegranate arils or a bite of persimmon fruit? A bite of persimmon is riskier. Both fruits have risks, but persimmon flesh contains soluble tannins that can… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg cat ate a teaspoon of raw chopped shallot — is this more dangerous for her than for a larger cat? Yes, her small size makes it significantly more dangerous. Shallots are more concentrated than onions, so… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog licks a pea-sized dab of my steroid cream off my bare arm almost every morning — what damage could this cause over weeks? Yes, that repeated dose is dangerous. Even a pea-sized dab adds up over weeks, and it is the cumulative… Dogs · Emergency guide My 20 kg dog licked a tablespoon of clear liquid off the floor — is 70% isopropyl alcohol worse for him than ethanol-based hand sanitizer gel? Yes, isopropyl alcohol is generally more toxic. Both are dangerous, but isopropyl alcohol is metabolized to… Dogs · Emergency guide My 18 kg dog licked a plate clean that had raw pizza dough sauce and a few bits of dough stuck to it — is that enough to cause bloat or alcohol poisoning? Yes, even small amounts can be risky. The raw yeast in the sauce and dough bits will continue fermenting in… Dogs · Food safety My 30 kg Labrador just ate about 10 grilled shrimp tails with garlic butter and shells in under a minute — what's the first thing I should do right now? First, check his mouth for any sharp shell fragments stuck in his gums or roof of the mouth — that's a… Cats · Food safety My 3.5 kg cat licked the inside of a chocolate protein bar wrapper for about 30 seconds — could the tiny residue of xylitol or chocolate hurt her? Yes, even tiny residues are a concern. Xylitol is extremely toxic to cats, and a few licks of chocolate… Cats · Food safety For my 6 kg cat with occasional itchy skin, is a few chunks of ripe papaya safer to try than mango, or are both equally likely to cause an allergic reaction? Papaya is generally the safer first choice. Both fruits are safe for cats, but mango skin and pit contain… Dogs · Toxicity calculator Do any commercial dog treats or supplements secretly contain antifreeze ingredients? No, reputable dog products do not contain ethylene glycol antifreeze. The hidden risk is from human foods… Cats · Food safety How much raw carrot is safe for my 4 kg cat to eat as a treat? Can a whole baby carrot cause a blockage? A few thin slices or one small stick is plenty. A whole baby carrot is unlikely to cause an intestinal… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg cat licked the roasting pan just once after we cooked a goose. She only got a tiny bit of fat and juice. Should I panic? No, don't panic. A single lick of residual fat and juices is very unlikely to cause harm. The concern with… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat has been licking a small smear of ibuprofen gel off my knee every day for two weeks — what long-term damage could this cause? This is a serious emergency. Daily ingestion of even tiny amounts of ibuprofen can cause cumulative kidney… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog ate a few chunks of cooked quince from the holiday stew pot — are the cooked seeds inside the chunks safe? The cooked flesh is safe in small amounts, but the seeds are not. Quince seeds contain cyanogenic compounds… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog with a heart condition ate some roast chicken seasoned with fresh rosemary — is rosemary safe for dogs on cardiac medication? Yes, the small amount used in cooking is safe. Rosemary is a common pet food preservative and is not toxic in… Dogs · Emergency guide My 22 kg pregnant dog ate 4 moldy pecans from the garden — will this affect her puppies? Yes, this is urgent. The mold on pecans produces toxins that can cause seizures, and a pregnant dog's stress… Cats · Toxicity calculator My 4.5 kg cat got into an open tin of dark chocolate-covered coffee beans and ate about 15 grams — is this an emergency? Yes — this is an emergency. Dark chocolate-covered coffee beans are a hidden-source chocolate exposure: the… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat chewed a chrysanthemum petal two days ago and drooled that evening — what should I expect during recovery and when can I stop worrying? Most mild chrysanthemum exposures like this resolve on their own within 12 to 24 hours, but it's smart to… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.8 kg senior cat ate half a sertraline pill that fell into her wet food bowl this morning — should I rush her to the vet even if she seems fine? Yes — call your vet or the ASPCA poison line at 888-426-4435 now. SSRIs like sertraline have a narrow safety… Dogs · Emergency guide My 7 kg beagle just chewed an oleander leaf in the garden 10 minutes ago — what should I do right now before getting to the vet? This is an emergency — cardiac glycoside poisoning from oleander can kill within hours, and you should not… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat ate four raw watercress leaves yesterday and has had loose stools ever since — is this from the watercress or something else? It's very likely the watercress. Even though it's a safe food for cats, the fibrous leaves can irritate a… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg nursing cat ate three unsalted peanuts about an hour ago — could the fat content harm her milk production or her kittens? Three unsalted peanuts are very unlikely to harm her or her kittens. The main concern with peanuts is the…

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