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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 · Food safety Is plain arugula safe for my 8 kg pregnant Labrador who's been eating a handful of raw leaves every day this week? Yes, plain arugula is safe for a pregnant dog in small amounts. The leaves are nutritionally fine and won't… Dogs · Food safety My 10 kg dog ate a bowl of cumin-spiced lamb stew that was left on the counter overnight — he's acting normal now. Should I still monitor him? He's likely fine. Cumin itself is safe for dogs in the tiny amounts found in cooked food, and a one-time… Dogs · Food safety Can my 12 kg diabetic dog eat soaked chia seeds mixed into his wet food every day? Yes, soaked chia seeds are safe for a diabetic dog when given in moderation. The fibre in chia can actually… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg indoor cat ate a few spoonfuls of mashed sweet potato left on the counter overnight with a fuzzy green spot on top — is the mould dangerous? The sweet potato itself is safe for cats, but the mould growing on it overnight is the real concern. Moulds… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg indoor cat licked about a teaspoon of fresh gasoline off my workshop floor two hours ago — should I rush to the vet now or wait for symptoms? Go now — a teaspoon is already past the safe zone for a 3.5 kg cat. Gasoline sits in the stomach, and if she… Cats · Emergency guide At a holiday party, my 5 kg cat licked a spilled laundry pod liquid off the laundry room floor. Guests were distracted. What do I do now? Rinse her mouth gently with lukewarm water right away, using a syringe or a soaked cloth. Party spills often… Cats · Emergency guide My 6 kg pregnant cat came inside with ice melt on her paws and licked them clean. Is salt poisoning more dangerous for her and the litter? Yes, the risk is higher. Pregnancy increases her body's demand for stable fluid and electrolyte balance… Cats · Food safety Only one of my three 4 kg cats ate a large portion of plain cooked rice from my plate. The other two didn't touch it. How should I handle this at home? Plain rice is safe, so just monitor the one who ate it. A sudden large meal of carbs might cause a soft stool… Cats · Food safety My 1.2 kg, 12-week-old kitten ate about five unsweetened dried cranberries. Is his tiny size a concern? A few berries are safe, but his small size means even a little can cause a tummy upset. Dried fruit is… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat stole and ate several raw jicama sticks from the counter, but my dog didn't get any. Do I need to worry about the cat or keep them separate? No need to separate them—peeled, raw jicama is safe for cats. The main risk was if she ate the skin or seeds… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat is a scavenger — how do I train him to leave a dropped corn cob alone? Yes, this is a high-risk item and training is critical. The cob's hard, fibrous pieces can cause a full… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10 kg dog ate a slice of raisin bread from a bakery box left open on the counter. How dangerous is this and what do I do right now? This is dangerous. The toxin in raisins and grapes is still unknown, but it can cause rapid and severe kidney… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat chewed one peace lily leaf and is now drooling heavily and pawing at her mouth. How much of the plant is too much? One leaf is enough to cause a painful reaction. Peace lily contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that… Cats · Emergency guide My 2.5 kg, 10-week-old kitten ate two sprouted potato eyes from the compost bin an hour ago and is now vomiting. What should I do? This is an emergency for a kitten that small. Sprouted potato eyes contain solanine glycoalkaloids, which are… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg senior cat snatched a slice of deli ham from the counter at a dinner party and it had been sitting out for about 2 hours. Is this safe? Two hours on the counter makes this risky. Deli ham is very high in salt and preservatives, and at room… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg dog ate a cooked scallop that had been left out overnight on the dinner plate. Should I worry about spoilage? Yes, spoilage is the main concern here. Cooked scallops left out overnight can harbor bacteria that cause… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg senior cat licked just one amlodipine tablet left on the kitchen counter — is that a tiny bite emergency? Yes, that is an emergency. Even one tablet of a calcium channel blocker like amlodipine can cause dangerous… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog ate three autumn crocus corms yesterday and is now home from the vet — what should I monitor over the next 48 hours? Keep a very close watch for the next two to three days. Autumn crocus contains colchicine, which damages the… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat knocked over a bag of blood meal fertilizer at a backyard BBQ and ate about eight pellets before I noticed — should I rush her to the vet? Yes, take her to the vet now. Blood meal fertiliser smells like food to dogs and cats, and eight pellets… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat stole two chunks of fresh pineapple from a party platter and ate them within ten minutes — is that amount safe for her? Probably, but watch her closely. Fresh pineapple flesh is safe in small amounts for cats — the main risks are… Cats · Food safety My 4.2 kg pregnant cat ate half a kumquat including the peel an hour ago — will the citrus oils harm her or the kittens? It is unlikely to cause serious harm, but it is not risk-free either. Kumquat peel contains citrus essential… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg Labrador ate a pea-sized blob of calcipotriene psoriasis cream 36 hours ago and now has runny diarrhoea — is this just a stomach upset or poisoning? This is likely the start of vitamin D poisoning, not a simple upset. Diarrhoea and vomiting are often the… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 3 kg, 10-week-old puppy just ate a 2000 IU vitamin D3 chewable pill meant for humans — is this more dangerous for a tiny puppy? Extremely dangerous. A puppy's small body weight means the dose per kilogram is huge, and their developing… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg dog with a heart murmur licked a cane toad 5 minutes ago and is now foaming at the mouth — does his heart condition make this more serious? Absolutely. The toad's toxins directly affect heart rate and rhythm, which is far more dangerous for a dog… Cats · Food safety Only one of my two 4 kg cats ate a tablespoon of plain sesame seeds spilled on the floor — how do I handle her and my other cat? Sesame seeds themselves are safe, so focus on the one who ate them. A tablespoon is a lot of roughage for a… Cats · Food safety My 1 kg, 8-week-old kitten licked a tiny dab of garlic mayonnaise off my finger — is this risky for a kitten so small? Yes, even a tiny amount is riskier for a kitten. Their bodies are tiny, so the dose of garlic relative to… Cats · Food safety My 7 kg dog with a sensitive stomach ate a pat of butter and now has diarrhoea 8 hours later — is this just his usual upset or something worse? This is almost certainly a reaction to the high fat. A whole pat is a significant load for a 7 kg dog… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat with kidney disease walked on a floor mopped with ammonia cleaner an hour ago. What's the risk? This is an urgent risk. Ammonia residue on paws gets into the mouth when cats groom, burning the mouth and… Dogs · Emergency guide Can a small breed dog eat raw, uncooked laundry detergent powder if they get into the box? No, laundry detergent powder is extremely dangerous. The raw powder contains strong alkaline agents that… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg senior cat with chronic kidney disease nibbled a hyacinth bulb — is she at higher risk? Yes, the risk is significantly higher. Hyacinth toxins directly target the kidneys, and a cat with…

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