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 · Food safety My 5.2 kg cat with chronic kidney disease ate two cooked plain Brussels sprouts — are those safe for her condition, or could the phosphorus bother her kidneys? Two plain cooked Brussels sprouts are very unlikely to cause harm to her kidneys, but the phosphorus content… Cats · Emergency guide My 6 kg pregnant cat ate some moldy garden compost this morning — is the risk to her and her unborn kittens higher than to a regular cat? Yes, the moldy compost is doubly risky for a pregnant cat. The mould produces tremorgenic mycotoxins that can… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg indoor cat just ate some of my leftover pasta that had lily petals and pollen in the sauce — is this an emergency even though it was cooked? Yes, this is an emergency regardless of whether the pasta was cooked. All parts of true lilies — petals… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog with a history of vomiting was bitten on the front leg by a snake on a hike — will his sensitive stomach make the venom worse? His sensitive stomach does not make the venom itself stronger, but it does add one more thing to worry about.… Cats · Food safety Is a pinch of plain cinnamon powder more dangerous for my 2.5 kg kitten than cinnamon baked into a slightly burnt roll? Plain cinnamon powder is more concentrated and therefore more likely to irritate a kitten's mouth and… Cats · Food safety My 3 kg kitten ate a slice of ripe guava with several hard seeds an hour ago — when should I expect symptoms and what should I watch for? The ripe flesh itself is safe for cats, but those hard seeds can upset a sensitive stomach. You should watch… Cats · Food safety My 8-year-old cat got greasy diarrhoea after a tablespoon of coconut oil — how long should I monitor her and when is it safe to stop worrying? Coconut oil in large amounts commonly causes greasy diarrhoea because cats lack the enzymes to break down… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 3.5 kg Pomeranian licked the edge of a penny — do I need to take him to the vet or watch at home? Call your vet today. A lick of the penny edge transfers only a small amount of zinc, but in a 3.5 kg dog even… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 7 kg terrier lapped up the last spoonful of onion soup broth that had onion pieces settled at the bottom — is this an emergency? Call your vet — this isn't a call-the-ambulance-now situation, but it does need professional advice. Onion… Dogs · Emergency guide Can ibuprofen give a 6 kg dog diarrhoea rather than full poisoning symptoms? It can — but that does not mean it is safe. A single 200 mg tablet delivers roughly 33 mg/kg to a 6 kg dog… Cats · Emergency guide Are commercial dog muscle-relaxant supplements containing baclofen safe for a 10 kg dog? No supplement containing baclofen is safe for a dog. Baclofen is a prescription human muscle relaxant, not an… Cats · Emergency guide My 3 kg cat ate one avocado pit while my other two cats did not — is she still the one I should worry about? Yes — the 3 kg cat is the one in real danger. A whole pit is a blockage risk for any cat, and at 3 kg the… Dogs · Emergency guide Is a quarter of a 2.5 mg amlodipine tablet dangerous for my 0.8 kg, 10-week-old kitten? Yes — this is a life-threatening dose for a kitten that small. A quarter of a 2.5 mg tablet is about 0.625… Cats · Food safety Is cooked liver more dangerous for my 7 kg dog's long-term health than chicken breast fed in the same amounts? Liver is far riskier than chicken breast for long-term feeding. Chicken breast is lean protein with very… Cats · Food safety Is garlic oil safer for my 4 kg cat than pesto, since pesto has extra pine nuts and cheese? No — garlic oil is not safer. Pesto contains garlic as its base, and garlic is toxic to cats regardless of… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg cat ate a piece of cooked chicken bone and now has gas and loose stool — is this just indigestion? No, this is not just indigestion. Cooked bones become brittle and splinter into sharp fragments that can… Dogs · Emergency guide My 12 kg Labrador ate a chrysanthemum-flavored dental chew — is this safe or will it make him sick? It is not safe. Chrysanthemums contain pyrethrins, which affect nerve sodium channels and can cause drooling… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog ate 2 grapes that were sitting on the kitchen table while I turned away for a minute — what should I do? Call your vet or the ASPCA poison line at 888-426-4435 immediately. There is no known safe amount of grapes… Dogs · Food safety My 10 kg diabetic dog is on medication — can I still give him plain pumpkin seeds as a treat? Yes, plain unsalted pumpkin seeds are safe for diabetic dogs and will not interfere with most common… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg dog ate cooked pheasant that was left out overnight — is this still safe for him? No, cooked pheasant that has been left out overnight is not safe for dogs. Bacteria such as Salmonella and… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 12 kg spaniel started running diarrhoea 4 hours after chewing a 200 mg ibuprofen tablet — is that just a sensitive stomach or something worse? It could be either, but with ibuprofen you can't safely assume the gentle kind. A single 200 mg tablet is… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat with chronic kidney disease licked a walnut-sized smear of alcohol hand sanitiser gel — is her condition making this more dangerous? Yes. Her compromised kidneys cannot clear the alcohol as efficiently as a healthy cat would, so even a small… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10 kg dog with a history of sensitive stomach chewed one corner of a snake plant leaf about an hour ago — will this trigger more than just an upset tummy? It will likely do more than a routine tummy upset. Snake plant contains saponins, natural soap-like compounds… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg schnauzer ate one naphthalene mothball yesterday and the vet treated him — what specific signs should I watch for at home over the next 48 hours? Anaemia from naphthalene can develop slowly over days, so even though he seems fine now, you need to keep a… Cats · Food safety Only my 4 kg cat swallowed one strand of cooked chive from my pasta — the other cats didn't touch it. How dangerous is a single strand for her? Even one strand is dangerous. Chives belong to the allium family, the same group as onions and garlic, and… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat with diabetes ate one tablespoon of plain cooked buckwheat from my plate — is the starch in buckwheat a problem for her blood sugar? The starch in buckwheat will raise her blood glucose, and for a diabetic cat that matters. One tablespoon is… Cats · Food safety I have been giving my 3.5 kg cat two ripe gooseberries every day for a month — is the acidity causing slow damage to her stomach or teeth? Two ripe gooseberries a day is low enough that serious toxicity is unlikely, but the chronic acidity could be… Dogs · Emergency guide Are dog treats with autumn crocus safe for a 20 lb dog? No, autumn crocus is highly toxic to dogs. Even small amounts can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and organ… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg senior cat chewed a jade plant leaf that was sitting in a shallow dish of water — is that different from a dry leaf? The wet leaf is arguably worse because the plant's cardiac glycosides leach into water, making the liquid… Dogs · Emergency guide My 6 kg dog licked boric acid roach bait that fell into my chicken soup — he ate the whole bowl. What happens next? This is an emergency. Boric acid is corrosive to the gut lining, and a 6 kg dog eating an entire bowl of…

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