Suspect poisoning? US: ASPCA Poison Control (888) 426-4435 · UK: 01202 509 000 · Severe symptoms → nearest emergency vet now.

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

All pets Dogs Cats

Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg beagle ate some beef stew that had a splash of household bleach in it 45 minutes ago — what signs should I watch for right now? This is an emergency. Household bleach is usually a mild irritant, but if it got into your dog's stew, she… Cats · Emergency guide Are commercial cat treats containing iron powder from hand warmers safe for a 3.5 kg senior cat? No, these treats are unsafe. Hand warmers contain iron powder mixed with salt, activated charcoal, and… Dogs · Emergency guide How long should I monitor my 10 kg dog after he vomited laundry detergent powder 2 hours ago? Monitor your dog for at least 24 hours after ingestion. Vomiting within the first two hours is actually a… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat licked sugar-free yogurt with sorbitol off the kitchen floor 30 minutes ago — what should I expect? Expect explosive diarrhea within the next few hours. Sorbitol draws water into the intestines through… Dogs · Food safety Are dog treats with soy sauce safe for a 5 kg Shih Tzu? Most commercial dog treats with soy sauce are safe in moderation, but the high salt content is a concern. A 5… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg dog swallowed a button battery from a bowl of leftover soup 20 minutes ago — should I take him straight to the vet? Yes — go now. A button battery stuck in the oesophagus starts burning within minutes, and the wet, salty… Cats · Food safety My 2.8 kg kitten just ate a handful of raw unshelled hemp seeds off the kitchen counter — is this an emergency? No, this is not an emergency. Shelled hemp hearts are safe for cats in small amounts, and a handful of… Dogs · Emergency guide Are dog treats containing green potato skins safe for my 5 kg dog who ate two bites? No, they are not safe. Green potato skins contain solanine, a bitter toxin that irritates the gut and can… Cats · Emergency guide My 6 kg cat with chronic kidney disease just licked a puddle of rum off a dessert plate — how much worse is the ethanol risk for a cat with failing kidneys? Yes, significantly worse. A cat with kidney disease cannot clear ethanol or its toxic metabolites… Dogs · Emergency guide How do I keep my 10 kg dog from getting into the levothyroxine tablets I keep on the bathroom counter, and is a locked cabinet really necessary? Yes — a locked cabinet is the only reliable barrier. Levothyroxine tablets look like candy to a dog, and one… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg pregnant cat just ate a thin slice of banana — is the sugar in banana dangerous for her and her unborn kittens, or is one small piece harmless? One thin slice is fine. Bananas are safe for cats in moderation — the sugar content is not high enough in a… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg cat just swallowed a whole stick of sugar-free gum with the wrapper still on about ten minutes ago — what should I do right this moment? Do not try to induce vomiting at home. Sorbitol in sugar-free gum causes rapid and severe diarrhea, and the… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg dog chewed one single azalea leaf from my porch pot about fifteen minutes ago and is not drooling — should I still take him to the vet urgently? Yes, call the vet now even though only one leaf was involved and he looks fine. Azalea contains… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg beagle just ate a cooked artichoke heart and a chunk of the stem about five minutes ago while I was darning socks on the sofa — is this an emergency? No emergency, but watch him closely for the next hour. Cooked artichoke hearts are safe for dogs in small… Cats · Food safety My 4.5 kg cat knocked over a jar of garlic powder and ate a heaping tablespoon mixed into her dinner chicken two hours ago — when will the damage show? The damage does not show right away. Garlic destroys red blood cells gradually, and the classic signs of… Dogs · Food safety My 10 kg dog snatched a piece of garlic bread off the BBQ plate at a family gathering while everyone was distracted — is one bite dangerous? One bite is unlikely to be fatal, but garlic is toxic to dogs and this should not be ignored. A single small… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg nursing cat with three kittens ate half a pseudoephedrine tablet an hour ago — is it safe to keep nursing? No — it is not safe to keep her nursing. A 4 kg cat taking half a pseudoephedrine tablet is already in… Dogs · Emergency guide My 5 kg dog just chewed two flea pills and is already trembling — what should I do right now? Call your vet or the ASPCA poison line (888-426-4435) now. Do not wait for the tremors to get worse. Bring… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat licked paint thinner puddle from the coffee table at a dinner party — is she at risk from chemical pneumonitis? Yes — this is life-threatening. Paint thinner is a low-viscosity petroleum distillate that causes chemical… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg German Shepherd chewed roasted castor bean seeds from the garden — is cooking them safe for him? No, cooking does not make castor beans safe. Ricin, the toxin in castor beans, is heat-stable — roasting or… Dogs · Food safety Can a 7 month old Golden Retriever puppy eat a whole rambutan including the skin? No — the flesh is fine in small amounts but the spiky skin is a choking and obstruction hazard, especially… Dogs · Food safety My 5 kg indoor cat ate blueberries from a bowl on the coffee table while our dog was in the other room — is this safe for her? Yes, blueberries are safe for cats in moderation. Wash them first to remove pesticide residue, and offer them… Cats · Food safety My 20 kg German Shepherd ate five whole raw carrot sticks off the kitchen floor after our evening walk — is that too much? Five raw carrot sticks is a lot for one sitting, but not likely dangerous for a 20 kg dog. Carrots are safe… Cats · Emergency guide My 7 kg cat slipped onto an old, less-adhesive glue trap in the garage — is this still dangerous, or does the weaker glue make it safe? Still dangerous. Weak glue does not mean safe glue — your cat can still panic, chew at its paws, and ingest… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat ate a handful of butter-roasted pecans left on the coffee table during a dinner party — what should I do? Call your vet or the ASPCA poison line (888-426-4435) now. A handful is a large amount, and pecans carry… Cats · Emergency guide My 5 kg cat licked dog flea treatment off the sofa 40 minutes ago, but my 10 kg cat didn't touch it — is the smaller cat at higher risk? Yes, the smaller cat is at higher risk. Dog flea treatments often contain pyrethrins or permethrins … Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg cat swallowed a birth control pill wrapped in cheese that fell on the kitchen floor — what delayed risks should I monitor over the next few weeks? You should monitor for delayed bone-marrow suppression. Most oral contraceptives contain oestrogen, and while… Cats · Emergency guide My 3.5 kg rescue cat got into a vase of yew branches from a funeral arrangement and chewed a handful of needles — what do I do right now? Call your emergency vet or the ASPCA Poison Control line at 888-426-4435 immediately. Yew needles contain… Dogs · Emergency guide My 11 kg beagle ate rhubarb leaves that were left out overnight on the kitchen counter after we made pie — is spoilage making this more dangerous? No, spoilage does not reduce the danger — rhubarb leaves are toxic regardless of whether they were fresh or… Cats · Emergency guide My 4.5 kg cat broke open a 50 mg 5-HTP capsule and ate half of the powder — how much is too much for a cat this size? Any amount of 5-HTP above what a vet recommends is potentially dangerous for a 4.5 kg cat. This supplement…

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The library keeps growing. Can’t find your situation? Open the matching toxicity calculator and enter weight plus amount for an instant risk level.