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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 I saw gooseberry listed in the ingredients of a senior dog's joint supplement—is that safe for my 12-year-old lab? Yes, it's safe. Gooseberries are not toxic to dogs, so finding them as a minor ingredient in a commercial… Cats · Food safety Are plain cooked pork treats safe for my 3.5 kg indoor cat? Some pork treats are safe, but many commercially packaged ones carry hidden dangers. Read the ingredient list… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat ate lettuce from my salad bowl at lunch — is that a problem? Not really. Lettuce is mostly water and safe for cats, even from a human salad bowl. Just check that nothing… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog gets a smear of jam on his toast every morning — any long-term risk? Regular jam feeding isn't ideal, mainly because of the sugar content. An 8 kg dog getting a daily smear is… Cats · Food safety Can a 3.8 kg cat with kidney disease eat granola bars occasionally? Granola bars are not recommended for cats with kidney disease. They contain raisins, which are toxic to cats… Cats · Food safety My cat with a history of bladder stones ate cooked Swiss chard — what should I monitor? Swiss chard is high in oxalates, which can contribute to bladder stone formation. Since your cat already has… Cats · Food safety My 7 kg cat knocked over half a cup of blackstrap molasses at 3 a.m. — should I take him in now or wait and watch? Wait and watch — molasses is not toxic to cats, but the sugar and potassium are high enough to upset the… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg beagle ate two cups of cooked cauliflower. Is that too much? It's too much. Two cups will almost certainly cause some gas in a 12 kg dog. Keep cauliflower to no more than… Cats · Food safety My 5 lb cat ate a strawberry left on the counter overnight. Is it safe? Not worth the risk. Strawberries sit safe at room temp for only a few hours — by morning, bacteria have had… Cats · Food safety My 4-kg cat just stole half a corn cob and is spitting up — what do I do first? The cob is the problem, not the kernels — cats can eat plain corn off the cob without issue. What you do… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat has been eating a spoonful of onion gravy with dinner every night for four months — what will that do to her long-term? It depends on how much onion and garlic is actually in that gravy, but the risk builds slowly. Most grocery… Dogs · Food safety Is a tiny drizzle of olive oil on my 0.8 kg rescued kitten safe compared to putting it on my 6 kg adult cat? The olive oil itself is non-toxic to both cats regardless of size. The difference is purely in calories — a… Dogs · Food safety Can a 10-week-old 3 kg puppy safely taste paprika sprinkled on his kibble, or should I hold off? Hold off. A ten-week-old puppy digestive system is still developing, and paprika — even the mild sweet… Cats · Food safety My cat has a sensitive stomach and gets diarrhoea easily — can steamed collard greens still upset her digestion even though they are technically safe? They can, absolutely. Even though collard greens are classified as safe for cats, a cat with a known… Dogs · Food safety My dog has a history of loose stools and food sensitivities — could a small piece of nectarine flesh still cause diarrhoea even without the pit? It could. Nectarine flesh is not toxic to dogs, but the natural sugars and fibre in the fruit can trigger… Cats · Food safety My 4 kg cat just lapped up a tablespoon of olive oil from a bowl I left out. Is that too much for her size? Yes, it's safe but that's a lot for a small cat. A tablespoon is a large dose for a 4 kg body. You'll likely… Dogs · Food safety My 15 kg dog ate half an avocado and vomited once. How soon would more symptoms appear? Watch him closely for the next 24 hours. The main risk from that much flesh is pancreatitis from the high… Cats · Food safety Can collard greens make a cat diarrhoea after being steamed? Yes, they can. Collard greens are safe but even steamed ones can trigger gas or loose stool in some cats.… Dogs · Food safety My 12 lb dog ate half a nectarine and now has soft stools — is the fruit causing it? Likely not the flesh. Soft stools from a small amount of nectarine are uncommon — dogs usually handle a few… Dogs · Food safety My 10 kg dog ate a whole acai bowl with granola. Is that worse for him than a plain blueberry bowl? No, the acai itself isn't toxic, but the bowl is the problem. A plain blueberry bowl is just messy; an acai… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat just ate a whole pickle slice — is that worse than a piece of cucumber? Yes, a whole slice is riskier than plain cucumber. The brine is full of salt and vinegar, and many pickles… Cats · Emergency guide My cat licked a cane toad about 10 minutes ago and is now wobbly — how urgent is this? This is an immediate emergency. Signs like wobbliness and dilated pupils can appear within minutes of toxin… Dogs · Food safety Can my 30 kg dog safely eat raw pumpkin, including the skin? Yes, plain raw pumpkin is safe for a large dog like yours, but the tough skin is hard to digest and can cause… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat ate a few unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds and then vomited — should I be concerned? A few shelled seeds are usually not toxic, but vomiting in a small cat means you should watch closely. The… Dogs · Food safety My 12 kg Cocker Spaniel ate leftover chicken stew that had loose tea leaves in it — is this a caffeine emergency? Yes, it's an emergency. The caffeine in those tea leaves is just as dangerous as the caffeine in coffee… Dogs · Emergency guide My 7 kg terrier was nosing around the grill at a backyard BBQ and got bitten on the muzzle by a small snake — what's the first thing I should do? Keep him absolutely calm and still right now — carry him if you can. Movement makes the venom spread faster… Dogs · Food safety Is cucumber or zucchini safer for my 4 kg terrier to eat raw? Both are safe, but cucumber is slightly safer for a small dog. Zucchini is a little harder to digest raw, and… Dogs · Food safety My 4 kg Chihuahua just licked a plate with butter from a cooked lobster. Is he okay? Yes, he's okay. That tiny amount of plain lobster butter is not toxic. The main risk from butter is… Cats · Food safety Can a 6 kg indoor cat get sick from eating cold cooked potato left out overnight? It depends on what happened overnight. Plain cooked potato itself is harmless to cats, but leaving it out… Dogs · Emergency guide My dog gets stung in our yard every week — what long-term damage could this cause? Yes, weekly stings pose a serious cumulative risk. Each sting injects venom that can cause a more severe…

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