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 I have a 3.5 kg rescue cat and was wondering — is rosemary essential oil any safer for her than fresh sage leaves? Both are safe as fresh herbs in cooking. The real problem isn't the plant — it's the concentrated oil. A cat… Dogs · Food safety Is it okay to feed my 5 kg Schnauzer cooked duck breast every day? Yes, occasionally is fine. But feeding it daily is where things change. Duck is richer than most meats, and… Dogs · Food safety Is it dangerous if my 6 kg dog eats strawberries I left out overnight? Fresh strawberries are safe for dogs — wash and slice, remove the green tops. But strawberries left sitting… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 8 kg dog swallowed two pennies — my 25 kg dog never touched them. Do both dogs need the vet, or just the little one? Yes — only the dog who actually swallowed coins needs urgent vet care, but you should still watch the other… Cats · Food safety My 3‑kg kitten ate a few shredded lettuce leaves mixed into its chicken broth 20 minutes ago; should I be worried? No, there is no immediate danger. Lettuce is mostly water and contains very little toxin, so a few shredded… Dogs · Food safety My 12‑kg Labrador ate half a cup of raw radicchio about 45 minutes ago and seems fine; how long should I monitor for any problems? No urgent action is required. Radicchio is low in toxicity, so a single half‑cup serving is unlikely to cause… Dogs · Food safety My 8 kg dog drank about half a cup of coconut water that was left out overnight. Is it dangerous? No, the main risk is a mild stomach upset, not poisoning. Coconut water itself is safe for dogs, but when… Cats · Emergency guide My 4 kg indoor cat chewed on a tulip bulb that was sprouting in a pot left on a shelf for weeks. She seems fine now — is it urgent? Yes, this is urgent — call your vet or a poison line immediately. The bulb is the most toxic part, and toxins… Cats · Food safety My 3-kg cat sniffed and ate a tiny pinch of cumin powder I spilled — is cumin safer for her than chili powder? Yes, cumin is far safer than chili powder for a cat. The tiny amount in a spilled pinch is harmless and… Dogs · Food safety My 6 kg dog ate three plain cooked crawfish tails — is this safer or less safe than shrimp? Plain cooked crawfish tail meat is just as safe as plain cooked shrimp for a dog. Both are low-risk protein… Dogs · Food safety My two dogs found a ginger cookie, but only my 5 kg Yorkie ate half of it. What should I do for him and my other dog? Yes, that amount of ginger is safe. The sugar and fat in the cookie are a bigger concern than the ginger… Dogs · Emergency guide My 10 kg dog ate a few bites of chicken stew I made with a crushed 50 mg diphenhydramine tablet. He seems fine now, but should I worry? Yes, this is an urgent situation. That's a high dose for a 10 kg dog, and the drug can cause agitation… Dogs · Emergency guide My 8 kg terrier just licked some moldy compost from the garden bin. Should I rush him to the vet? Yes, call your vet or the ASPCA Poison Control line (888-426-4435) now for a lick. The tremorgenic toxins in… Dogs · Emergency guide My 15 kg dog has been getting a 5-HTP capsule with his food every morning for three weeks. What happens now? Yes, this is a serious risk. Giving 5-HTP daily builds up serotonin in his system, which can lead to… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg cat ate one grape — is it as dangerous as a raisin, and what signs should I watch for within the first hour? Yes, one grape is as dangerous as a raisin — both are toxic and can cause sudden kidney failure in cats.… Dogs · Food safety Is a piece of cooked eel safe for my 4 kg Pomeranian, or does her tiny size make the fat risk worse? Her tiny size makes the fat risk much worse. Eel is extremely high in fat, and a single bite for a 4 kg dog… Dogs · Food safety My 20 kg dog ate three thin slices of raw radish — is it safer or riskier than daikon for his stomach? Both are safe in thin slices, but radish is often spicier and more likely to cause mild stomach upset than… Cats · Food safety My 6 kg cat ate about eight ripe gooseberries off the bush — is that handful too many, and what should I do now? Eight ripe gooseberries are likely too many for a 6 kg cat. The main concern is the acidity, which can cause… Dogs · Food safety Only my 12 kg Beagle ate a few cooked celeriac cubes from the stew — how do I handle him versus my other two dogs who didn't touch it? Focus on the Beagle — celeriac is safe when peeled and cooked, so a few cubes are fine. Watch him for any… Cats · Food safety My 10-week-old, 1 kg kitten licked some ripe papaya flesh and might have swallowed one tiny seed — is that safe for her tiny body? The ripe flesh is safe, but one tiny seed is a concern for a 1 kg kitten. Papaya seeds contain trace… Cats · Food safety At a BBQ, my 5 kg cat stole a bite of seedless watermelon from a guest's plate — is the sugar or anything else in party food a problem for her? One bite of seedless watermelon is fine — the sugar isn't a major concern for a single incident. The real… Cats · Toxicity calculator My 3 kg cat licked the sticky side of a used 7 mg nicotine patch I left on the nightstand — is that tiny exposure an emergency right now? Yes, treat it as an emergency. Nicotine is absorbed rapidly through mucous membranes, and a used patch still… Dogs · Food safety Are dental chews with turnip powder safe for my 15 kg senior dog with sensitive digestion, and how many can he have per week? Yes, turnip powder in commercial treats is generally safe, as it's just dried, cooked turnip. For a senior… Cats · Food safety My 5 kg indoor cat has been given a small slice of pepperoni pizza every night for six months — could this slow damage add up? It can. Each slice piles on salt, fat and usually onion and garlic powder, and over months that stress builds… Dogs · Toxicity calculator My 10 kg dog chewed and swallowed a piece of raw nicotine gum 15 minutes ago — how urgent is this? This is urgent — call your vet or the ASPCA poison line at 888-426-4435 right now. Nicotine acts fast, and… Cats · Food safety Is it okay to give my 6 kg adult cat a few plain boiled noodles as a daily treat over several weeks? Yes, a few plain noodles daily are safe, but they offer no real nutrition for a cat. The risk is that filling… Cats · Toxicity calculator My 2-month-old, 1 kg kitten just nibbled one metaldehyde slug bait pellet in the garden — is this more dangerous for her because she's so small? Yes, it is much more dangerous. Her tiny body weight means the same amount of toxin hits her system much… Dogs · Food safety For a 7 kg dog, is licking up a teaspoon of spilled soy sauce worse than eating the same amount of plain table salt? They're similarly dangerous — both are concentrated sodium sources that can cause poisoning. A teaspoon of… Cats · Emergency guide Could dieffenbachia leaves be hidden in store-bought floral bouquets or gift plants that are dangerous for my curious cat? Yes, absolutely. Dieffenbachia is a common, attractive foliage plant that florists often use to fill out… Cats · Food safety Can a 3‑month‑old kitten weighing 0.5kg safely eat a quarter‑cup of sugary breakfast cereal with raisins that it found left out for 20 minutes? No, you don’t need to rush to an emergency vet right now. A 3‑month‑old kitten weighing about 0.5kg that ate…

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