Potential Household Poisons in Pets

 

Firstly, please make sure your pet AVOIDs the following food items:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Chocolate (baker's (dark), semi-sweet, milk chocolate)
• Coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate covered espresso beans)
• Mouldy or spoiled foods
• Onions, onion powder
• Fatty foods
• Salt
• Yeast dough
• Grapes

Ingestion of any food that your pet is not used to can cause intestinal inflammation (vomiting and diarrhoea), but those mentioned above are specific toxins that may cause more life threatening conditions in your pet.

 

Plants to avoid:

Lilies found in holiday flower arrangements can be deadly to your cat. Many types of lily, such as Tiger, Asian, Japanese Show, Easter, Stargazer, and the Casa Blanca, cause acute kidney failure in cats.

Poinsettias generally have low toxicity. If ingested, poinsettias irritate the mouth and stomach, causing mild vomiting or nausea.

Daffodils can be dangerous if eaten by dogs or cats or if they drink the water that the flowers are kept in.

 

Your medications:

Please keep all your prescriptions and medicines away from your prying pets. Pain killers, cold medicines, anti-cancer drugs, antidepressants, vitamins, and diet pills can be lethal to your pet in very small dosages. For example, one 200mg ibuprofen tablet can cause serious stomach ulcers in a 5kg dog. Less than one paracetamol tablet (325mg) can be extremely dangerous to a 4kg cat.

 

More winter hazards:

Antifreeze has a pleasant sweet taste but even in small amounts can be lethal. As little as one teaspoon of antifreeze can be deadly to a cat or dog. Please be very careful when changing your cars coolant and always thoroughly clean up any spills. Cats and dogs seem to like the taste of antifreeze!

Store your antifreeze in a tightly closed container well away from your pet. Low toxicity brand antifreeze contains propylene glycol and is recommended to use in pet households as this is less toxic. If you think your pet has ingested anti-freeze of any type please call your emergency vet immediately.

Ice melting products can be irritating to the skin and mouth. Signs of ingestion can include excessive drooling, depression and vomiting.

Your animal may become poisoned with little warning. You should keep telephone numbers for your vet and a local emergency veterinary service in a convenient location. If you suspect that your pet has ingested something poisonous, seek medical attention immediately and try to always bring in a sample of whatever your pet has eaten or a sample of their vomit if it looks suspicious for a poisoning. This may be the only clue we have to your pet's sudden illness.

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