The Things in Your House Most Likely to Poison Your Pet

Long lists of toxic substances are hard to act on. This is the shorter, more useful version: the things that actually turn up in veterinary emergency rooms, roughly in order of how often and how seriously.

The big ones

Rodenticide (rat poison)

The most serious common poisoning. Most rat poisons are anticoagulants — they prevent blood clotting, and animals bleed internally.

The dangerous feature: there are usually no symptoms for three to five days. By the time an animal shows signs — pale gums, weakness, bleeding, coughing, bruising, collapse — significant internal bleeding has occurred.

There is an effective antidote (vitamin K1) and treatment is straightforward if started early. Waiting for symptoms is what kills.

If you suspect any exposure, go immediately, even if they seem completely fine. Bring the packet — different active ingredients require different treatment durations, and some newer products are far more dangerous than traditional ones.

Also beware secondary poisoning — a dog or cat eating a poisoned rat.

Snail and slug bait (metaldehyde)

Common in South African gardens and extremely dangerous. Causes tremors, severe seizures and dangerously high body temperature within one to three hours. Often fatal without rapid treatment.

There's no antidote — treatment is intensive supportive care. Speed matters enormously.

If you use snail bait, switch to iron-phosphate-based products, which are far less toxic to pets.

Antifreeze (ethylene glycol)

Sweet-tasting, and small amounts are lethal — particularly to cats. Causes kidney failure.

There's a treatment window measured in hours, not days. Cats especially need treatment within about three hours to have a good chance.

Early signs look like drunkenness, then apparent improvement, then kidney failure days later. The apparent recovery is deceptive and dangerous.

Human medications

The most common poisoning category overall, usually from a dropped tablet or a chewed handbag.

• Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatories — stomach ulceration and kidney failure. Very common, very serious.
• Paracetamol — lethal to cats even in tiny amounts. Cats lack the enzyme to process it. Causes destruction of red blood cells and liver failure. Never give it to a cat under any circumstances.
• Antidepressants — tremors, seizures, dangerous heart rhythms
• ADHD medications — highly dangerous stimulants
• Blood pressure medication, sleeping tablets, diabetes medication

Never give human medication to a pet without veterinary direction. This is one of the most common ways a minor problem becomes a fatal one.

Xylitol

An artificial sweetener, and one of the most dangerous things a dog can eat. Causes a massive insulin release, dropping blood sugar dangerously within 30 minutes, and can cause acute liver failure.

Found in: sugar-free gum, some peanut butters, sugar-free sweets, some baked goods, certain toothpastes, some medications and supplements.

Check peanut butter labels before giving it to a dog. This catches a lot of people out.

Chocolate

Theobromine toxicity. Dark and baking chocolate are far more dangerous than milk chocolate; white chocolate is essentially harmless from a theobromine perspective.

Causes vomiting, restlessness, raised heart rate, tremors, seizures. The dose matters, so bring the wrapper — the amount and type determine whether treatment is needed.

Grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants

Cause acute kidney failure in some dogs. Notably, the toxic dose is unpredictable — some dogs eat a large quantity with no effect, others develop kidney failure from a handful. There's no way to predict which.

Because of that unpredictability, any ingestion is treated as significant. Watch out for raisins in hot cross buns, fruitcake and cereal bars.

Onions, garlic, leeks and chives

Damage red blood cells, causing anaemia. Cats are more sensitive than dogs. Cooked is as dangerous as raw, and concentrated forms — onion powder, garlic powder, stock cubes — are worse.

Check stock and gravy before adding it to food to tempt a sick animal.

Permethrin — dog flea treatment used on cats

A specific and tragically common poisoning. Permethrin, in many dog spot-on flea treatments, is highly toxic to cats. Causes severe tremors and seizures.

Never apply a dog flea product to a cat. Also be careful in multi-pet households — a cat grooming a recently-treated dog can be affected.

Plants

• Lilies — the most important. All parts of true lilies (Lilium and Hemerocallis) cause acute kidney failure in cats, including the pollen. A cat brushing past a lily and grooming the pollen off its coat can die. Do not have lilies in a house with cats.
• Cycads — liver failure, often fatal. A real risk in South African gardens.
• Oleander — cardiac toxicity, highly dangerous
• Sago palm — liver failure
• Delicious monster, dieffenbachia, philodendron — oral irritation and swelling
• Autumn crocus, foxglove, azalea, yew

Other household

• Alcohol
• Macadamia nuts — weakness and tremors in dogs
• Cannabis — increasingly common; causes profound sedation, dribbling urine, sensitivity to sound. Be honest with your vet; they don't care and it changes treatment.
• Batteries — corrosive burns
• Concentrated cleaning products — corrosive
• Essential oils, particularly tea tree, and diffusers around cats
• Fertilisers and herbicides

What to do

1. Remove them from the source and prevent further access.

2. Phone a vet immediately. Don't wait for symptoms. For many poisonings, the treatment window is early and narrow.

3. Bring the packaging. The actual container, with the active ingredient and concentration. This is the single most useful thing you can do — it determines the entire treatment plan.

4. Estimate the amount and the time. How much, and how long ago. Be honest about the maximum possible amount.

5. Do NOT induce vomiting unless a vet has specifically told you to for that substance. With corrosives (drain cleaner, bleach, batteries) and petroleum products, vomiting causes severe additional damage to the oesophagus. With animals who are already unwell, seizuring or unconscious, it risks aspiration.

6. Don't give milk, salt, oil or home remedies. Salt water in particular is dangerous and can itself cause fatal sodium toxicity.

7. If it's on the skin or coat, wash it off with lukewarm water and mild washing-up liquid, wearing gloves. This matters for permethrin and for oily substances.

Prevention worth doing today

• Medications in closed cupboards, not on bedside tables or in handbags on the floor
• Handbags out of reach — visitors' bags are a classic source
• Check the peanut butter label for xylitol
• No lilies in a house with cats
• Rodenticide in tamper-proof bait stations only, or ideally not at all
• Switch to iron phosphate snail bait
• Antifreeze cleaned up immediately — it's sweet and animals seek it out
• Know what's growing in your garden. Photograph anything you can't identify and check it.

The number to have

Your vet, or your nearest 24-hour emergency hospital. Put it in your phone now, alongside the address.

For poisoning, the difference between a full recovery and a fatality is very often just how quickly the call was made.