Safety
Pet Poisoning First Aid: What to Do in the First Ten Minutes
Step one: secure and identify
Move your pet away from the source and grab the packaging, plant, or a photo of whatever they got into. The active ingredient and rough amount transform the phone call from guesswork into a plan.
Call before you act
Phone your vet, an emergency clinic, or an animal poison control hotline immediately — even at 2 a.m. Describe the pet's weight, the substance, amount and timing. Some poisons need vomiting induced fast; for others (corrosives, petroleum products) vomiting makes it worse.
Do NOT
Don't induce vomiting unless a professional instructs it, don't give milk, salt, or oil, and don't 'wait and see' with the big names: antifreeze, rodent bait, lilies (cats), xylitol, human medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, grapes, and chocolate. Symptoms often lag hours behind absorption.
Prepare before it happens
Save your nearest emergency clinic and a poison hotline in your phone today. Keep medications zipped away, secure trash, and know your houseplants by name. The ten minutes you save by being ready are often the ten minutes that matter.
If the day is coming
Ease The Paw coordinates in-home pet euthanasia across South Africa — we find and book the vet, arrange the cremation and handle the keepsakes, so you can simply be present. A flat R950 covers the coordination and your keepsake memorial; the vet and cremation are billed separately at their own rates.
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