Seeing your pet poisoned is a nightmare for almost any pet owner. However, there are some simple and easy steps that you can take to help prevent that from happening.
Most common pet poisons
Knowing what some of the most common poisons consist of can go a long way towards helping to protect your dog or cat from poison threats.
- Human medications are one of the most common poisoning. Too often pet owners confuse their own medications with their pet's medications accidentally or leave the bottle containing their medications accessable to their dog or cat.
- Poisoning with pet medications is also common and may result from using an inappropriate medication (for instance, using a flea product for dogs on your cat), accidentally giving your pet the wrong dose of medication or leaving the medication container in a location accessable to your pet.
- Many poisonings are seasonal, such as lily poisonings and chocolate poisonings which happen commonly around Easter time. Chocolate poisonings are also common around Chrismas holiday season.
- The warmer months bring dangers to our pets in the form of poison plants and other garden threats, such as fertilizers and other chemicals used in some gardens.
- Other chemicals such as rodenticides can also pose a serious poisoning threat for your pet.
These are some of the most common poison threats for animals. It is not by any means an exhaustive list.
Avoiding the threat of poisoning for our dogs and cats
There are many steps that you can take to help avoid the threat of poisoning for your pet.
- Keep your medications in a location separate from your pet's medications and keep all medications in a secure area where your pet does not have access to them.
- Always follow label directions on any medications you give your pet.
- Never use a medication labeled only for dogs on your cat.
- Do not administer any over-the-counter human medications (or prescription medications) to your pet without checking with your veterinarian for advice first. Some of the products that are safe for people to take are not safe for dogs and/or cats.
- Keep all cleaning, lawn and garden, and other chemicals locked securely in an area where your pet cannot access them.
- Be aware of which plants can be poisonous for pets and keep your pets away from garden areas that contain these plants. Be cautious about keeping bouquets of flowers that contain these plants in your home also.
- There are also many foods that are toxic to dogs and cats, including chocolate, grapes, raisins, xylitol-containing sugarless products (for dogs) and many others. Be aware of which foods are dangerous for your pet and avoid them.
- Keep the number for a pet poison hotline available and within easy reach along with the number for your veterinarian and your local emergency veterinary facility. Program these numbers into your cell phone if possible. The Pet Poison Helpline can be reached at (800) 213-6680.
You can find more information about common pet poisons at the Pet Poison Helpline. For more advice about how to keep your pet safe from poisoning, listen in to this interview with Dr. Justine Lee, director of veterinary services for the Pet Poison Helpline.
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