Accidental Ingestion of Substances by Pets

Some pets will try and eat almost anything and while some things, such as the left over vegetables from last night’s dinner, won’t do them any harm, many can be more dangerous. The most common categories are as follows:

Ø  Human medication

Ø  Animal medication

Ø  People's food

Ø  Rodenticides

Ø  Other Chemicals

Ø  Plants

Human medications: Over the counter medications such as Ibuprofen and Paracetamol can be toxic to pets, even in small doses and can cause kidney damage. You should never medicate your pet with these drugs. Prescription medications are also potentially dangerous, particularly heart and blood pressure medications, chemotherapy drugs and antidepressants.

Animal medications: These have been prescribed at a particular dose rate and this should be adhered to, don’t increase your pets medication without consulting your vet. Pets however may get hold of and consume an entire course of medicine in one go, especially as more medications become palatable. This can be especially dangerous with steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, heart and blood pressure medications and hormone treatments. Also ingestion of topical medications can be harmful, particularly cats ingesting topical flea treatment.

People’s food: Things that are a treat for us can be quite the opposite for our pets. Chocolate is a good example. It contains methylxanthines which cause vomiting, diarrhoea, panting, shaking and tremors. The higher the % of cocoa, the worse the effects so dark chocolate is more toxic than milk chocolate. Other potentially harmful foods include: Grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, avocados and onions.

Rodenticides: Rat and mouse poisons cause these animals to die from bleeding using compounds such as warfarin. Warfarin has the same effect on dogs and cats if they ingest it in large quantities. If rats and mice that have been poisoned by warfarin are eaten as prey by predators such as cats, this can also give the pet enough of a dose to cause problems.

Other Chemicals:Antifreeze is very toxic to cats if ingested so should be kept in a sealed container. Paint stripper, bleaches and detergents can also cause gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. Chewing batteries can release corrosive acid which can cause burns.

Plants: Lilies are especially poisonous to cats and can cause kidney failure even in small doses so they should be out of reach and have the stamens removed. Other plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, tulip bulbs and yew are also toxic, causing gastrointestinal upsets.

What should I do if I think my pet has ingested a toxic substance?

Call the vet as soon as you realise, even if your pet is not yet displaying any symptoms.

Stop the exposure to the toxin so clear up any spills and remove any further medication. Wash your pet if the chemical is on their fur and they are licking it off.

Take a moment to work out approximate quantities of substance ingested and have any packaging to hand, especially if it contains names of chemical and strengths of drugs.

As you are doing this, keep a close eye on your pet so you can describe any symptoms to the vet.

What can the vet do for my pet at the clinic?

Firstly take a thorough history and perform a clinical examination.

Activated charcoal can be given either as a liquid or powder and this helps to absorb any toxin that is in the stomach to prevent it from being absorbed into the blood stream.

Drugs known as emetics can be given as they cause ‘emesis’ or vomiting. The most commonly used is apomorphine. This will evacuate the toxin from the body and again, stop it being absorbed into the blood stream. This is only effective if given within 2 hours of ingesting the toxin and only if it is not corrosive otherwise the chemical may do more damage on the way back up.

Other antedotes may be available, for instance alcohol can reverse the effects of antifreeze.

If the toxin has been ingested then the vet may want to put your pet on intravenous fluids, a drip, and use other symptomatic treatment such as gut protectants in cases where the toxin will irritate the gut lining and vitamin K to help with clotting in cases of warfarin toxicity.