Foods that are toxic to dogs and cats: the list to keep on the fridge

Most poisonings of household animals do not involve anything exotic. They involve the kitchen, a dropped square of chocolate, a handbag left open, a guest who thought they were being kind.

The list below is the one worth knowing by heart, because the window in which a phone call helps is usually short.

Chocolate

The classic, and it deserves its reputation. Chocolate contains theobromine, which dogs and cats clear far more slowly than we do.

The darker the chocolate, the worse it is. Baking chocolate and cocoa powder are the most concentrated, dark chocolate next, milk chocolate least, though a small dog and a large amount of milk chocolate is still a problem.

Signs come on within a few hours: restlessness, vomiting, heavy panting, a racing heart, tremors.

Do not wait to see how it goes. Call, and have ready what kind of chocolate it was, roughly how much, and how much your animal weighs.

Grapes and raisins

This one surprises people, and it is one of the more serious entries here.

Grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants can cause acute kidney failure in dogs. What makes it difficult is that no safe quantity has ever been established: some dogs eat a few and are fine, others eat a few and are not.

That uncertainty is the reason to treat any amount as worth a call rather than a wait. Watch for vomiting, unusual tiredness, and drinking or urinating more than usual over the following day or two.

Onions, garlic, leeks and chives

The whole allium family damages red blood cells in dogs and cats, and cats are more sensitive than dogs.

Cooking does not remove the problem, which is what catches people out: onion in a stew, garlic in a leftover sauce, and onion powder in a packet soup all count. Powdered forms are the most concentrated of all.

The effect is not immediate. It builds over several days, and shows up as tiredness, weakness, pale gums, and sometimes urine that looks dark or reddish.

Xylitol, the one most people have never heard of

If you read one entry on this page, read this one.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute, and in dogs it triggers a rapid collapse in blood sugar and can cause liver failure. A very small amount is enough for a small dog, and the reaction can begin within thirty minutes.

It hides in ordinary things:

• sugar free chewing gum and mints
• some peanut butters, which is how it most often reaches a dog
• sugar free baked goods and desserts
• some toothpastes and mouthwashes
• some medicines and supplements in liquid or chewable form

Read the label on peanut butter before it goes anywhere near a dog. That single habit prevents most of these cases.

Alcohol, coffee and tea

Alcohol affects animals far faster than people, in far smaller amounts, including what is in an unbaked dough or a spilled glass left within reach.

Caffeine is the same story: coffee, tea, energy drinks, and used grounds in an accessible bin.

Bones, fat trimmings and raw dough

Cooked bones splinter, and the splinters are the danger. Poultry bones are the worst of them.

Large amounts of fat trimmed off meat can bring on a painful inflammation of the pancreas, particularly in dogs.

Raw bread dough is its own hazard: it keeps rising in a warm stomach, and the fermentation produces alcohol at the same time.

Milk, and the myth of the saucer

The saucer of milk for the cat is one of the most persistent images we have, and most adult cats do not digest lactose well. It gives them diarrhea rather than pleasure.

Water is what a cat needs. If you want to give a treat, give a treat.

What to do if your animal has eaten something on this list

Do not wait for symptoms, and do not go looking online for a home antidote.

1. Take away what is left, and keep the packaging. What it was and how much matters more than anything else you can tell them.
2. Call. Your veterinarian, an emergency veterinary clinic, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, open 24 hours a day, every day. A consultation fee may apply.
3. Do not induce vomiting unless a professional tells you to. With caustic substances and with anything that can be inhaled, making an animal vomit causes a second injury on top of the first.
4. Note the time. How long ago it happened changes what can be done.

Signs worth acting on immediately: repeated vomiting, tremors or seizures, difficulty breathing, unsteadiness, pale or very red gums, collapse.

Prevention, which is mostly about height and habit

• Bins with a lid, and the lid closed.
• Chocolate, gum and sweets in a closed cupboard, not on a low table, and not in a handbag on the floor. Handbags are how a surprising share of these cases start.
• Tell guests and children not to feed the animal from the table, kindly and in advance.
• Do not leave a plate to be finished. The onion in the sauce is invisible.

The same principle runs through everything we publish about animals: what goes near them is judged more strictly than what goes near us. It is why there are products you must never put on a cat, and why baking soda belongs in the litter box rather than in the animal.

FAQ

How much chocolate is dangerous for a dog?

It depends on the type of chocolate and the weight of the dog, and that calculation is exactly what the poison control line does in a minute. Dark and baking chocolate are far worse than milk chocolate. Call rather than estimate.

My dog ate one grape. Is that serious?

Possibly, and that is the honest answer. No safe quantity has been established, and the reaction varies from one dog to another. Call the poison control line and describe what happened.

Is garlic safe in small amounts for dogs?

No, and it appears in enough home remedy advice online to be worth stating plainly. Garlic is in the same family as onion, it damages red blood cells, and the powdered form is the most concentrated of all.