Pet Toxins: How Many Are in Your Home, Garage, and Yard?

Pet Toxins in Your Home

• • Medications — Owners sometimes treat their pets from their own medicine cabinet instead of consulting their family veterinarian for help, not realizing that many human medications can cause life-threatening toxicity. If you give your pet Tylenol, Aleve, or ibuprofen for a sore leg, she can suffer from kidney failure or severe anemia, and aspirin and Pepto-bismol, which contains an aspirin-like compound, can be toxic to cats. If your pet gets into your anti-anxiety, ADHD, or heart medication, she can develop severe side effects.Human medications are not the only culprits—medications approved for use in pets can also cause problems. If you confuse your Labrador retriever’s prescription with your Chihuahua’s medication, or if you apply your dog’s flea preventive to your cat’s skin, the overdose may be deadly. And, the beef-flavored medication that your dog gobbles up like a treat can get her into trouble, if she confiscates the whole bottle.

• Toxic foods — Comprising more than 10% of all the APCC hotline calls, chocolate is the most common toxic food that pets find a way to indulge in—no matter how well-hidden we think it is. Although you are likely aware of chocolate’s toxic potential, you may not be aware of other toxic foods, including:
  • Grapes and raisins
  • Onions
  • Garlic 
  • Xylitol
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Raw yeast dough
  • Alcohol
  • Coffee and other caffeinated beverages

Pet Toxins in Your Garage

• Antifreeze products — Antifreeze contains the toxin ethylene glycol, which causes deadly kidney failure if treatment is not administered a few hours after ingestion. Pets will readily lick up any sweet liquid spilled on your driveway or garage floor, so clean up all spills immediately, and store these products out of reach on high shelves.
• Rodent baits — Rodenticides contain a variety of toxic ingredients designed to attract and kill rodents who get into your home, garage, or garden. Unfortunately, these ingredients also entice pets, who eat them, with deadly results. Depending on the active ingredient, rodenticide toxicity can cause acute kidney failure, internal bleeding, or brain swelling. Keep in mind that pets may also be exposed if they eat a dead rodent who consumed bait. 

Pet Toxins in Your Yard

• Plants — Many plant varieties are toxic, so consult the ASPCA’s toxic and non-toxic plant list before choosing blooms for your flower beds, or vegetables for your garden. Among the most dangerous plants are lilies, sago palm, azalea, castor bean, and oleander. 
• Fertilizers — Plant fertilizers contain a variety of toxic ingredients, including nitrates, urea, iron, and blood or bone meal. Although most ingestions cause only gastrointestinal (GI) irritation, with vomiting and diarrhea, large amounts can cause more serious problems. 
• Pesticides — Chemicals sprayed on your lawn to keep it green and insect-free may be toxic to pets who groom them off their feet and fur. Ensure your lawn-care company uses only pet-safe ingredients, and follow all instructions, as most chemicals must dry before they are safe for pets. 
• Mulch — When choosing landscaping mulch, steer clear of cocoa bean varieties, which are made from processed cocoa bean hulls and shells that are left over from chocolate production. Although most of the toxic methylxanthines are removed during processing, if the chocolate aroma tempts your dog to ingest the mulch, she may still become sick, and the mulch may also obstruct her GI-tract.