A Threat to Your Pets: 10 Household Toxins You May Not Know About
Do you consider yourself familiar with some of the common household items that are toxic to pets? Grapes and raisins (kidney failure), chocolate (vomiting, diarrhea, seizures), and anti-freeze (also causes kidney failure). But there are many more toxins that aren’t talked about as much so I decided to put together a list of items you may not know are threats to your pets. Remember, when an animal has ingested a toxin, often the symptoms are not very specific (lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures): which means YOU as the pet owner are the key to figuring out what your cat or dog may have gotten in to. As a veterinarian, I rely on my clients to be honest and think through their day in hopes of figuring out what their pet could have eaten. Knowing which items in your home are a potential risk, is the first step at helping your veterinarian identify toxin exposure. All of these toxins I talked about are dangerous for your pets and most are lethal without treatment, so please share with friends and spread the word!
Pennies
Since 1982, the penny has been made of copper plated zinc instead of mostly copper. Animals will eat pennies, and as the coins settle in the acidic environment of the stomach, the acid corrodes the copper and releases zinc into the bloodstream. Zinc causes hemolytic anemia and organ damage. Animals who have zinc toxicity are lethargic, may have vomiting and diarrhea, may be pale or have a yellow color to their gums and their eyes, they may also have seizures or trouble breathing. Ingestion of a penny is life threatening. Please call your veterinarian! Pennies show up on x-ray and blood tests will let your veterinarian know if your pet is anemic or has signs of organ failure. Other sources of zinc include: human vitamin supplements, sunscreen, and diaper cream.
RogaineⓇ
How could your pet possibly come into contact with RogaineⓇ? Seems unlikely? Well, during the pandemic, many people have switched from shopping in store to shopping online which means more packages arriving to the home. With more deliveries, boxes pile up by the front door and dogs become interested. Chewing packages and ingesting the product as well as licking the head of the owners where the product has been applied is how pets are exposed. RogaineⓇ is especially toxic to cats: they will suffer toxicity if it is applied topically to their skin (family member uses product and doesn’t wash their hands well, then pets the family cat). Just one drop or one lick is lethal to cats. The active ingredient is minoxidil, a hair growth stimulator. Cats are deficient in the enzyme their body needs need to break down this chemical, which is why minoxidil is more toxic to cats than dogs. Minoxidil toxicity causes low blood pressure, pulmonary edema, and heart failure in both dogs and cats.
Wood Glue
Okay, this is not an actual toxin, but it poses a severe health threat to our pets and I would guess many of you have this in your house or your garage. Any wood glue containing the ingredient diphenylmethane diisocyanate will form a very large obstructive mass in your pet’s esophagus or stomach when ingested. They do not have to eat much! Due to the expanding properties of the glue, a large mass can form from as little as 2 oz of glue. The only treatment is surgical removal, and pets usually do well once the mass is removed.
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)
5-Fluorouracil is a human chemotherapy drug. It can be injected, taken orally, or applied topically. When a person has been prescribed the topical form of 5-FU, it puts their pets at a big risk. When a dog or cat licks someone who has applied this cream, they can become ill very quickly. 5-FU creates a thiamine deficiency which leads to gastrointestinal bleeding, severe (often bloody) vomiting and diarrhea, tremors and seizures. There is an antidote, but it is pricey: about $75,000 a dose.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 can be found in many household items: human omega fatty acid supplements, human multivitamins, concentrated vitamin D drops, topical creams (most commonly used to treat psoriasis in humans: calcipotriene), and rodent poisoning (listed as cholecalciferol or vitamin D3). When an animal ingests vitamin D3 in toxic amounts, it causes a life threatening elevation in calcium (hypercalcemia) and phospherous (hyperphosphatemia). This causes calcification (hardening) of the organs, mostly the kidneys, aorta, gastrointestinal tract, and even the heart. These animals may be lethargic, reluctant to eat, have bad breath, vomiting, increased thirst and urination. The scary thing about vitamin D toxicity is: the signs of toxin ingestion often do not show up for 2-3 days after the pet has ingested the product. These animals need immediate and aggressive care for at least 48 hours. If they survive, they are prone to kidney failure for the rest of their life.
Baclofen
This is another human medication. Baclofen is a muscle relaxer often prescribed to people with multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s or other spinal cord disease/injury. This medication can be deadly to dogs and cats as it does not take very much of it to make them sick. Animals who have ingested baclofen may show lethargy, ataxia, seizures, and/or trouble breathing.
Snail/Slug Bait
Snail and slug baits contain a chemical called metaldehyde. This chemical is toxic to both dogs and cats and they do not need to ingest a whole lot of the bait to make them ill. Pets who have ingested metaldehyde may vomit, have tremors or seem agitated, and they may develop a very high fever. Ingestion of metaldehyde can be lethal without treatment.
Xylitol
Think SUGAR FREE. Anything with this label should cause alarm if you are a pet owner! This toxin is specific to dogs and when ingested can cause life threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Xylitol can be found in everything from chewing gum to peanut butter to pancake syrup to toothpaste.
Marijuana
With the legalization of marijuana in several states, the ingestion of the drug amongst the pet population has increased. Most cases of marijuana toxicity are not life threatening, but these animals need treatment. Veterinarians struggle with getting people to admit that their animal could have eaten the drug or edibles like weed brownies (THC and chocolate toxicity in one), etc. We will not report you! We do not care if you or your college aged kids smoke. We just want to help your dog. This also goes for other drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine (which are much more dangerous for your pet). Please be honest so we can help your pet.
House Plants
I am sure most of you know certain plants are toxic to pets. But house plants are trendy and to be honest, many of the most instragrammable plants are toxic to pets. If you have a dog and you also have a sago palm, please do yourself and your dog a favor: dig that plant up and throw it out! Sago palms are one of the most toxic plants. All parts of plants are toxic but their red colored seeds are the worst. It only takes 1-2 seeds to cause death in the average size dog. Sago palm toxicity causes vomiting, liver failure, tremors, seizures and death. Lilies are one of my favorite flowers, but they are highly toxic to cats. Cats love to nibble on house plants. Lilies will cause acute kidney failure and death in both dogs and cats. Please, if you have a cat, keep lilies out of your home! There is a wonderful resource detailing indoor and outdoor plants that are toxic to dogs and cats here.
Were any of these toxins new to you? If your pet ingests something toxic, please call your veterinarian and do not hesitate to call Pet Poison Helpline which has veterinarians and veterinary support staff available 24/7.
I do hope you are able to take this knowledge and apply it to your home and your lifestyle to keep all of your pets safe from household toxins!
– Leigh Hofmeister, DVM