Vet School 101 Top ten tips for pet poisonings and accidental ingestions
Your kitten doesn’t greet you when you come home from work one day. Instead, she’s hiding behind the toilet engrossed in a grim task: playing with the remnants of a bottle of spilled Tylenol gelcaps. Damn!—you thought you picked up every last one. Meanwhile, an unseen stash was hiding in the corner.
At least five gelcaps have been bitten to shreds. Their contents are oozing on the floor and around kitten's mouth. This can’t be good.
After yesterday’s post, which touched on a tragic loss after accidental rat poison ingestion, it seems appropriate to discuss the right protocol for poisonings. Sure, it’s a different approach for every toxin but there is some common ground for how these situations should be handled. Here’s ten points you need to know:
1-Keep the pet poison control number handy. If you live in the US, the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center is the organization most veterinarians are comfortable with. The center charges $60 per phone call (and it’s well worth it). Keep the number handy or simply bookmark the home page for easy reference.
2-If you suspect poisoning from a specific substance, pick up the remnants of the toxin, the box, the bottle and anything associated with it. Keep this “evidence” handy so you can answer your veterinarian or poison control’s detailed questions.
3-Attempt to ascertain how much of the substance could have been ingested. Think worst-case scenario for safety’s sake.
4-Try to establish a timeframe for when the poison may have been ingested. It makes a difference whether an hour might have lapsed…or an entire weekend. (Sometimes animal-related evidence reveals itself way after the fact. We understand this. Don’t be shy about revealing the extent of your potential inattention. It can happen.)
5-If you’re not sure whether the offending item is poisonous, call a veterinarian you trust—immediately. Alternatively (in the middle of the night, for instance), call the pet poison control center right away. Do NOT rely on advice from friends, family, neighbors or your vet’s reception desk. Though they may know the right answer, it’s always best to get the info first hand from someone who’s trained to address these issues.
6-NEVER induce vomiting or administer home remedies for poisonings without talking to a trained individual first. I’ve seen seizuring pets die from ill-advised milk and oil administration. Caustic compounds can damage sensitive anatomic structures on their way back up. It’s best to let a professional do these things—or at least walk you through them.
7-Sometimes the item isn’t technically a toxin. Think Koosh ball, for example. Or an entire Kong toy. This is not the poison control’s purview any more; it’s your vet’s—or the ER vet’s. Immediate attention in these cases can make the difference between an easy resolution via induced vomiting or a nasty intestinal obstruction several days later.
8-When you’ve determined that the poison your pet ingested requires veterinary attention, my preferred approach—whether it be Tylenol, plants or toilet bowl cleaner—is to open up a file with the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center. You can do this on your way to the hospital (or when you called to determine whether the toxin required medical attention).
(This service costs no more than the $60 phone 
call. Whether the poison control’s toxicologists need to be in constant contact with your vet for two weeks or tell you your pet will be fine, the fee is the same.)
Poison control will advise your veterinarian as to the best course of treatment: induce vomiting or not, fluids or not, charcoal or not, antidotes, labwork, surgery, etc. I cannot say enough about the value of this service. There’s no better way to treat a poisoning patient than by the poison control’s books, IMO.
Interestingly, this is something not every vet knows about. But YOU can take control of your pet’s care by initiating this clinical interaction. I think it’s especially helpful when sending my patients to the ER. I know they’ll get great care when the poison control’s on the line.
9-Prevention is the final point I need to make. Keeping tablets and capsules and cleaners and creams away from pets is obviously the best way to handle toxicities. But…
10-…you can’t do this properly without the knowledge of what’s toxic and what’s not. Read over the ASPCA’s FAQ's when it comes to pet poisons. Some of the items may surprise you.
December 20th, 2008
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Add Comment15 Comments
Posted this under yesterday's post, too, but I'll repeat...I didn't know about this and I AM a subscriber!
An important side note about ASPCA's Poison Control: HomeAgain microchips have a new yearly subscription service with a low yearly fee that makes the poison control call FREE. Look through your paperwork to see if this applies to you or a client. By having the chip number handy, the $60 fee is waived and you can get advice for nothing.
My older registered pet (older chip) did not have this service, but my new pet (registered last year) got it automatically. Older accounts can be upgraded for the same yearly fee, I think. Check into it if you have chips registered with Homeagain.
Sorry for the double post...
Sarah December 20th, 2008 10:55:30 AM
Wow, what a great post and a good one to have up right before the holidays. In my opinion prevention is the key but until more people are motivated to be proactive this post is a great resource.
Ark Lady December 20th, 2008 10:57:30 AM
Sarah: I had no idea...and we use HomeAgain chips. Thanks!!
Dr. Patty Khuly December 20th, 2008 11:01:27 AM
I don't know if I can take your advice today Dr. Khuly... I read something on the internet the other day that told me not to believe stuff written by vets on the INTERNET!
:O)
j/k - Fabulously well timed post this time of year - what I would also like to add is to remind your houseguests that fourlegged hoovers live with you and NOTHING belongs within their reach. NOTHING. Not a sock, not a pill bottle, not a baby toy... unless supervised. I think the ASPCA should put a new notice out stating that relatives are the number one cause of pet poisoning... ;O)
Kim December 20th, 2008 11:17:17 AM
Kim - great point about relatives. Often they will unknowingly give your dog "treats" that aren't suited to a dog and can be poisonous (eg chocolate), so owner beware. Fantastic timely post Dr Khuly!
Circe December 20th, 2008 12:29:54 PM
ooooh, this is great. it's going right up on the fridge!
Larry December 20th, 2008 12:37:34 PM
This is excellent advice. When my kitty decided to eat tape and was rushed to the ER vet, another woman brought in her failing cat to the same clinic. Her kitty had eaten a few petals from a flower, and she didn't realize it was poisoning him until he went into renal failure. She was so upset, but it's so easy to overlook potentially dangerous behavior until it's too late. I've learned to just call the vet if my pets have ingested anything they shouldn't have or are behaving oddly. It's just safer.
Posey December 20th, 2008 06:14:06 PM
About a year ago, Agadore drank from a toilet with one of those time-release bleach contraptions. I called the poison hotline, they took my credit card number, and they were AWESOME in their assistance. Not only did they advise me that most tiolet cakes are only toxic for like the first 48 hours, they also called back a couple days later to check up on us. I was VERY satisfied with them.
agadoresmama December 20th, 2008 06:51:44 PM
There’s one additional point I forgot to make about the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center (let the love-fest continue): Involving this organization in your pet’s toxic exposure and treatment gives it the opportunity to amass valuable information on pet poisonings.
From what works, clinically, to which poisons pets are most often exposed to, calling into this service bodes well not only for your pet as an individual but for petdom at large when this information is used as the basis for both warnings and further research.
Dr. Patty Khuly December 21st, 2008 10:12:11 AM
Great advice, my pets eat absolutely eveything and it is such a pain when they get sick, plus it's so sad to see them so miserable. This is an awesome top ten list, you can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and then link back to your site. We are looking for content and in return our users will track back to your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
-Vince
Vince December 21st, 2008 12:24:57 PM
Yeh, I called Poison Control once too (to find out if hypokalemia is a known effect of insulin overdose. Apparently that's a big "duh," although the vet I talked to oddly nearly swore me to secrecy about his identity when he found out why I was asking . . . . apparently the Maryland vet board had some issue with him, perhaps because he provided evidence against a vet who had a complaint filed against him. Those vet boards, they get so mad when a vet tells the truth and makes a complainants case stronger)
The holidays are indeed a scary time. Thanks for posting this. My pica cat was chewing on a pine needle that fell off the wreath yesterday. He eats all debris, which is exceedingly bad considering that I am SO not a neat freak.
Stefani December 21st, 2008 01:23:57 PM
I believe you can register any chip with the HomeAgain plan and receive the ASPCA Poison Control benefit. http://public.homeagain.com/ourservices.html Excellent post Dr. Kuhly!
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