Coffee grounds, grapes and raisins, fabric softener sheets, dishwashing detergent, batteries, cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and pennies are just some of things that can be dangerous and even deadly to a cat or dog.
"Dogs are indiscriminate eaters, they're orally motivated and will eat anything. Last week, my dog ate a whole sock," Steven Hansen, senior vice president of the Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Ill., told UPI's Animal Health. "We don't know why he ate it. It's the second time he's eaten a dirty sock."
The Animal Poison Control Center, part of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is launching a new feature on its Web site to help prevent accidental pet poisonings this week to coincide with National Poison Prevention Week.
"We take advantage of National Poison Prevention Week, which is meant to prevent poisonings in humans to highlight that it's important to examine a home with pets as well," said Hansen, who is a board-certified veterinary toxicologist. "A parent needs to childproof a home for few years, but a pet owner needs to be careful for the life of the animal."
Although a childproof cap can keep children out of a bottle containing pharmaceuticals, a dog can simply chew through the bottle. Some dogs even can puncture a pressurized aerosol container.
"Some breeds of dogs are more likely to chew through things but it also depends on the personality of the dog," Hansen explained. "People usually learn pretty quickly the personality of their dog and if a stuffed animal is ripped up and gone in seconds then the dog is an aggressive chewer and the owner has to be more vigilant."
"Make Your Pet's Home Poison Safe" is an interactive Web site at apcc.aspca.org to educate pet owners about common household toxins and guidelines to prevent pet poisonings.
The online experience is meant to enable users of all ages to walk through an animated model of a house with poisonous items in four rooms. Users will have the ability to clean up the scene in each room while they learn about the dangers posed to pets.
Experts agree if a pet appears ill, or someone witnesses a pet consuming a household product or one appears chewed up, the owner should call a veterinarian as quickly as possible.
"It's important to have quick access to the vet's phone number, a number for after hours, and know if the veterinarian will take patients on an emergency basis or if there is an emergency animal hospital," Hansen said. "The veterinarian will often call us and we can recommend how to manage the poisoning, give antidotes and help in recovery."
For the past 25 years, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, an allied agency of the University of Illinois, has provided veterinary toxicology consulting on poisonings.
The specially trained staff provides assistance to pet owners and specific analysis and treatment recommendations to veterinarians pertaining to toxic chemicals and dangerous plants, products or substances 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2002, the center handled more than 73,000 cases.
"We usually don't have to worry about choking hazards in dogs like we do with small children," Hansen said. "Dogs are more liable to ingest something and require surgery that costs hundreds of dollars -- if a dog grabs some rising yeast dough off the counter, it will continue to rise and may need surgery."
Dr. Julia Brannan, an animal behaviorist who teaches at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Fort Collins, said puppies always are at higher risk of ingesting something, but dogs can chew something because they are bored or because the item is just so desirable.
"My own dog, climbed up on the computer desk and chewed up a letter opener and swallowed its razor blade cutter," Brannan told UPI. "We had him X-rayed but we couldn't find it so we had to feed him white bread to bind around it and hope he would eliminate it naturally without causing any damage, which he did."
Animals are very sensitive to our emotions and level of stress and many have anxiety disorders and it can result in an animal suddenly chewing on something it had ignored for years, according to Brannan.
"In addition, animals develop senility just like people, and as a result they can be more destructive and chew on things they never had before," Hansen said. "Changes in the family such as moving to new location, divorce, a new baby can result in more chewing and destruction behavior."
Cats are more discriminate eaters and most of the poison control call are for dogs, but cats can have more problems physically if they do.
"A single dose of extra strength acetaminophen or two regular doses or one regular dose in a small enough cat can be lethal because of the way cats metabolize it," said Hansen. "While a dog will almost always eat whatever pills get dropped on the kitchen floor even though they won't eat pills prescribed for them, cats poisoned from acetaminophen have usually been given the tablet by the owner in an effort to treat arthritis or other ailment without consulting a veterinarian."
There is evidence grapes and raisins can cause significant kidney problems in dogs but not in cats, but windshield washer fluid can cause blindness in cats because of the way it is metabolized, Hansen said.
"This time of year we like to remind people that Easter lilies, in a potted plant or in a bouquet of fresh flowers can poison and kill a cat -- it can cause kidney failure in cats but not in dogs or people," Hansen said. "The sago palm found outdoors in the southern United States has a large nut that a dog will chew that can cause profound liver damage -- owners should remove them from the plant and always observe a dog left outdoors."
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, advises pet owners to:
--Read all of the information on the label before using a product on your pet or in your home. If a product is for use only on dogs, it should never be used on cats. If a product is for use only on cats, it never should be used on dogs.
--Be aware some plants are poisonous. The ingestion of azalea, oleander, sago palm or yew plant material by your pet can be fatal. Easter lily, day lily, tiger lily and some other lily species can cause kidney failure in cats.
--Make sure your pets do not go on lawns or in gardens that are treated with fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides until the product has completely dried. Always read the label for proper usage and storage instructions. It is important to store such products in areas that are inaccessible to pets.
--When using rat, mouse, snail or slug baits, or ant or roach traps, place the products in areas that are inaccessible to your pet. Some bait contains sweet smelling inert ingredients such as jelly, peanut butter or sugar that can attract pets.
--Call a veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 if you suspect a pet has ingested something poisonous.
