Vets Share The Most Common Foods And Household Items That Are Harmful To Pets

Onion is toxic to dogs in all its forms: raw, cooked, leaves, bulb, and juice. Even processed onion powders are a no-no, and the toxicity also extends to other members of the allium genus, such as garlic, leeks, and chives. This is because these plants contain a compound named N-propyl disulfide. It attacks a dog’s red blood cells, resulting in anaemia, which could leave a pooch’s organs struggling to absorb enough oxygen. Depending on your dog’s size and weight, eating significant amounts of onion could be fatal.

Dogs shouldn’t eat chocolate because it contains two ingredients that their bodies can’t deal with: theobromine and caffeine, also known as methylxanthines. These two substances enter a pooch’s bloodstream when chocolate is ingested. This is very bad for their heart and nervous system, as well as the muscles and kidneys. In fact, ingesting chocolate can be fatal in some dogs, depending on the quantity eaten and their physical size. 

Tulips may be gorgeous when they’re in full bloom, and they’ll likely attract your doggo or kitty cat. You need to make sure they don’t eat them, though, because tulips contain the glycosides tuliposide and tulipalin, which are toxic if ingested. If you think your pet has eaten tulips — symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive drooling, abdominal cramps, tremors, and even an irregular heartbeat — then get them to a veterinarian quickly. Cases where the pet has eaten tulip bulbs can be even more dangerous and potentially lead to death!

In 2021 the ASPCA Poison Control Center’s Colette Wegenast finally solved one of life’s mysteries: why are grapes and raisins poisonous to dogs? Well, she told NEWStat, “Tartaric acid and potassium bitartrate are uniquely present in high concentrations in grapes,” and dogs are “a species that has been shown to be sensitive to tartaric acid — with acute renal failure reported in the older studies.” So, the next time you’re having a cheeseboard with grapes, or giving your kid a box of raisins to take to school, make sure the furball doesn’t steal any!

Coconuts aren’t a 100 percent no-no in pets, but it’s best to limit them anyway. You see, the flesh and milk from a coconut can be eaten in small doses by our furry pals, but anything more than that and it could cause digestive problems. Coconut water is also off-limits because it contains too much potassium. On the other hand, coconut oil can be used as a skin remedy for cats in certain situations, but it’s still best to ask your veterinarian first if they think it’s suitable for your moggy.

These days, we all love putting essential oils in a diffuser and turning our living room into an aromatherapy center. Whether it’s eucalyptus, lavender, or tea tree, they all smell wonderful and make us feel relaxed. Yet we should always be vigilant that our pets aren’t licking the diffuser or trying to knock it over, before accidentally walking through some spilled oil. You see, in their concentrated form, essential oils can be super-dangerous for animals, leading to dizziness, low body temperature, and even depression!

Veterinary toxicologist Renee Schmid told the South Bend Tribune that avocados contain a toxin called persin, which is very dangerous for rabbits, horses, and birds. It’s less worrisome for dogs and cats, but not entirely safe either: avocado flesh is high in fat, which could lead to doggy pancreatitis, but the bigger danger is the pooch swallowing the pit. Still, a little bit of avocado here and there shouldn’t hurt, as long as you’re careful to clean away the remnants so your pooch can’t get at it.

Experts from Bob Martin Petcare told British newspaper the Daily Express that hydrangeas are a big no-no if you own a doggo. They explained, “You might not realise that however beautiful the flowers are, this plant contains cyanide. Your dog will be harmed by consuming any part of the plant, so watch them closely when these bushes are in the area and ensure that your pup is kept on the lead when necessary. Hydrangea-poisoning symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach pain, and diarrhea.”

The next time you’re adding fabric softener to your washing machine, mopping the kitchen floor, or doing the dishes with washing-up liquid, make sure your pet is nowhere to be seen. You see, these household detergents can be corrosive to dogs and cats if they ingest them, which can easily happen if you spill some and your pet walks through the spillage. If they then lick their paws clean, they may burn the inside of their mouths, start vomiting, and lose their appetite.

As a general rule, you shouldn’t give nuts to cats: they are high in calories and fat, can obstruct their intestines and stomach, and often present a serious choking hazard. Dogs, on the other hand, can eat certain nuts, including plain peanuts, roasted cashews, plain hazelnuts, and pine nuts. Still, do not under any circumstances give a dog macadamia nuts, raw cashews, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, or Brazil nuts: they all contain toxic elements for a pooch.

Ripe tomatoes are not toxic to your pets; in fact, dogs tend to love the taste! It’s not a good idea to give them a lot in one go, though, as tomatoes are acidic and could potentially upset their tummy. The real toxicity comes from the stem, leaves, and unripened tomatoes from a tomato plant. These contain tomatine, which can cause an animal to drool excessively, slow their heart rate, and dilate their pupils. They’d have to eat a lot for this to happen, but it’s definitely best to be cautious.

In recent years, many pet-owners have taken to giving their pets raw meat and fish instead of dog food and kibble. They say this diet meets their nutritional needs, can improve their coats, and the animals can digest raw meat better. Still, you need to be incredibly careful with storage, preparation, and clean-up of raw meat. No matter how fastidious you try to be, chances are your pet will still be exposed to harmful bacteria. For example, freezing meat doesn’t kill all the germs and parasites: they’ll start to multiply again as soon as it’s defrosted!

Cats love squeezing themselves into tight spaces to hide, and many love finding their way inside closets to catch some Zs. Unfortunately, this is where people put moth balls. Cats are fairly unlikely to just eat them like a dog would, but they may be curious enough to steal a lick. This would be bad, as moth balls contain naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, carcinogens which can make the animal very sick. Even breathing in their fumes can lead to sneezing, coughing, and a runny nose in your kitty!

Vets Now’s head of clinical intelligence Dave Leicester revealed, “It’s a little-known fact that daffodils and pets are not a good combination. In most cases, however, cats and dogs only suffer gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea.” Daffodils contain an alkaloid which triggers vomiting when ingested, you see, and the bulbs are particularly toxic. If your pet eats them, it could genuinely lead to a life-or-death situation. Basically, if you think your animal has swallowed some daffodils, rush them to the vet as fast as you can.

Generally speaking, if your kitty is in good health, you can give them a little piece of baked bread with no issues. But if you’re a keen baker and you’re making a dough with yeast, it’s super-important that you don’t let your moggy eat any of it. Unbaked dough with yeast will rise inside the animal, causing its stomach to bloat and, in some cases, twist. In severe cases this can be fatal, so it’s best to keep dough hidden away from curious paws.

The problem with dogs eating peaches and plums isn’t that they won’t like the taste, or that the fruit will make them vomit. Instead, the issue is that humans know not to eat the pit inside these fruits, but dogs don’t: peach/plum pits actually contains traces of cyanide. Yep, a peach pit would be poisonous to a human too! Dogs can also choke on the pit, depending on how big it is, and its roughness could damage the esophagus and intestines. 

Here’s something that won’t surprise you at all. If your doggo or kitty cat eats paint, it will make them ill, and even result in death if they ingest enough of it. That much is obvious: eating paint bad! But you should also try to avoid exposing your pets to the fumes from paint; also, be vigilant of them licking paint chips. Some acrylic paints are safe for pets, but others can contain cadmium, lead, or chromium, while some latex paints have small amounts of ethylene glycol — antifreeze — within.

Look, we were all raised to think swallowing gum was going to do terrible damage to our insides — but that’s not quite the case. Still, if your doggo happens to snaffle a piece of gum discarded on the street? That very much could do damage to their insides if it’s the kind of sugar-free gum containing the artificial sweetener xylitol. Dogs are the only animals known to have a bad reaction to xylitol, which lowers their blood sugar quickly and then releases a huge amount of insulin into their systems. That ain’t good!

Snake plants are much less scary than they sound, although their leaves do have a defense mechanism which makes them toxic to dogs and cats. You see, they produce a toxin known as saponin, which discourages fungi and insects from ravaging the leaves. But, if your pet eats one of these leaves, this saponin will wreak havoc on its insides, leaving them nauseous, as well as prone to vomiting and diarrhea. It could even cause problems with their breathing. All in all, it’s best to keep these plants far out of reach!

The image of an enthusiastic doggo chomping on a bone is indelibly etched in our cultural consciousness, but these days, pet experts actually don’t recommend them! The structural integrity of a cooked bone is weakened by heat, so it can easily splinter and cause a choking hazard when the pooch chews on it. Raw bones are better, but still not perfect, as they can also break and carry the extra risk of giving the dog salmonella! Dogs don’t even need bones to prevent plaque build-up on their teeth anymore, as there are chews which serve that very purpose.

If you’ve got pets and you’re a keen gardener who wants the lawn to look its best, may we offer a suggestion? Use pet-friendly, organic fertilizer instead of the regular kind. After using most fertilizers — which contain harsh chemicals such as weed killer, pesticides, and insecticides — you need to keep your pet off the lawn until it dries. But with the organic varieties, you can let your doggo or kitty cat on the lawn pretty much immediately, and it won’t matter if they eat the grass. It just makes sense!

The aloe vera plant has many uses, both therapeutic and medicinal. Its sap can be used to ease sunburn, while aloe vera extract is found in products such as moisturisers, flavored water, and vitamins. Despite all these positive things for us humans, though, the plant is super-toxic to pets if they ingest any of the leaves. It will give them all the classic symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting, but it’s also been known to make the poor little furballs tired and lethargic. 

Vet Helen Crofts told Cats Protection’s blog, “Cats have an extremely sensitive sense of smell and as citrus fruits are very aromatic, what smells heavenly to us is way too over-the-top for cats…If you want to discourage your cat from using a particular area of your garden as a toilet, leaving orange peel among the flowers may help...Fortunately, this natural aversion to strong, citrusy smells means that cats tend to avoid eating it. This is just as well as ingesting citrus fruits can cause cats to experience gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting, and diarrhea.”

Despite our culture always leading us to believe that cats love milk, our feline friends are actually lactose-intolerant! They can eat dairy products and not keel over — heck, they may even love the taste — but it’s far from good for them. After eating dairy, they’ll likely wind up suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. When it comes to dogs, some may be fine with dairy, while others may be lactose-intolerant: it’s not a hard and fast rule like with cats. 

When Renee Schmid told Pet Poison Hotline, “A dog that drinks alcohol is at risk for some serious health-related side-effects,” we couldn’t help thinking, “Thank you, Captain Obvious!” No one would be stupid enough to give booze to their dog, right? Well, to our surprise, we found out alcohol poisoning in dogs is more common than we thought, because people tend to leave their drinks unattended, and pooches lap it up! The ethanol in the alcohol will wreak havoc on the animal’s insides so, please, be careful with your half-full beers and glasses of wine!

Speaking to the Daily Express, experts from Bob Martin Petcare revealed the autumn crocus — also known as meadow saffron or naked lady — is “poisonous to dogs and horses, but it’s particularly toxic to cats because of alkaloid colchicine content. All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, and the effect is not contained to the flower or leaf. Cats that eat the crocus might show signs of gastrointestinal distress, such as diarrhoea, drooling, and vomiting. They might also display breathing difficulties, kidney and liver damage, or even seizures.”

This one seems pretty obvious because, in case you haven’t noticed, dogs and cats don’t tend to have a cup o’ joe in the morning! Unlike us sleepy humans, they don’t need stimulants to get them going, so their systems simply aren’t set up to handle caffeine. If your dog or cat does somehow manage to eat — or even just lick — coffee grounds, and you rush them to the vet within two hours, they’ll administer an injection to make the little guy vomit.

If you have a yew tree in your garden and you’ve just brought home a new puppy, you may want to get rid of the plant! Bob Martin Petcare’s experts told the Daily Express, “Both their berries and needles are harmful for dogs. It’s more likely that your dog will be interested in nibbling the berries rather than the prickly needles, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on your pooch whenever they’re in the vicinity of this tree. If eaten, both the berries and foliage… can cause dizziness, abdominal cramps, dry mouth, and vomiting.” 

Did you know that copper pennies are actually made with only 2.5 percent copper these days? The other 97.5 percent is zinc, and it’s been this way since 1982! Zinc is bad news for dogs, which means if your pooch has knocked over your penny collection and eaten one, they may stop eating, begin vomiting, and even become anaemic within three to seven days. Why that time period? Because that’s usually how long it takes for their stomach acid to fully dissolve a penny.

In the winter, you will almost certainly invest in some antifreeze — but be very careful your pet doesn’t ingest any of it. It contains a chemical known as ethylene glycol which has a sweet taste that pets — especially dogs — enjoy, and they’re also attracted to its luminous color. They’ll be likely to lick up any spillages they find in the driveway when you’re filling up your car radiator, so it’s best to be super-careful and mop them up instantly.