Human Foods That Can Send Pets to Urgent Care

Sharing a bite with your pet feels like an act of love, and most of the time it is harmless. But a handful of everyday human foods are genuinely dangerous to dogs and cats, and they are responsible for a steady stream of urgent-care visits. The tricky part is that some of these do their worst damage hours or days later, long after the dog seemed fine.

Here are the foods most likely to land a pet in our clinic, and what to do if your pet gets into one.

The Most Dangerous Toxic Foods for Pets

Grapes and Raisins

Deceptively serious. Even a small number of grapes or raisins can cause sudden kidney failure in some dogs, and there is no known safe amount, since the mechanism is still not fully understood. A dog that ate grapes and seems fine now still needs to be seen because kidney damage may not show for a day or two.

Chocolate

Chocolate contains theobromine, which dogs cannot clear well. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous. Baking chocolate and dark chocolate are far worse than milk chocolate. Signs include vomiting, restlessness, a racing heart, tremors, and seizures. The risk depends on the type of chocolate and your dog’s size.

Onions, Garlic, Chives, and Leeks

Every member of the onion family damages red blood cells and can cause anemia in dogs and cats. Cats are especially sensitive. The toxicity can be delayed by days, and small amounts eaten repeatedly add up, so watch out for these hidden in sauces, baby food, and table scraps.

Xylitol

This sugar substitute, found in sugar-free gum, mints, some peanut butters, and baked goods, triggers a dangerous blood sugar crash in dogs within minutes and can cause liver failure. It is one of the fastest-acting toxins on this list.

Alcohol

Dogs and cats are far more sensitive to alcohol than people, and small amounts, including alcohol in raw bread dough, can cause vomiting, disorientation, dangerously low blood sugar, and in severe cases, seizures or breathing failure.

Fatty and Rich Foods

A big helping of fatty table scraps, bacon, drippings, or rich leftovers can trigger pancreatitis, a painful and sometimes serious inflammation of the pancreas. Watch for vomiting, a hunched posture, belly pain, and refusing food after a fatty meal.

Foods That Are Risky for Other Reasons

A few foods are not toxic in the chemical sense but still cause emergencies:

• Cooked bones, which splinter and can puncture or block the gut
• Corn cobs and peach pits, which do not digest and cause intestinal blockages
• Macadamia nuts, which cause weakness, tremors, and vomiting in dogs
• Large amounts of salt, found in things like playdough and some snacks, which can be toxic
• Raw bread dough, which expands in the stomach and ferments into alcohol

What to Do If Your Pet Ate Something Toxic

1. Identify what was eaten and roughly how much.
2. Note the time it happened.
3. Call us. Do not induce vomiting unless a vet directs you to, because for some toxins it makes things worse.
4. Come in promptly. Many of these are far more treatable when caught early.

Frequently Asked Questions