What Is Most Dangerous for Cats to Eat and Why
Cats may not eat trash like dogs , but they do get their fair share of food, houseplants, and other strange things. This is why some seemingly common objects are dangerous to cats and what you can do with them.
We’ll assume that you already know that you shouldn’t give your cat obvious poisons: medications, drugs, alcohol, chemical cleaners, and anything that has “poison” in the name (like rat poison). Even if a drug has mild effects on humans, that doesn’t mean it’s harmless to pets. For example, antidepressants and cold medicines come in the top ten of the cat poisons according to the service with the help of poisons for pets .
Lilies and daylilies
What is the danger? Cats that eat lilies and daylilies can develop kidney failure . An unknown toxin in the plant causes kidney cell death, and without timely treatment, this can be fatal.
The first signs of the problem appear within three hours after eating part of a lily leaf or flower: salivation, vomiting and depression. After about six hours, the cat appears to be recovering, but signs of kidney damage, starting with excessive urination, do not show for the next 12 hours or so. If you can take your cat to the vet while she is still doing well, she will receive intravenous fluids to prevent kidney damage.
In order not to complicate the situation, many plants are called lilies. Real lilies are dangerous for cats, including Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies and stargazer lilies; and their distant relatives are daylilies . There are other flowers with the word “lily” in their names, which are not related to each other. Some of them, like lilies of the valley, are not safe for cats, but for different reasons. The rest are fine; check this list when you shop for plants.
How much of a problem is this? A lethal dose can be as little as two leaves or part of one flower. A smaller amount may be enough to make your cat sick. Veterinarians consider all parts of the plant to be poisonous, even pollen. If you think your cat has eaten even a small portion of the lily, contact your veterinarian immediately. Your veterinarian needs to know exactly what your cat was eating in order to select the correct treatment, so save some of the plant if you need help identifying it.
Elephant ear, reed and related plants
What is the danger? These plants contain oxalic acid crystals, among other things. Think of crystals as microscopic needles : they irritate and burn around your cat’s mouth. You may see your cat drooling a lot or touching its mouth, or its mouth may be swollen. In rare cases, the swelling can affect their breathing.
If not, these plants are not deadly, but they can definitely cause pain and suffering. Some plants have oxalic acid, which is not in the form of needle crystals, but this is also dangerous: it can harm their organs, including the kidneys.
Elephant ear (top) is one of the most common plants to cause this problem, but oxalic acid is present in many plants. There are too many to list them all, but potos, philodendron, and peace lilies are some of the most common. Your best bet is to check your houseplants against lists like the ASPCA above, or their searchable database . To make things even more convenient, they’ve put this database, as well as a lot of other information about pet poisons, into their free app , available for iOS and Android .
How much of a problem is this? Since crystals are irritating, a sip is enough. For other vegetable poisons, the amount will depend on the plant.
Onion and garlic
What is the danger? Onions and garlic can cause vomiting and diarrhea, but more importantly, even small amounts of onions can destroy red blood cells. The result – a rare form of anemia – can be fatal.
How much of a problem is this? Cats are very susceptible to onion poisoning, even more so than dogs. A small amount of the drug is enough for cats to develop symptoms of anemia. If your cat is sick and you are feeding her a meat-flavored baby food, the onion powder in this foodmay be enough to show symptoms of anemia after a few weeks. This is probably not your cat’s usual diet, but onions are often found in many foods that cats can try, such as meatloafs.
Chocolate
What is the danger? Chocolate can cause the same problems in cats as it does in dogs: hyperactivity in low doses, heart problems, and death in high doses. Cats are slightly more sensitive to chocolate, but less likely than dogs to give it up. Due to the pickiness of cats, this type of poisoning is less common.
How much of a problem is this? As with dogs, it depends on what kind of chocolate your cat ate. Cocoa powder and baking chocolate are the most concentrated, and dark chocolate contains more toxic components than milk chocolate. Just one ounce of semi-sweet chocolate chips is enough to induce vomiting, hyperactivity, and heart palpitations. This calculator is for dogs, but should give you a rough idea of the hazards to cats.
A thread
What is the danger? The thread tangled on the outside of the cat is cute. A string entangled inside a cat can be life-threatening. If a piece of rope gets stuck in, for example, a cat’s mouth, the other end can pull on the intestines, knocking them together and even cutting the intestines.
How much of a problem is this? There is no specific number of lines that agree as valid or invalid; the question is, is the string getting stuck somewhere that it shouldn’t. If you see a rope in your cat’s mouth or (phew) sticking out of her butt, don’t pull on the rope – you don’t know how long it is and you could make the situation worse.
What to do if your cat eats one of these things
Call the vet! If your cat is vomiting, drowsy, or exhibiting anything that you think could be a sign of poisoning, take it to your veterinarian right away. If he doesn’t have symptoms yet, but you know he was eating something he shouldn’t, call and ask what you should do. Do not try to induce vomiting or medication yourself.
Your veterinarian can give you advice over the phone, but if you prefer to have a phone number associated with poisoning, try to call the hot line of the fight against poisoning pets (855-764-7661, worth $ 49) or in the center ASPCA Animal Poisoning Control (888-426-4435, costs $ 65). Both are available 24/7. Seek help before serious symptoms begin, because if the food is still in your cat’s stomach, it can be removed or made less toxic (for example, using activated charcoal). In the case of lilies, your veterinarian can give your cat plenty of fluids to stop kidney damage before it occurs.
Cats have strange habits and sometimes eat what you least expect, so it’s hard to tell what exactly to keep locked up and away from them. While researching this article, I read about cats eating just about anything, including rubber bands and pennies. Be sure to keep these loose items away from your cat if you can, and try to keep only safe types of indoor and garden plants in places where your cat can roam.
Illustration by Sam Woolley. Photo of Lily via Visual Hunt . Photo of an elephant ear by Blue NoBird . Photo of a bow www.fotoARION.ch . Chocolate chips, photo m01229 . Photo of Billy Verdun strings .