The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is your best resource for animal poison-related emergencies—24 hours a day, 365 days a year. APCC works hard to provide valuable information to help parents recognize and protect their pets from poisonous substances, and last year they received an incredible 180,639 cases. In honor of National Animal Poison Prevention Month, they’ve compiled the 10 toxins most commonly ingested by pets—and reported to APCC—in 2016.
See what made the list below:
Garden Products
Kicking off the Top 10 list are garden products, including herbicides and fungicides, which accounted for 2.6 percent of the APCC’s cases in 2016. Many pets find fertilizers irresistible, so it’s incredibly important to store lawn and garden products out of paws’ reach, and to supervise pets whenever they’re outside.
Plants
Dropping one spot this year from #8 to #9, plants accounted for 5.2 percent of APCC’s cases. Both indoor and outdoor plants, along with bouquets, can be dangerous for pets. Be sure to understand the toxicity of plants before putting them in or around your house.
Rodenticides
Mice and rats continue to be problematic around the country, but rodent poisons can be just as toxic to pets as they are to the pests they’re designed to kill. This year they moved up a spot on APCC’s list, making up nearly 5.5 percent of all cases.
Insecticides
Interestingly, the total number of insecticide cases has steadily decreased in recent years—sliding from #3 in 2015 to #7 in 2016—but that doesn’t mean they’re safe. If label directions are not followed, these products can be very dangerous to pets, so always use caution when dealing with insect poisons.
Chocolate
From brownies to candy bars, dogs love chocolate. APCC receives an average of 39 chocolate calls every day—nearly 7.9 percent of their cases. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it can be.
Household Items
Holding strong in the #5 spot, household items include products like paint, glue and cleaning supplies—and they contribute to tens of thousands of poison cases each year.
Veterinary Products
At 9.3 percent of this year’s cases, veterinary products moved up two places on our list. Over-the-counter supplements for joints and prescription pain medications made up a large portion of these cases, particularly because many of these products are designed to be tasty for ease of administration. Unfortunately, this means that pets may be tempted to eat the entire container.
Food
Pets (especially dogs, who ingest human foods more often than cats) can get into serious trouble by eating onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, alcohol and other human foods. This year, food moved up a spot on APCC’s list—mostly due to concerns about xylitol, a sweetener used in many sugar-free products.
Over-the-counter Products
OTC products just barely dropped out of the first position with 16.7 percent of APCC’s cases. This category is exceptionally large, encompassing nearly 7,000 products, and ibuprofen is still the number one medication the APCC receives calls about.
Human Prescription Medications
Topping out this year’s list after a one-year hiatus, human prescription medications accounted for nearly 17 percent of all cases at the APCC. The types of medication to which animals were most often exposed correlate with the most popular medications prescribed to humans, including heart medications, antidepressants and ADHD medications. Pet parents should always maintain the utmost care when handling and storing these and other potentially poisonous products around pets.
If you have any reason to suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline at 888-426-4435.
