My Dog or Cat Ate Something Toxic: US First Aid and Who to Call

Last verified 2026-07-26

Do this first

Call before you treat. Do not give your pet anything at home and do not try to make them vomit until a professional tells you to. Call your own veterinarian or the nearest 24/7 animal ER, or one of two national poison-control hotlines: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, or Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661. Both run 24 hours a day, every day.
Pet Poison Helpline charges $89 per incident, and that covers every follow-up call about the same case. ASPCA also charges a consultation fee but does not publish the amount anywhere on its own site - ask when you call. Both exist because animal poison-control centers get no government funding, unlike human poison centers.
Have this ready before you dial: your pet's species, breed, sex and neuter status, age, weight, medical history and current medications, plus the product name, its ingredients, how much was eaten, and when. Keep the packaging in front of you, or photograph the label, and bring it to the clinic.
Do not induce vomiting on your own judgment. Whether to empty the stomach is a decision a veterinarian or a poison-control toxicologist makes after hearing the full history - not something to attempt from a phone script. There is no safe way to do it for cats at home, ever.
Some toxins have a delayed danger window. With xylitol, for example, the FDA notes blood sugar can crash within 10 to 60 minutes, but serious effects may not appear for up to 12 to 24 hours - which is why a dog may need hospitalization for monitoring even if it looks fine right now.
Skip the phone triage and go straight to the nearest animal ER if you see collapse, difficulty breathing, a first-time or prolonged seizure, pale gums, extreme pain, a suddenly bloated abdomen, or uncontrolled retching. Call the hospital while you're on the way so the team can prepare.

Call before you treat:

(888) 426-4435 — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (24 hours a day, 365 days a year). A consultation fee applies, but ASPCA does not publish a dollar amount anywhere on its own site - not on the main poison-control page, not on its FAQ, not in its own explainer article. Ask the fee when you call.
(855) 764-7661 — Pet Poison Helpline (24/7). $89 per incident, and that single fee covers every follow-up call about the same case, whether you place it or your own veterinarian does.

Call before you treat

The first move is a phone call, not a home remedy. If your dog or cat ate or got into something that might be toxic, do not give them anything to eat or drink, do not administer any home antidote, and do not try to induce vomiting before you get professional direction.

Emergency care starts with the phone call - be ready to describe what happened so the person on the other end can start triaging immediately. Poisoning is on the standard veterinary list of situations that need immediate care, not a wait-and-see category.

Who to call, and what it costs

Three options, in order: your own veterinarian or the nearest genuinely 24/7 emergency hospital; the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435; or Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661. Both hotlines run 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and both are independently listed by the FDA and by Cornell's veterinary center as the two national numbers to call.

Pet Poison Helpline is upfront about its price: $89 per incident, and that fee explicitly covers every follow-up consultation on the same case, with you or with your treating veterinarian. ASPCA charges a consultation fee too - its own pages state a fee applies and call it 'a one-time consultation fee' that can 'help you avoid thousands in potential emergency vet costs' - but nowhere on aspca.org is that fee given as a dollar figure, even in a direct search of the raw page text. If a fee number for ASPCA shows up somewhere else online, it did not come from ASPCA's own site; ask the exact amount when you call. Both organizations explain the charge the same way: unlike human poison-control centers, animal poison-control centers receive no federal or state funding.

Have this ready before you dial

Two categories of information speed up the call. About your pet: species, breed, sex, whether they're spayed or neutered, age, weight, medical history, and any medications they're currently on. About the exposure: the name of the product, plant or food, its ingredients, roughly how much was eaten, and when it happened.

Keep the packaging in front of you while you talk, or take a clear photo of the label and ingredients if the container is gone - and bring the container, or that photo, with you to the clinic. It's a small step that removes guesswork for whoever treats your pet next.

Why we won't tell you how to induce vomiting

This is the part of the guide we won't give you a recipe for, and here's why. Whether to make a pet vomit is a clinical decision, made after a toxicologist or veterinarian hears the full history - not something to attempt on your own judgment from a phone script. The MSD Veterinary Manual is blunt about the risk of talking an owner through it by phone: it can cause a vagal response with collapse and slowed heart rate, choking on the vomit itself, aspiration pneumonia, further injury if the substance is caustic, or mucosal damage from whatever was used to induce it.

Emesis is also contraindicated outright in several situations: if the substance could damage the esophagus or stomach on the way back up, if more than a few hours have passed, if the swallowing reflex is absent, if the animal is having a seizure, or if there's a real risk of aspiration. And for cats specifically, there is no safe or effective way to induce vomiting at home, full stop - cats, birds and other non-dog species should never have vomiting attempted outside a clinic. This guide will not name a product, a dose, or a volume for making a pet vomit; that omission is deliberate, not an oversight.

Other things not to do

Skip the milk - it's rarely helpful, and dogs and cats are generally lactose intolerant anyway. Skip any home antidote. Don't leave your pet alone while you wait for advice, and don't act on unverified instructions you find online; that's exactly what the call is for.

If the exposure was on the skin or coat rather than swallowed, wash thoroughly with soap and water, and be aware a dense coat may need to be clipped to get the substance off completely. And protect yourself while you handle a contaminated animal - some of what's dangerous to your pet is dangerous to you too.

Don't wait for symptoms to appear

With some toxins, the dangerous phase is delayed well past when your pet still looks fine. The clearest documented example is xylitol: the FDA notes that hypoglycemia can occur within 10 to 60 minutes of eating it, but says serious adverse effects may not show up for up to 12 to 24 hours in some cases - which is why a dog that ate a xylitol product may need to be hospitalized for monitoring even before anything looks wrong. That's presented here as the one sourced example we have, not as a universal rule for every toxin - the safest assumption is that a delayed reaction is possible until a professional tells you otherwise.

Skip the call - go straight in

Some signs override phone triage entirely: collapse, difficulty breathing, a first-time seizure or one that clusters or runs over five minutes, pale gums, extreme pain, a suddenly bloated abdomen, or retching that won't stop. Toxin ingestion itself is on the standard list of situations that count as a veterinary emergency - it is not a category you're supposed to wait out.

Call the hospital while you're already on the way so the team can prepare for your arrival. And if you have to move an injured animal, support the head, neck and spine on something flat and firm rather than picking them up loosely.

What happens after the call

Once you get through, you're given a case number (sometimes called a file or reference number). From there, the toxicologist either gives you home-monitoring instructions with specific warning signs to watch for, or sends you to a clinic and stays available to consult with the treating veterinarian directly. Either way, follow-up calls about that same case are not charged again.

Prepare before you need it

The best time to save both hotline numbers, and the number of the nearest genuinely 24/7 emergency hospital, is right now - before you're dealing with a panicked pet at 2 a.m. Ten seconds of prep in your contacts list saves real time when it matters.

Look up what your pet got into

Xylitol (gum, candy, sugar-free peanut butter)Chocolate Grapes and raisins Onion Garlic Macadamia nuts Alcohol Coffee and caffeine Raw yeast dough Cooked bones Mushrooms Lily (severe for cats)Lily of the valley Sago palm Oleander Azalea Tulip Peace lily

Search the full Pet Safety Checker

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free hotline to call if my pet ate something toxic?

No - both national poison-control hotlines charge. Pet Poison Helpline is $89 per incident, and that covers every follow-up call about the same case. ASPCA Animal Poison Control also charges a consultation fee, but does not publish the dollar amount anywhere on its own site; ask when you call. Both charge because, unlike human poison-control centers, animal poison-control centers receive no government funding.

Should I make my dog or cat throw up at home?

Not on your own judgment. Whether to induce vomiting is a decision a veterinarian or poison-control toxicologist makes after hearing the full history, because it can be actively harmful - risks include a vagal reaction with collapse, choking, aspiration pneumonia, and further injury if the substance is caustic. There is no safe way to do it for cats at home, ever. Call first.

How fast do I need to act if my pet ate xylitol?

Faster than the symptoms suggest. The FDA notes that hypoglycemia from xylitol can start within 10 to 60 minutes, but says serious effects may not appear for up to 12 to 24 hours in some cases - meaning your dog can look completely normal and still need hospitalization for monitoring. Call your vet or an emergency hospital immediately rather than waiting to see if anything develops.

What if my cat chewed on a lily or another plant?

Treat it as urgent and call immediately - lilies are one of the more severe common exposures for cats. Check the specific plant on the MeowNavi Pet Safety Checker for the cat/dog verdict and sourcing, but don't wait on that lookup before calling a vet or a poison-control hotline if your cat has any known contact with a lily.

Do I call my own vet or a poison-control hotline first?

Either is a correct first call - the point is to call someone before you try anything at home. Your own veterinarian or the nearest 24/7 emergency hospital knows your pet's history; ASPCA Animal Poison Control ((888) 426-4435) and Pet Poison Helpline ((855) 764-7661) are staffed toxicologists available around the clock. Many owners end up talking to both: a hotline for the immediate triage, then a clinic for treatment.

This page is for general information only and is not veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If your pet is showing symptoms, or you think they ate or touched something dangerous, contact your veterinarian or a pet poison-control hotline immediately.