Foods and plants that are poisonous to dogs and cats

Plenty of ordinary things in a kitchen, a bathroom cabinet or a garden can poison a dog or a cat. This is the list every Home Tales sitter learns, and the one worth knowing as an owner too. It isn't complete: if you're not sure whether something is poisonous, treat it as if it is, and phone the vet.

Food

• Chocolate, and cocoa-shell garden mulch, for the same reason.
• Grapes, raisins and sultanas, including in mince pies, Christmas pudding and hot cross buns.
• Onions and garlic, including in stuffing and gravy.
• Xylitol, a sweetener in sugar-free gum, some peanut butters and some sweets.
• Macadamia nuts.
• Alcohol, including a glass left on the floor at a party.
• Coffee grounds.
• Mouldy food, including from a compost heap.

Medicines

Human painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol. Paracetamol can kill a cat. Keep every medicine, including a visitor's, in a cupboard rather than a bag on the floor, and never give a pet a human medicine unless a vet tells you to.

Around the house

• Dishwasher tablets and cleaning products.
• Essential oils, in diffusers, candles and incense. Several, including tea tree, eucalyptus and citrus, are toxic to cats and dogs.
• Antifreeze and screenwash. A teaspoon or less of antifreeze can kill a cat, and a lick from a spill on a driveway can make it seriously ill.
• Slug pellets, rat poison, weedkiller and fertiliser.
• Paint and fuel.

Plants

• Lilies, for cats: every part of the plant, the pollen, and even the water in the vase. A cat that brushes against a lily and licks the pollen off its fur can be poisoned.
• Houseplants: dieffenbachia, sago palm, pothos and peace lily, among many others.
• In the garden: daffodil and tulip bulbs, foxgloves, yew, laburnum, rhododendron and hydrangea, among many others.
• At Christmas: poinsettia, mistletoe and holly.

Not poisons, but just as dangerous

Cooked bones, corn cobs, foil, string, skewers and fatty leftovers. Bones splinter, cobs and string block guts, and fatty food can cause pancreatitis in dogs. Bins need lids, and plates need to stay out of reach at a barbecue.

If a pet has eaten something poisonous

• Phone the vet straight away, even if the pet seems fine. Some poisons take hours to show, and the sooner the vet acts, the better.
• Don't make the pet sick. Some poisons do more damage coming back up, and salt water can kill.
• Take the packet, the plant or a photo of the label, and an idea of how much was eaten and when.

For the other signs that mean a pet needs the vet now, see what to do if a pet gets ill on a house sit.

On a house sit

A good sitter walks round the home and garden on their first day, room by room, looking for what each pet could reach and eat, and does it again whenever something new comes into the house. Hosts can help by putting anything risky away before they go, and by saying in the welcome pack which plants are in the garden and which pet eats everything. Every Home Tales sitter learns the common poisons in House Sitting Basics before they can apply for a sit, and Pet Care & Safety teaches the walk-round, room by room and season by season.