Having a young Labrador, it is not always easy to keep everything out of her mouth, something drops and within the blink of an eye it disappears into the depths of her stomach with undoubtedly a bit of chewed sock, stick and whatever else has been on the menu that day. It’s not always the young, it has been known for older dogs may take a fancy to something they shouldn’t! Cats will too, the Siamese especially good at eating shiny things!
Some of this indiscretion can be harmful for our pets, it may cause a blockage or may be poisonous. Some of the more well-known one poisons are Chocolate in dogs (particularly dark and cooking chocolate), Lilies to cats, and anti-freeze which can be severely toxic to cats and dogs. Sometimes we don’t know how toxic a substance is, such as a human medicine, and that’s where the Veterinary Poison line, run by Vets and toxicologists comes in to help us. They have a direct telephone number for pet owners, so you can get assistance directly if you are unsure if what your pet has eaten will make them poorly, this is 01202 509000 or visit https://www.animalpoisonline.co.uk. If in any doubt you can always contact your Vet at the first instance.
Lucy Travers BVSc CertAVP MRCVS Highfields Vets