The Kaffir lily is a beautiful, large plant with succulent green leaves and beautiful bunched flowers (which are most commonly orange in color). Depending on how much ingested, however, the Kaffir lily can potentially be as dangerous. All parts of this plant, especially the bulb, contain alkaloids and lycorine, which can cause drooling, vomiting, diarrhea,…

Iron is a chemical element that is commonly found in multiple sources around the house, garden, and yard. Sources of iron include fertilizers, multivitamins (particularly prenatal vitamins), dietary mineral supplements, some types of hand warmers (including foot warmers, body warmers, etc.), and oxygen absorbers (small sachets found in food items like beef jerky, rawhide bags,…

Hand sanitizer, which is typically unpalatable to pets, often contains ethanol (e.g., alcohol). Like other types of alcohol, a large ingestion of hand sanitizer can cause lethargy, vomiting, incoordination, weak respirations, and dangerous drops in blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature. Severely intoxicated animals can potentially experience seizures and respiratory failure.

Sleep aids are medications that are designed to reduce anxiety and help people sleep better. Lunesta® (eszopiclone) and Ambien® (zolpidem) are two common types used in human medicine. Sleep aids are benzodiazepines or non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, and these drugs work similarly to Valium (benzodiazepine). While these drugs are designed to cause sleep and sedation in humans,…

Isoniazid is an antimycobacterial agent used for the treatment of tuberculosis in human medicine. While it is sometimes used in veterinary medicine for the treatment of certain types of infection (Mycobacterium bovis, M. tuberculosis), it has a narrow margin of safety can be deadly when dogs and cats ingest them. Common signs with isoniazid poisoning…