Animal Poison Control in Westlake Village, CA

In spite of your best efforts to keep your pet safe, you may find yourself in a situation where your pet has been poisoned. It can be from something they ate that was poisonous or came in contact with an animal or insect that is poisonous such as a snake. When this happens, our veterinarians want you to immediately bring your pet to Anza Animal Clinic in Westlake Village for veterinary treatment. ANIMAL POISON CONTROL

Common Poisons Encountered by Pets in Thousand Oaks, Lake Sherwood, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, and Westlake

There are many potentially dangerous foods, chemicals, insecticides, and plants in and around Agoura Hills, Lake Sherwood, and Newbury Park homes that can be hazardous to dogs and cats. In addition, if you suspect your pet has been bitten by a snake, look for puncture wounds. Snake bites are considered an emergency veterinary situation.

Foods that Should Be Kept Away from Dogs and Cats

Pets should not be allowed to eat unbaked, leavened bread, grapes, anything with caffeine in it, chocolate, garlic, onions, salt, nuts, and mushrooms as well as many other types of common human foods.

Medications

All human and pet medications should be kept in locked drawers or cabinets where your pet cannot reach them. Hazardous medications include flea and tick medicines, allergy meds, antidepressants, pain medications, and anti-inflammatories.

Hazardous Chemicals

Hazardous chemicals, including oil, antifreeze, cleaning chemicals, laundry detergent, pesticides, and insecticides, should be kept in sealed containers behind locked cabinet doors or in areas that your pets cannot reach.

Snake Bites

Snake bites can be lethal to dogs, cats, and humans. If you suspect your pet has been bitten by a snake, try to identify the snake by its markings. In general, the snake will be striped, banded, patterned, patternless, or have rattlers. The most common type of venomous snake in California is the rattlesnake, and there are six species, including the Mojave, Red Diamond, Sidewinder, Speckled, Southern Pacific, and the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.

Poison Control Treatments with Our Veterinarians

If you suspect your pet has ingested a poisonous food, plant, chemical or medication, you should try to determine the type of poison your pet ate. This can be accomplished by looking for torn or chewed packing or bits of the item leftover from your pet’s foraging. Once you find the evidence, put it in a plastic bag and bring the bag along with your pet to our animal clinic. This will help our veterinarians determine the best poison control treatment, which may include poison neutralizing medications, IV fluids, and monitoring.

If your pet was bitten by a rattlesnake, our animal hospital doctors will need treatment from our veterinarians, serving Thousand Oaks, Lake Sherwood, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, and Westlake. Treatment may include monitoring, IV fluids, cleaning, and shaving of the bite wound, immobilization, and/or anti-venom.

To Make An Appointment at our animal clinic, call us at (805) 495-1059. When you schedule your appointment, ask us about our 25% off first exams for all new patients. We are also offering $20 off for referrals to our animal clinic.

Foods to Avoid

At Anza Animal Clinic, our Westlake Village vet provides a wide range of services for your cat or dog, including poison control treatment for situations when your pet has ingested a known toxin, such as a poisonous food or chemical. Proudly serving Thousand Oak, Lake Sherwood, Oak Park, and the surrounding communities, our veterinary team provides compassionate, skilled, and knowledgeable care in a welcoming environment.

Foods to Keep Away From Your Cat or Dog

While it may be tempting to treat your pet to a bite of “human” food every once in a while, it’s important to exercise extreme caution when feeding anything other than approved pet foods and treats to your dog or cat. Unfortunately, there are many foods that, while perfectly healthy for most humans to consume, can be poisonous and even downright fatal to pets.

Chocolate is an excellent example of a food that should be kept out of reach of dogs and cats at all times. Specifically, chocolate (even in very small amounts) can cause severe stomach and digestive problems for your pet. That’s because chocolate contains a substance known as methylxanthine, which can cause anything from vomiting and diarrhea in pets to tremors, seizures, and heart problems. This substance is also found in caffeine, so keep all caffeinated beverages away from your pets as well.

Many cat owners are also surprised to learn that dairy products can be dangerous to give as a treat. In fact, most pets (dogs included) actually become lactose intolerant by the time they reach adulthood, so giving a cat milk or a dog ice cream can actually cause a lot of digestive problems.

Meat scraps are also a food to keep away from your pet. It may seem like a nice treat to throw your dog some leftover turkey at Thanksgiving dinner, but that turkey could still contain small bones that your pet could choke on.

Some other examples of foods to keep away from dogs and cats include:

• onions and chives
• garlic
• grapes
• nuts

We also recommend keeping an eye on the AVMA’s list of animal food recalls and alerts so you can be made aware of any food or treats you buy for your pets that have become recalled.

What to Do if You Suspect Pet Poisoning

If you suspect your pet ate something dangerous, always try to determine what your pet ate, as this can be extremely useful when it comes to determining the proper course of treatment. If you find a chewed-up food bag or similar evidence, place it into a plastic bag and bring it with you to our clinic. And of course, be aware of common signs of pet poisoning, such as:

• vomiting
• diarrhea
• lethargy
• panting/difficulty breathing