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Pet Sitter's Encyclopedia

This is a sample article from the Pet Sitter's Encyclopedia, coming soon!

Poisons and Other Hazards

Poison can be defined as any substance that causes injury, illness, or death when a sufficient quantity of it is absorbed or ingested by an organism. A sufficient quantity can mean a lot of things. If you’re talking about rattlesnake venom, a very small amount can cause death. But many common substances in everyday life can be poisonous if they’re used improperly.

The average human household has hundreds of poisons in it. We may not think of them as dangerous. Most common over the counter drugs, such as Tylenol or aspirin, can be dangerous, even deadly. If too much is used. Ammonia is a useful household cleaner, but if you drink it, it can kill you.

Keeping poisons away from animals sounds like an easy job. You lock up the cleaning supplies, put away the medications, throw away spoiled food – in general you do what you would normally do to prevent an accidental poisoning for a human. That’s a good start. But many substances that humans consider harmless, or even edible and delicious, can be deadly to a pet. These need to be kept away from a curious critter, also.

Outdoor Poisons - natural

  • Plants – mistletoe berries, foxglove, Jerusalem cherry, lilies of any kind, holly berries, boxwood, pine needles, yew trees
  • Pond algae
  • Certain toads
  • Venomous Critters - Spiders, snakes, scorpions, bees

Outdoor poisons – man-made

  • Automotive fluids – oil, anti-freeze, windshield washer, brake, and transmission fluids
  • Mulch made from cocoa or coffee
  • Fertilizer
  • Compost piles
  • Rotting trash
  • Citronella candles
  • Cigarette/cigar butts
  • Powder/spray insecticides, slug & snail killers, ant baits, rodent poisons
  • Pool & spa chemicals
  • Paint & thinners, brushes
  • Ice melting compound – usually salt with toxic additives

Before pet sitting, scan the yard and garage and remove any access to a source of poisoning. Limit the pets' ability to get into the garage, tool shed, compost pile, trash cans, pond or pool area. Suggest to your client that all gardening supplies, insect sprays, pool and spa supplies be kept in locked cabinets. Make sure the lids are tightly on trash cans or compost bins. If there are more hazards that can't be removed, restrict the pets' access to that area. Shut the doors to all pool houses, garages, and guest houses just to be sure the pets don't get inside.

Indoor Poisons

Indoors, the pet sitter faces many of the same challenges they face outdoors, with the added problems of foods that humans find delicious but don’t mix well with our furry friends.

Non-food poisons

  • Cleaning supplies – waxes, ammonia, Pine-sol, Lysol, window cleaner, bathroom, tub, and tile cleaner, toilet bowl cleaners (leave the lid down!)
  • Laundry supplies – detergent, bleach, fabric softener, dryer sheets
  • Dish soap & automatic dishwasher soaps
  • Indoor insecticides
  • Rat & mouse poison
  • Medications & vitamins – never give any human medication to an animal unless the vet tells you to
  • Potpourri – dry or liquid
  • Personal grooming products – make up, hair spray, solid deodorants, hair gel
  • Pennies (post-1982, high concentrations of zinc)
  • Moth balls
  • Batteries

Food poisons

  • Chocolate - yes, they love it, but don't give it to them!
  • Grapes (and raisins)
  • Xylitol – this is a reasonably common artificial sweetener, often used in toothpaste and mouthwash
  • Avocados
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Coffee (including the grounds)
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Onions & garlic
  • Fatty foods
  • Yeast dough (no more pizza crusts!)
  • Salt
  • Moldy or spoiled food

Now it’s true that some of these are more toxic than others. But they can all have a negative effect on animal health, and some can be extremely toxic even in small amounts. So it’s just best to avoid them altogether, to eliminate the guess-work.

Holiday Hazards

If you’re pet sitting around a time of year when your clients decorate their house (Christmas, Channukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, whatever) there are some special hazards that need to be isolated from the pets you’re taking care of, either by removal of the hazard or restricting access to the room it’s in. These include –

  • Ribbon, tinsel and garland – cats love to chew on this stuff, which causes havoc in their digestive system and can kill them
  • Christmas trees – real trees equal good noshing to many animals
  • Christmas tree water – may contain fertilizers or bacteria
  • Glass ornaments – when these hit the floor and shatter, injuries are not far behind

Poinsettia plants are not necessarily toxic, but if ingested may cause an upset stomach.

But what if my pet eats…

Here is a list of a few common things that pets eat which, while it may not kill them, may cause some gastrointestinal distress.

  • Toilet bowl water
  • Cat poop & litter (a bad habit, but it won’t hurt the dog much as long as they don't ingest too much litter)
  • Silica gel
  • Glue traps

The human factor

Sad to say, there are circumstances under which the pet you’re caring for may be poisoned deliberately. If the dog you are sitting has the habit of howling, barking or whining when their owner is away, the potential is there for an angry neighbor to throw a poisoned steak into the yard. If the cat routinely sneaks onto the neighbor’s property and kills their pets, chews on their ornamental plants, or otherwise makes a nuisance of itself, something tasty but deadly could be tossed within reach.

The only way to deal with this problem is to stop it before it happens. Ask these questions.

  • Does the pet you are sitting have a history of getting outside their yard and into a neighbor’s yard and trash?
  • Check the fence, the gate and the perimeter. Are there signs of digging?
  • Ask the pet owner if there have been any complaints about the animal you are sitting.
  • Ask if their pet would accept food or goodies from a strange person.

If the answer is YES to any two or more of these questions, suggest to the owner that they keep their animal at your own home or at a kennel. It is better for you to lose a pet sitting job than lose an animal who ran away or was poisoned when the owner left town. If their outdoor cat might be in danger ask if it can become an indoor cat during (or placed in an kennel) while the owner is away.