First aid for poisoning - Pesticides

Poisoning with pesticides can occur quite easily. It’s enough for your dog to wander into the neighbour’s garden that has just been treated with pesticides. Outdoor cats are even more vulnerable. You can’t keep track of their movement, so they might be exposed to pesticides for a dangerously long time.

For the animal to get poisoned by pesticides, it doesn’t have to eat them (even though this is the worst option, of course). In some species, a mere skin contact or inhalation is enough. That’s why they can be so dangerous. Among the ones that are the most dangerous for cats and dogs belong:

• herbicides (to eliminate unwanted plants)
• molluscicides (to kill molluscs)
• fungicides (kill fungi)  
• insecticides (kill insects)

I also recommend to use such treatment for your garden that is not dangerous for dogs or cats. You should be able to find this information easily on the packaging of the product. But you can’t recommend to your neighbours what to use so it depends on their solidarity and the poisoning may still be a threat.

Symptoms of pesticide poisoning

Symptoms manifest themselves depending on how much poison the animal was exposed to. If the dose is too high, the breathing muscles may fail, which is followed by coma and death. The most telling symptoms are:

• restlessness
• increased salivation
• loss of appetite, vomiting
• increased urination
• quickened heart rate, sometimes even muscle cramps

Some pesticides affect even the liver of the animals. Apart from nervous symptoms, these can also cause liver failure, even after you manage the primary symptoms. Manifestations of liver failure can appear with time and they include loss of appetite, vomiting, bad breath, increased liquid intake and urination. This can also end with the death of the animal.

Plenty of pesticides also disrupt the hormonal system of the animal.

First aid

Here it depends, in what way the animal got poisoned with the pesticide. If it happened through skin contact, it is necessary to thoroughly shampoo and clean the animal several times.

With any poisoning, it is desirable to induce vomiting. To this effect, it is recommended to use a 3% hydrogen peroxide diluted with water to half the concentration. At best, it is applied with a syringe into the mouth. Upon swallowing, the peroxide will start fizzing and it will cause bloating in the stomach of the animal which will induce vomiting.

Give the animal some black or rather active coal - it is able to bind toxins.

And of course, at least contact the veterinarian and consult further steps: whether it is necessary to provide an infusion which supports elimination of toxins from the body, to administer substances to suppress spasms etc.

But I recommend not to risk anything at the slightest suspicion of poisoning and to visit the veterinarian as soon as possible. In more urgent cases, you can call a pet ambulance.

Have you got any experience with cat or dog pesticide poisoning? How did it take place?