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My pet ate something: poison help and calculators

Ask your vet about your own pet. This page is general information from the sources below.

If a dog or cat ate something it shouldn't, call your vet or a pet poison line now. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives the numbers behind chocolate and xylitol poisoning in dogs, and the calculators below show every step. They can't tell you a pet is fine. Grapes, raisins and lilies for cats are emergencies.

Checked October 29, 2026.

By Peabody editors. How we write and check.

Poison emergency? Call now

ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435, 24 hours a day, every day. A consultation fee may apply.
Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661, 24/7. $99 per incident, follow-up calls included.
Or call your vet or the nearest emergency vet.

Before you use a calculator

Call first if your pet is acting strangely, or you cannot do the sums quickly. The ASPCA says to note how much was eaten when you call. The calculators are for understanding the numbers the vet will use; the vet or poison line makes the call.

Chocolate (dogs)

Chocolate and a dog

Fill in all the boxes to see the working.

The numbers this uses

Merck Veterinary Manual, milligrams of methylxanthines (theobromine plus caffeine) per gram and per ounce:

  • Cocoa powder: 28.5 mg/g (807 mg/oz)
  • Unsweetened (baker's) chocolate: 15.5 mg/g (440 mg/oz)
  • Semisweet and sweet dark chocolate: 5.3–5.6 mg/g (150–160 mg/oz)
  • Milk chocolate: 2.3 mg/g (64 mg/oz)
  • White chocolate: 0.04 mg/g (1.1 mg/oz)

Bands, in mg per kg of the dog: 0+, 20+, 40+, 60+, 100+. Merck says severe signs and death can happen well below the LD50, and that dogs vary.

For cats, Merck's page gives no chocolate numbers, so there is no calculator. The ASPCA and Pet Poison Helpline both say chocolate is dangerous for cats too: call.

Xylitol (dogs)

Xylitol and a dog

Read the label for the milligrams of xylitol in what was eaten. Many labels don't say; if yours doesn't, don't guess, call.

Fill in the boxes to see the working.

Grapes and raisins: no safe amount

Pet Poison Helpline says it knows of no safe amount of grapes, and that some dogs got very sick from small amounts of raisins, so any amount is treated as an emergency. There is no calculator on purpose. Grapes, raisins.

Lilies and cats: an emergency

True lilies (Easter, tiger, Asiatic) and daylilies can cause kidney failure in cats, and Pet Poison Helpline says any part counts: leaf, flower, pollen or vase water. Call a vet or a poison line right away. Read the lily page.

Other foods that are poisons for pets

For the children

"If a pet eats something it shouldn't, tell a grown-up straight away, even if you think you'll get in trouble. Telling fast is the helpful thing."

A job: Make the fridge sheet on any poison food page and stick it up with the numbers.

Sources