Pets can be extremely nosy, and it's not rare for a dog or a cat to go snooping through an owner's purse. In some cases, owners may even place a small dog in their purse, or may leave the following items lying around the house in an accessible area for pets. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center says that they received over 140,000 calls in the year 2009 by owners whose pets were exposed to toxic substances.
They also received 167,000 calls of this nature in 2010. Most of the calls were regarding a substance that the animal consumed that was somewhere within the house. Most of these are incredibly common. The Human Society estimates that about 10,000 cats and dogs die each year from exposure to antifreeze alone, and thousands more die from other poisonings.
One of the most dangerous pet poisons that may be present in your purse is a sugarless chewing gum or breath mints that contain xylitol. Xylitol is a sweetener that is toxic to dogs and can cause the animal to have a rapid drop in blood sugar. Large amounts of xylitol can cause a dog to suffer liver failure and even death. While pets may want to get into your gum or mints, you should hide these from your pet in order to avoid an emergency medical situation. Orbit, Trident, and Ice Breaker are all companies that are known for using xylitol in their gums and mints.
Another very dangerous pet poison that may be in your purse is any human medication. The ASPCA says that in 2009, they received 45,816 calls relating to pets who had consumed prescription and over-the-counter drugs for humans. These include painkillers, cold medications, antidepressants, dietary supplements, and more. Pets don't have the discretion to stay away from these medicines, and may believe that they are simply a snack. You should always keep all medications far away from your pets and in child-proofed containers. Still, pets with strong teeth may be able to chew through the caps on the medications, so it is best to keep them out of animal's sight.
One of the most common medications that women keep in their purses is ibuprofen, so it is essential that you hide this from your animal. As well, all non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are dangers and acetaminophen can also cause severe harm. Many times medications can cause pets to suffer from seizures, sedation, incoordination, tremors, or agitation.
Another purse hazard to watch out for are asthma inhalers which contain albuterol. Dogs may think that these asthma inhalers are chew toys and will start gnawing on the plastic if they get ahold of one. If a dog can puncture the vial which contains beta-agonist drugs, it can lead to exposure to up to 200 doses of the medication all at once. This can lead to very severe poisoning and heart arrhythmias or even sudden death.
If you are a smoker, keep your dogs away from that pack you may have hidden in your purse, the nicotine in cigarettes can be very harmful to pets. In fact, if your pet chews on a cigarette and consumers the nicotine, it can cause clinical poisoning in as short as 15 minutes and the animal can die suddenly if not cared for promptly. Consuming nicotine can lead to seizures, paralysis, tremors, and neurological over stimulation in both dogs and cats.
Hand sanitizer is another purse danger, because it contains high amounts of alcohol. When a pet consumers that hand sanitizer it can have the same effects as allowing your pet to take a shot of hard liquor. Most of the time, this results in a severe drop in blood sugar, in coordination, a drop in body temperature, coma, or neurological depression. In some circumstances it can even lead to death. Make sure to keep your pet away from your purse if you have any of these items inside and have a local vet's phone number ready in the event of a poisoning.