Every year, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) compiles its data to examine what types of toxins pets commonly encounter. In 2024, APCC staff responded to more than 451,000 calls related to toxic substance exposures in animals, representing a nearly 4% increase in calls compared to the previous year.

This week is National Poison Prevention Week, which makes it the perfect time to share our top 10 pet toxins of 2024 as a reminder of which household items pet parents should be on alert for.

See the list below and be sure to keep the following items secure and out of paws’ reach!

1. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, including ibuprofen, acetaminophen, cold and flu medicines, and vitamins and supplements and joint rubs, remain at number one with 16.5% of all exposures. These items are often found in homes and in all sorts of hiding places like backpacks and purses. People may also accidentally drop their vitamins and supplements or leave bottles of pain medications where pets can access them.

2. Human food and drinks remain at number two, accounting for 16.1% of all exposures last year. Protein drinks and bars, xylitol gums, grapes, raisins, onions and garlic make up the largest part of this group. Be vigilant about any human food or drinks that may be lying around or in an open garbage for hungry pets to get to.

3. Human prescription medications continue to rank third with heart medications, antidepressants and ADHD medications as the most commonly involved. Make sure your prescription medications — and OTC medications — are in closed cabinets that snooping noses cannot reach.

4. Chocolate keeps slowly creeping up the list, making up 13.6% of exposures encountered in 2024. Remember, dogs don’t have an “off button” when it comes to chocolate and can easily eat an entire pan of brownies.

5. Veterinary products remained at number five, accounting for 8.6% of exposures in 2024. Many of these are ingestions of flavored chewable tablets or soft chews, including calming chews. These forms make it easy to administer but greatly increase the risk of ingestion of the whole container. It’s best to keep these locked away.

6. Plants and fungi accounted for 8.1% of exposures last year. Both indoor and outdoor plants can cause a threat to our four-legged friends, so make sure to check out our list of toxic and non-toxic plants before bringing a new plant into your home or garden.

7. Rodenticides have moved up one spot with 7% of exposures. Very common in the winter months, rodenticides can be just as appealing to dogs and cats as they are to rodents. Often, many pets are exposed when rodents move the blocks from their original locations. If your pet ingests rodenticide, it can cause bleeding, kidney failure, seizures or even death.

8. Household products dropped one spot but still made up 6.5% of exposures, with deoxidizers (the packets often found in jerky and soft treats packaging) and batteries as the most common ingestions.

9. Insecticides remain at number nine with 3.7% of all exposures. Reading labels about correct dilution and putting bags away after use can reduce the risk of accidental ingestion.

10. Recreational drugs remains in the top 10 list accounting for 2.1% of exposures last year. While THC exposures are dropping, hallucinogenic mushrooms (psilocybin and muscarine) exposures are rising.

This information gathered by our teams at APCC is presented in partnership with long-time ASPCA supporter BuzzRx^®, which offers free prescription discount cards benefiting not-for-profit organizations like the ASPCA. Alongside our friends at BuzzRx, we urge you to keep these ten items out of paw's reach to keep your pet safe, happy and healthy!

If you have any reason to suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, please contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435.