What is Vitamin D Poisoning in Pets
Vitamins are good….right?
With more people reaching for vitamin supplements than ever before, Vitamin D has become increasingly popular. If your four-legged friend accidentally gets a hold of and ingests your vitamin D supplements (or any other medication containing vitamin D compounds) then this could potentially be life-threatening to them.
It is important to contact your veterinary surgery immediately if you suspect your dog or cat has ingested a vitamin D compound.
Vitamin D is important for maintaining the calcium balance in the body – but when a toxic dose of vitamin D is ingested, it causes an abnormal balance of calcium and phosphorus. This leads to potentially deadly consequences.
Sources of Vitamin D poisoning
- Common sources of vitamin D poisoning:
- accidental ingestion of vitamin D supplements or certain other human medications containing vitamin D compounds, including some psoriasis skin creams containing calcipotriol
- ingestion of rodenticide (rat bait) containing cholecalciferol (a vitamin D3 compound)
- Rarer sources of vitamin D poisoning:
- plants containing glycosides of calcitriol
- poorly balanced diets containing high concentrations of liver, milk, fatty fish, or eggs
Signs of exposure
Vitamin D poisoning causes a variety of clinical signs, which may be seen as early as 6 hours after ingestion.
Initial signs are vague and non-specific and may include:
- depression
- weakness
- lethargy
- appetite loss
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
- increased drinking and urination.
In severe and advanced cases your pet may experience:
- dark, tar-like stools
- blood in their vomit
- breathing difficulties
- an abnormal heart rate and rhythm
- muscle tremors and seizures and even mineralization of the soft tissues around the body.
If you are concerned your pet might have been poisoned then contact your vet.
What should I do if I think my pet has eaten something it shouldn’t have?
These instances require immediate action from you as a pet owner to minimise the risk of any serious consequences.
Your vet only has a short, limited time frame to try to minimise the absorption of poisons before they can cause harm and so an immediate appointment is essential and potentially life-saving.
Follow the simple steps on this page and always remember the word S.P.E.E.D in the future.
S Stop access to any poison
It may seem obvious but can the pet get hold of any more of the substance (i.e. if it’s in your garden)? If so keep your pet away from anything you suspect as dangerous.
P Phone the vet
This is an emergency and must be dealt with immediately.
E Emergency appointment
You cannot ‘wait and see’ with poisons as many do not affect your pet straight away and some can take several days to show symptoms, all the while doing damage to the inside before you see signs on the outside. Getting your pet seen immediately gives you the best chance to get effective treatment for your pet before you reach a potential point of no return.
E Evidence
Knowing what the potential poison is will really help your Vet make a rapid diagnosis and create the best treatment protocol for a successful recovery. If you have a label of the substance, bring it. If you don’t have a label but have access to the substance then bring a sample to the vet for testing (only if it is safe to do so and you are not putting yourself or anyone else in danger). If you don’t have a label or a sample but you animal has been sick, then bring a sample of this with you (if safe to do so) as the ingredient may be present in the vomit. If you don’t have access to any of these then don’t worry as your pet’s blood can be tested.
D Don’t delay!
You cannot afford to wait, act now!
