Birdwalk Farm Owner
Help - Antifreeze Poisoning and Prevention in Dogs and Cats
Each year more than ten thousand
dogs and cats are accidentally poisoned with automotive antifreeze. One
step owners can take to prevent a potential tragedy is to use a
less-toxic propylene-glycol-based antifreeze in the car. Propylene
glycol, on the other hand - although not entirely nontoxic - is
considerably less toxic than ethylene glycol. Although dogs and cats
account for most cases, ethylene glycol is toxic to all animals -
including people. This is one of the top ten poisons in dogs and cats
in the United States. The toxic ingredient in the product is its major
component, ethylene glycol. It makes up 95% of the product. It only
takes a small sip of antifreeze to poison your pet. Cats are
approximately four times as sensitive to the poison as dogs. A few
ounces are lethal. For a medium sized dog, ingestion of about 2 ounces
(3-4 tablespoons) is toxic. For a cat little as 1/4 of an ounce
(1-2 teaspoons) can be lethal. Antifreeze poisoning commonly
occurs in spring and fall when car owners replace the old antifreeze
with fresh antifreeze in their car radiators. However, poisoning can
happen anytime, particularly when a car boils over or a hose leaks.
This poisoning happens often to animals who are allowed to roam freely
in their neighborhoods, but another high risk group is dogs who are
confined in garages and who may not always be provided with adequate
fresh drinking water. Additionally these dogs may gain access to
improperly or inadequately stored antifreeze or lick spilled or leaked
antifreeze off the garage floor. If it is necessary to confine your
pet(s) to your garage, make sure antifreeze containers are well secured
and your animal has plenty of fresh water. Spills can be cleaned up
with kitty litter as an absorbent, quick removal and disposal of same
followed by a thorough flushing of the affected area. Antifreeze
is biodegradable but may take several months.
Ethylene glycol is also found in
brake fluid, liquid rust inhibitors, hydraulic fluids and solar
collectors. Another source is ethelyne glycol 2% in the liquid placed
inside of decorative “snow scene” glass globes which one inverts to see
the flocculent snow fall.
Ethylene glycol has an immediate
and a long-term affect on the body. It is rapidly absorbed and
metabolized once it has been consumed. Peak blood levels occur within
three hours of ingestion. Within thirty minutes after drinking it, your
pet will become ataxic or drunken in appearance. This phase continues
for up to six hours. The animal appears to recover but by then the
liver will have begun metabolizing the ethylene glycol into to
glyoxcylic acid, formic acid, and oxalate which destroy renal tubular
cells in the kidneys causing kidney failure with the resulting
uremia. –These compounds also seriously damage the central
nervous system. There is no treatment that will reverse this damage.
Dogs and cats can only be cured
when the poisoning is detected before extensive kidney damage has
occurred. Diagnosis is not difficult when an owner presents a pet that
is staggering and drunken in appearance and has seen the animal drink
the poison. It is much more difficult when the ethylene glycol first
reaches the liver because early in this stage the pet will appear
healthy while later in this stage symptoms are multi-systemic and
nonspecific. These signs can be confused with other diseases such as
pancreatitis, acute gastroenteritis, diabetes or other forms of kidney
disease. By the time ethylene glycol metabolites have attacked the
kidneys it is too late for a cure. By this time the animal is very sick
from uremia and acidic blood (acidosis). In unfortunate animals that
die it is the six-sided or Maltese-cross shaped crystals of calcium
oxalate within kidney tubules that allow pathologists to make the
diagnosis. Sometimes the urine of affected pets will glow when exposed
to a woods or ultraviolet lamp.
The amount of ethylene glycol the
animal consumed is very important in determining the success of
treatment. Animals do not respond favorably to any treatment when they
have ingested too much. Treatment is based on decreasing the absorption
of ethylene glycol from the stomach and intestine and increasing its
excretion through the kidneys. Preventing metabolism of ethylene glycol
to glycolic acid and calcium oxalate and correcting acidosis of the
blood is also very important.
The first step is to administer
apomorphene or peroxide solution to get the pet to vomit up any poison
remaining in the stomach. Next the animal is given water between
medications in order wash out the stomach thoroughly (gastric lavage).
Finally activated charcoal is administered to bind with any poison that
is left. Large amounts of intravenous fluids are given simultaneously
to increase urine production and excrete as much ethylene glycol as
possible. Treatment was discovered accidentally when a group of
teenagers consumed antifreeze accidentally during a party. It was found
that the teenagers who were the drunkest suffered the least side
effects from the poison. That information is utilized today in treating
pets giving them grain alcohol -To be effective, this must begin within
6 hours after ingestion. If you suspect your pet had ingested
antifreeze DO NOT hesitate to get them to your veterinarian
immediately. Basic overview of treatment is given to impress upon the
reader the seriousness of this poison.
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Last updated 1/06 Copyright 2000, Birdwalk Farms