Effects of exposure to human medicines in cats and dogs

All households contain some medicines. Most commonly, these probably include analgesics and cold and flu remedies. Numerous prescription-only medications and alternative or herbal remedies are also available. A survey of 288 Belgian homes found an average of 31 (range 6–136) drug packages per household, and a third of these were not stored safely (De Bolle et al, 2008). The most common drugs found were non-opioid analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), nasal decongestants and anti-nausea drugs. Prescription medicine accounted for 34% of the drugs found. As a result of such ready availability of drugs in the home intended for humans, they are common causes of poisoning in companion animals (Cortinovis et al, 2015).

Recently, a report by a pet insurer in the UK found that 78% of veterinary practitioners surveyed had treated pets that had ingested human medication (Anonymous, 2014). Three quarters of these cases involved dogs. NSAIDs, particularly ibuprofen and paracetamol, are the most common drugs involved in enquiries reported to the UK Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) (2014; 2015) (Figure 1). In Italy, central nervous system (CNS) drugs (commonly sedative-hypnotic drugs and antidepressants) and NSAIDs are the most common human drugs involved in animal poisoning (Caloni et al, 2014). In both the USA (McLean and Hansen, 2012) and the Netherlands (Kan et al, 2015), paracetamol (acetaminophen) and ibuprofen are the most common human drugs ingested by animals.