What to do in the first 10 minutes when your cat has eaten or been exposed to something dangerous.
Content compiled with reference to guidance from the Blue Cross, PDSA, Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Battersea, and Animal PoisonLine. This site does not provide veterinary advice — always consult a vet. Last reviewed: 27 September 2026.
This page is designed to be the fastest route to the right action when you're in a panic. Save it to your home screen so you can find it quickly.
Below, we link to the specific emergency pages for the most common UK cat exposures — each one has step-by-step action advice for that specific item.
Not every poisoning looks the same, but these signs are the most common across the toxins this site covers. Any of these, after a known or suspected ingestion, means call your vet now rather than wait and see:
How urgent is it? As a rough guide across the poisonings this site covers:
How serious does it look? Severity is not just about which substance — it's about dose, your cat's size, and how they're reacting. This is a general guide, not a diagnosis:
These are the exposures that most often turn into serious illness. Each link has its own detailed emergency steps and symptom timeline.
Your vet or out-of-hours vet — always call them first. They can advise on the phone and arrange treatment if needed.
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 — 24/7 UK poison advice line for pet owners. Charges apply per call. Your vet can also call the VPIS (Veterinary Poisons Information Service) directly — a free professional service for vets.
PDSA PetAid hospitals — if you're registered with PDSA and need emergency care, call your local hospital.
Do not induce vomiting unless your vet specifically tells you to — with some poisons (caustic substances, petroleum products) vomiting causes more damage on the way back up.
Do not give milk. The old idea that milk helps with poisoning is a myth and most adult cats are lactose intolerant anyway.
Do not wait for symptoms to appear. Many serious poisons — including paracetamol and lilies — look harmless at first and then cause catastrophic organ failure hours later.
Do not search the internet for hours. Use this site to identify the substance, then call a professional.
No — not at home, and only if a vet specifically tells you to and talks you through it. Cats have a much higher risk than dogs of aspirating vomit into their lungs, and with caustic or petroleum-based substances, vomiting causes a second round of damage on the way back up. Call your vet or the Animal PoisonLine first.
Yes, if the substance is a known or suspected toxin. Several of the most dangerous UK cat poisonings — paracetamol, lilies, antifreeze — cause serious internal damage hours before any visible symptoms appear. "Looking fine" in the first 1–2 hours does not rule out a life-threatening exposure; it's exactly the window this page's timeline above describes.
Your cat's approximate weight, what was eaten or exposed to (and the packaging or a photo if you have it), roughly how much, and when it happened. If you don't know the exact amount, an honest estimate is more useful than guessing low out of worry.
No — the Animal PoisonLine (01202 509000) is a paid, 24/7 service for pet owners in the UK, charged per call. Your own vet is usually the faster and cheaper first call, including out of hours; the Animal PoisonLine is there if you can't reach a vet, and your vet can also contact the free professional VPIS service directly.
No. None of these are safe or effective first aid for cats. Milk does not neutralise poison and most adult cats are lactose intolerant. Salt water and hydrogen peroxide are sometimes wrongly suggested as home emetics — both carry real risk of harm in cats and should never be given without direct veterinary instruction.
If you know what your cat ate or was exposed to, search this site or use the toxic foods, toxic plants, or household dangers hub to find the exact item. If you're not sure what they got into but they're showing symptoms, use the symptom triage tool instead — it works from the symptoms backward to the most likely UK toxins.