Why it's dangerous
Blood meal can cause severe pancreatitis, while bone meal can form a cement-like foreign body in the stomach leading to gastrointestinal obstruction.
Toxic compound: Iron (if fortified)
How vets treat it
No treatment plan written for cats was found. For pets that ate fertilizer, an ASPCA Animal Poison Control toxicologist describes care that treats the signs and supports the body: after a recent large ingestion in a pet with no signs yet, the vet makes it vomit, and activated charcoal isn't recommended because it binds poorly to minerals. Anti-nausea medicine, stomach protectants, fluids and pain relief are given as needed. Pet Poison Helpline adds a bland digestive diet, and advises anti-nausea medicine only when a blockage seems unlikely. If the product contains iron, the vet calculates how much elemental iron was eaten and may measure blood iron 4 to 6 hours after ingestion to decide on treatment. A blockage may need surgery.
Outlook
No outcome data for cats were found: the published case series covers dogs only. For fertilizer ingestions in pets, an ASPCA Animal Poison Control toxicologist writes that most can be managed easily, and Pet Poison Helpline says most fertilizers are not very toxic, causing minor stomach and gut irritation, but some can be fatal without treatment.
Where pets are exposed
- Bone meal, an organic garden fertilizer. It is made of animal bones that have been defatted, dried, flash-frozen and ground to a powder, and Pet Poison Helpline describes it as a mineral supplement high in calcium or phosphorus. Its N-P-K numbers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) are often 0-12-0, reflecting the mineral make-up of bone.
- Blood meal, another organic fertilizer: dried, ground and flash-frozen blood, sold as a source of nitrogen and phosphorus. Pet Poison Helpline says it contains 12% nitrogen, that some types are fortified with iron, and that it is also used as a deer or rabbit repellent.
- Mixed organic fertilizers. Pet Poison Helpline groups bone, blood, fish and feather meal under one entry, and fertilizers can also contain iron, other minerals, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides, which add to the risk.
- Flower beds, bulb holes and rose beds. Bone meal is often added to the soil to help flowering bulbs grow, and fertilizer is often put in the planting hole, so dogs digging for it may eat the bulbs too. Around roses, many gardeners mix bone meal with disulfoton, a systemic insecticide, though an ASPCA Animal Poison Control toxicologist noted in 2016 that such very toxic insecticides were being replaced with safer ones.
- Open bags, buckets and spreaders. Significant ingestions usually happen when a bag or a spreader full of fertilizer is left where a dog can reach it, and some dogs eat bone meal straight out of the bag while their owner's back is turned. In one Pet Poison Helpline case, a puppy ate organic bone meal that neighbors had poured into a bucket while gardening.
- Dogs eat it for the smell. A UK case series says dogs are presumably attracted by the odor. Pet Poison Helpline says the bone is what makes bone meal so palatable, and that dogs can and will eat large quantities of these meals when given the chance. As one of its vets puts it, if a fertilizer smells bad, your dog will love it.
Prevention
- Store bone meal, blood meal and other fertilizers out of your pet's reach. Significant ingestions usually happen when a bag or a spreader full of fertilizer is left where a dog can reach it, and some dogs eat bone meal straight out of the bag.
- Don't leave bone meal in a bucket or an open bag while you garden, and keep your pet away while you put it down.
- After applying bone meal, water the soil thoroughly several times before letting your pet back in the area, and watch whether it shows interest in the spot. For fish meal, blood meal and manure, a Pet Poison Helpline vet advises supervising your dog outdoors for at least a couple of days so it doesn't dig them up.
- Keep your dog from digging in beds where bone meal was used, including freshly planted bulbs. Pet Poison Helpline says the bone smell is what makes it so palatable, and dogs digging for fertilizer often eat the bulbs too.
- Know what's in the bag. Check the label for iron, and for an insecticide, herbicide or fungicide. A product that lists an EPA registration number, or a rose product with 'systemic' in its name, may contain one. Keep pets away from rose beds where an insecticide has been mixed with bone meal.
- Keep opened bags closed and out of reach too: fertilizer in opened packaging may carry mold toxins that cause tremors, even if it doesn't look moldy.
Good to know
These products are highly palatable to pets; bone meal is often used to dust spring bulbs which may encourage digging.
Common questions
Are bone meal and blood meal toxic to dogs?
They can make dogs seriously ill, though most cases are mild. Pet Poison Helpline says organic fertilizers containing bone, blood, fish or feather meal cause stomach and gut upset, and that large ingestions can lead to blockages or pancreatitis. Bone meal can form a large, cement-like ball in the stomach that may need surgery, and blood meal can cause severe pancreatitis; some blood meal is also fortified with iron, which can cause iron poisoning. In a UK series of 255 dogs that ate bone meal, signs were typically mild, but one dog died and two were put to sleep. Call your vet or a pet poison line if your dog ate some.
Are bone meal and blood meal toxic to cats?
The sources we checked say little about cats. Pet Poison Helpline says organic fertilizer with bone, blood, fish or feather meal causes stomach and gut upset in companion animals, with blockages or pancreatitis after large ingestions, and its fertilizer page covers dogs and cats. No toxic dose, case reports or outcome data for cats were found: the published case series is about dogs. Call your vet or a pet poison line if your cat ate some.
My dog ate bone meal. Will it just pass?
Many dogs have mild signs or none: in a UK series of 255 dogs, 47.1% stayed well and signs were typically mild. But a large amount can clump in the stomach into a hard mass, called a bezoar or concretion, that blocks the gut. Pet Poison Helpline says these stones generally have to be removed by surgery, and that making the dog vomit early, within 60 minutes, is imperative to reduce that risk. So call your vet straight away instead of waiting to see whether it passes, and don't make your dog vomit unless the vet tells you to.
Is blood meal more dangerous than bone meal?
The sources describe different main risks rather than ranking them. For bone meal, the concern is a cement-like mass that blocks the gut. For blood meal, Pet Poison Helpline lists vomiting, foul-smelling diarrhea and severe pancreatitis, plus iron poisoning when the blood meal is fortified with iron. Pancreatitis isn't limited to blood meal: Pet Poison Helpline and an ASPCA Animal Poison Control toxicologist also link it to large amounts of bone meal and fish meal. Another Pet Poison Helpline vet calls the risk of ill health from fish meal, blood meal and manure small. Either one is a reason to call your vet.
The bag says organic. Does that make it safe for pets?
Not necessarily. In a Pet Poison Helpline case, the maker of an organic bone meal told the owner it was non-toxic to dogs. The helpline agreed the product itself was non-toxic, but warned that a large amount could form a stone in the stomach or cause pancreatitis. Organic fertilizers can also contain iron, and some rose and plant fertilizers contain an insecticide such as disulfoton, which many gardeners have mixed with bone meal around roses. Pet Poison Helpline says as little as 1 teaspoon of 1% disulfoton can kill a 55-pound dog. Check the label and call your vet.
When can my dog go back on a bed treated with bone meal?
Pet Poison Helpline says there is limited concern with most fertilizers once they have dried or been watered in, and an ASPCA Animal Poison Control toxicologist says a pet licking its paws after walking on an evenly treated lawn is highly unlikely to swallow a significant amount. Bone meal is different because its smell makes dogs dig. A Pet Poison Helpline vet advises keeping pets away while you put it down, watering the soil thoroughly several times before letting them back, and watching whether they show interest in the area.
Sources
- Pet Poison Helpline — Bone Meal & Blood Meal
- Pet Poison Helpline — Fertilizers
- Pet Poison Helpline — Things in your yard that are poisonous to dogs & cats!
- Pet Poison Helpline — The Grass is Always Greener: Common Fertilizer and Herbicide Exposures in Pets (Holly Hommerding, DVM, 2016)
- Pet Poison Helpline — Case Story: Bone Meal Toxicity (Jo Marshall, CVT, 2014)
- Pet Poison Helpline — Vegetable Gardening and Pets (Catherine Angle, DVM, 2014)
- Today's Veterinary Practice (ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center column) — Treating Fertilizer Ingestions? As Easy As N-P-K (Charlotte Means, DVM, 2016)
- Veterinary Record Case Reports — Little A, Bates N, Tizzard Z, Savage C, Trehy M. Bone meal ingestion in dogs: 255 cases reported to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (2022, abstract)
- Pet Poison Helpline
This page is informational and is not veterinary advice. If your pet has been exposed to something risky, contact your vet or an animal poison control line right away.
