Toxic to dogs · Metals

Is Zinc toxic to dogs?

Extreme severity No safe amount — No amount is considered safe.

Yes, Zinc is extremely toxic to dogs. Even a small amount can be life-threatening, so treat any exposure as an emergency and contact a vet immediately. No amount is considered safe.

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Is zinc toxic to dogs and cats?

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What to do right now

  1. Call your vet or an animal poison line now, even if your dog seems fine. In the US: Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661 (a fee applies) or ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435.
  2. If your dog may have swallowed a coin or a piece of metal, it needs an X-ray straight away, so the vet can see whether the object is there and where. Don't wait for it to pass in the stool: a coin can stay in the stomach and keep releasing zinc.
  3. Don't give activated charcoal: it doesn't bind zinc. Don't make your dog vomit or give any medicine unless your vet tells you to. The vet may advise an acid reducer to help cut zinc absorption until the object is removed.
  4. Note what your dog swallowed (a coin, a nut or bolt, a game piece, a cream), how many pieces may be missing and roughly when. For a cream, keep the tube.
  5. If your dog ate a zinc oxide cream, call too. It will likely vomit the cream up on its own within 2 hours, and the vomiting usually settles without treatment. Tell the vet if your dog tends to swallow things like hair ties: in one dog, hair ties in the stomach held diaper cream there for several days and caused severe zinc poisoning.

Go to an emergency vet if

  • Your dog swallowed, or may have swallowed, a coin, a nut, a bolt or another metal object. Don't wait for signs.
  • Your dog has pale gums, is weak, breathes fast, has a fast heart rate or collapses. These can be signs of anemia.
  • Your dog's gums, skin or the whites of its eyes look yellow.
  • Your dog's urine is red or discolored.
  • Your dog keeps vomiting, has bloody vomit or diarrhea, black stools or belly pain, or stops eating.
  • Your dog ate a zinc oxide cream and isn't getting better through the day, or seems very lethargic.

Symptoms to watch for

  • weakness
  • pale gums
  • anemia
  • vomiting
  • increased breathing
  • increased heart rate
  • discolored urine
  • jaundiced gums
  • lack of appetite
  • collapse
  • destruction of red blood cells
  • liver damage
  • kidney failure
  • heart failure

How much is dangerous

The toxic dose of zinc in dogs is unknown, according to the ASPCA, which advises vets to consider every penny a dog swallows potentially dangerous and to treat each case aggressively. Pet Poison Helpline says even one US penny could be toxic for a dog. How much zinc is released depends on the stomach's acidity, whether there is food in it and how long the object stays there. Zinc oxide creams are a lower risk: the Merck Veterinary Manual says swallowing a cream once rarely causes more than stomach upset, depending on the amount. Your vet judges the risk from what your dog swallowed, how many pieces and when.

When signs appear

Signs come in two phases, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual. First come vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and lethargy, which can progress to stomach ulcers and black stools. They can start within minutes to several hours, or even several days, depending on the source of the zinc. A second phase follows several hours to several days later, because it can take days for zinc to leach out of a metal object. Zinc then destroys red blood cells inside the blood vessels (hemolysis), causing anemia, yellowing (jaundice) and red or discolored urine, and it can damage the liver, kidneys and pancreas and stop the blood from clotting normally. Death can result. In a study of 55 dogs, 87% developed anemia, 82% liver injury, 71% clotting problems and 26.9% kidney injury. Most dogs aren't seen swallowing the penny, so the time to the first signs isn't well documented, and the dogs in that study had been ill for a median of 48 hours when they arrived at the hospital. Don't wait for signs before calling your vet.

Why it's dangerous

When zinc-containing objects enter the acidic stomach environment, the metal breaks down and is absorbed into the bloodstream, leading to the destruction of red blood cells and potential organ failure.

Toxic compound: Zinc

How vets treat it

The vet takes X-rays to find the object, though zinc poisoning is still possible when none shows up, and runs blood tests. Until the object comes out, the vet may give an acid reducer such as famotidine to cut zinc absorption. Activated charcoal isn't used, because it doesn't bind zinc. Removing the object is critical: the vet takes it out with an endoscope (a camera tube passed through the mouth) or by surgery, and in a dog with no signs that swallowed a penny recently, making it vomit may bring the penny up. X-rays afterwards check that every piece is out. Care can include a drip (IV fluids), anti-nausea medicine, stomach protectants for 5 to 7 days in a dog without signs or 14 to 21 days in a dog with signs, and blood transfusions for anemia, with blood tests every 24 hours at first to watch the liver and kidneys. In a study of 55 dogs, 67.3% needed blood products. Chelation, a treatment that binds zinc, is controversial because it can also increase zinc absorption from the gut while metal is still there. Vets consider it only if a dog isn't recovering as expected after the object is removed.

Outlook

With early diagnosis and treatment, the outlook is usually good, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual. In a study of 55 dogs poisoned by swallowed metal objects, 45 (81.8%) survived and 10 died or were euthanized, and the median hospital stay was 3 days. Most dogs (83%) reached a stable red blood cell level a median of 24 hours after the object was removed. Dogs can still die from anemia or kidney failure even after the penny is removed, and recovery can take several days to weeks of supportive care. The outlook depends on how severe the signs are and how your dog responds to treatment.

Where pets are exposed

  • Coins. Most cases of zinc poisoning in pets come from dogs swallowing pennies. US pennies minted after 1982 have a zinc core under a copper plating: they contain 97.5% zinc, about 2,440 mg of zinc per penny. In a study of 55 dogs poisoned by swallowed metal objects, US pennies minted after 1982 were the most common source (67.3%). The Merck Veterinary Manual adds that other coins in circulation around the world also contain zinc, without naming them.
  • Zinc oxide creams and lotions: diaper rash creams (such as Desitin), sunscreens and calamine lotion. Zinc oxide is a less toxic form of zinc, and the Merck Veterinary Manual rates swallowing a cream once as a low risk that rarely causes more than stomach upset, depending on the amount.
  • Throat lozenges, some dietary supplements, anti-dandruff shampoos, deodorants and mouthwash, which may contain forms of zinc that Pet Poison Helpline describes as more toxic than zinc oxide. The Merck Veterinary Manual rates a one-time swallow of zinc lozenges or supplements as a low risk that typically causes stomach upset.
  • Metal hardware: nuts, bolts, nails, screws, staples, wire and anything galvanized (coated with zinc to stop rust). A cat was poisoned by a nut made mostly of zinc, from a screw used in flat-pack furniture. Zinc is also found in car parts, some soldering products and newer batteries.
  • Game pieces, toys and small household items: many-sided game dice, older board game pieces, toys, zippers, jewelry, undergarment hooks, and zinc-coated garland and tinsel.

Prevention

  • Keep coins in a closed purse, jar or drawer, and pick up any that fall on the floor.
  • Store nuts, bolts, screws and other small hardware, including the parts that come with flat-pack furniture, where pets can't get them.
  • Pick up game pieces and dice, jewelry, hair ties and other small objects your pet could swallow.
  • Keep diaper rash creams, sunscreens and other zinc oxide products closed and out of reach. A dog can squeeze a tube empty without piercing it.
  • Ask your vet before putting a zinc oxide cream on your pet. In one reported case, a Maltese developed anemia after its owners applied a 'max strength' 40% zinc oxide diaper cream to it every day for a week.

Good to know

Ingestion of even a single zinc penny can be fatal without therapy; common sources include galvanized hardware and diaper rash creams containing zinc oxide.

Common questions

My dog swallowed a penny. What should I do?

Call your vet or a pet poison line now, even if your dog seems fine. Pet Poison Helpline says even one US penny could be toxic for a dog, and that a pet that may have swallowed a coin needs an X-ray right away. Removing the penny is critical, according to the ASPCA: the vet takes it out with an endoscope or by surgery, and in a dog with no signs, making it vomit soon after it swallowed the penny may work. Don't give activated charcoal: it doesn't bind zinc.

Why does a swallowed coin or piece of metal have to come out?

Stomach acid releases zinc from the metal, and the longer the object stays in the stomach, the more zinc is absorbed. A penny may sit in the stomach for a long time and keep releasing zinc, and it can take days for that zinc to cause signs. Removing the object is the core of treatment. Drugs that bind zinc (chelation) are controversial, partly because they can increase zinc absorption from the gut while metal is still there.

Is zinc oxide diaper rash cream toxic to dogs?

It is less dangerous than swallowed metal, but call your vet. The Merck Veterinary Manual rates swallowing a zinc oxide cream once as a low risk that rarely causes more than stomach upset. Pet Poison Helpline says zinc poisoning from diaper cream is very rare, because the zinc oxide content is typically low and most pets vomit the cream up on their own. Poisoning has happened with longer exposure: in one dog, swallowed hair ties held cream in its stomach for several days, and in another, a 'max strength' 40% cream applied to it every day for a week caused anemia. Both dogs recovered.

Is every swallowed coin dangerous?

Not every coin causes zinc poisoning, but call your vet whatever the coin. Pet Poison Helpline says some coins pass in the stool a few days later without causing poisoning, while others contain large amounts of zinc, and it advises an X-ray right away for any pet that may have swallowed a coin. The sources we checked focus on US pennies minted after 1982, which contain 97.5% zinc. The Merck Veterinary Manual adds that other coins in circulation around the world also contain zinc, without naming them.

Can cats get zinc poisoning?

Yes, though reports in cats are scarce, possibly because cats are choosier about what they eat. In a published case, a cat swallowed a zinc nut from flat-pack furniture and developed vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss and anemia, with signs of liver and pancreas involvement. It recovered after the nut was removed with an endoscope. The toxic dose of zinc metal in cats hasn't been established, so call your vet if your cat may have swallowed a coin or a piece of metal.

Sources

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.

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