How toxic is chocolate?
The toxic ingredient in chocolate is theobromine. Humans can easily metabolize theobromine, but cats and dogs metabolize theobromine much more slowly, so it can easily accumulate in the body to toxic levels.
Chocolate tolerance is related to body size
Compared to smaller dogs and cats, larger dogs can generally tolerate more chocolate.
The typical symptom of theobromine poisoning is severe hyperactivity
A small amount of chocolate may only make your dog feel stomach upset, vomiting or diarrhea. Large amounts of theobromine can cause muscle tremors, convulsions, irregular heartbeats, internal bleeding or heart disease. A typical symptom of theobromine poisoning is severe hyperactivity. A small piece of chocolate does not usually cause illness.
A small piece of chocolate may not cause death
Generally, a small piece of chocolate does not contain enough theobromine to cause illness in dogs and cats. So don’t be too alarmed if your dog or cat accidentally eats a piece of milk chocolate. However, if your dog eats a box of chocolates or your cat eats a box of chocolates, take him to the vet immediately.
Different types of chocolate have different theobromine content
Cocoa powder, cooking chocolate and dark chocolate have the highest theobromine content, while milk chocolate and white chocolate have relatively less theobromine. Therefore, when you are dealing with dark and bitter chocolate, be sure to watch your greedy dog or cat. Less than 30g of dark chocolate is enough to poison a 44-pound dog. For theobromine poisoning, before ingesting chocolate Inducing vomiting within two hours is the usual treatment. So, if you're concerned that your dog or cat may have eaten a large amount of chocolate, call your veterinarian as soon as possible.
