Can pets eat alcohol?
If this has already been eaten, ring your vet or an animal poison control line now rather than waiting for signs to appear — for several of these the window in which treatment works closes before the animal looks unwell. Do not try to make the animal sick at home: home emetics are dangerous for corrosive and petroleum substances and for an animal already showing signs, and salt-based ones have themselves proved fatal.
By animal
| Animal | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | Toxic | Much lower tolerance than a person and a much smaller body to dilute it. |
| Cats | Toxic | Same, more so. |
| Birds | Toxic | A few drops matter at bird body weights. |
What it actually does
Ethanol depresses the central nervous system, drops blood sugar and body temperature, and causes metabolic acidosis. The signs are the familiar ones and then, quickly, the dangerous ones: incoordination, vomiting, hypothermia, respiratory depression. Less obvious sources matter more than drinks — raw bread dough ferments in a warm stomach and produces ethanol continuously, and some mouthwashes, hand sanitisers and rotting fallen fruit will do it too.
No reliable dose threshold has been published for this. Anything presenting a specific safe amount is extrapolating.
Body weight decides almost everything here, so what is trivial for a 40 kg dog can matter for a 4 kg one, and a bird is smaller again. Where a real published threshold exists this page gives it; where none does, it says so rather than inventing one.
Drinks
| Food | Worst verdict | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee, tea and energy drinks | Toxic | Toxic | Toxic |
Common questions
- Can dogs eat alcohol?
- Toxic — treat as an emergency. Much lower tolerance than a person and a much smaller body to dilute it.
- Can cats eat alcohol?
- Toxic — treat as an emergency. Same, more so.
- What does alcohol actually do?
- Ethanol depresses the central nervous system, drops blood sugar and body temperature, and causes metabolic acidosis. The signs are the familiar ones and then, quickly, the dangerous ones: incoordination, vomiting, hypothermia, respiratory depression. Less obvious sources matter more than drinks — raw bread dough ferments in a warm stomach and produces ethanol continuously, and some mouthwashes, hand sanitisers and rotting fallen fruit will do it too.
- What should I do if my pet has eaten it?
- Call your vet or an animal poison control line now, rather than waiting for signs. Do not try to make the animal sick at home.
Related pages
- Can pets eat coffee, tea and energy drinks? Toxic — treat as an emergency
- Can pets eat chocolate? Also an emergency
- Can pets eat grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants? Also an emergency
- Can pets eat onion, garlic, leek and chives? Also an emergency
- Can pets eat xylitol and birch sugar? Also an emergency
- Everything, for dogs 46 foods
- Everything, for cats 46 foods