Can pets eat salt, salt dough and sea water?
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 | Large amounts cause hypernatraemia, which swells and damages the brain. |
| Cats | Toxic | Same. |
What it actually does
A sudden large sodium load pulls water out of brain cells, then rehydrating too quickly pulls it back in and causes cerebral oedema — which is why salt toxicosis is dangerous to treat as well as to have. The common routes are not the salt cellar: they are homemade salt-dough Christmas ornaments, which dogs eat because they smell of flour, and dogs drinking sea water on a beach day. Play dough, both homemade and commercial, is very high in salt.
No reliable dose threshold has been published for this. Anything presenting a specific safe amount is extrapolating.
The bit that is usually got wrong
Salt has been recommended as a home emetic. It should not be used: fatal hypernatraemia from exactly that has been reported repeatedly.
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.
Store cupboard
| Food | Worst verdict | Dogs | Cats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter | In moderation | In moderation | In moderation |
| Macadamia nuts | Toxic | Toxic | Risky |
| Almonds, walnuts and mixed nuts | Risky | Risky | Risky |
| Raw bread dough | Toxic | Toxic | Toxic |
| Bread | Not safe | In moderation | In moderation |
| Popcorn | In moderation | In moderation | In moderation |
Common questions
- Can dogs eat salt, salt dough and sea water?
- Toxic — treat as an emergency. Large amounts cause hypernatraemia, which swells and damages the brain.
- Can cats eat salt, salt dough and sea water?
- Toxic — treat as an emergency. Same.
- What does salt, salt dough and sea water actually do?
- A sudden large sodium load pulls water out of brain cells, then rehydrating too quickly pulls it back in and causes cerebral oedema — which is why salt toxicosis is dangerous to treat as well as to have. The common routes are not the salt cellar: they are homemade salt-dough Christmas ornaments, which dogs eat because they smell of flour, and dogs drinking sea water on a beach day. Play dough, both homemade and commercial, is very high in salt.
- 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 peanut butter? Fine in small amounts
- Can pets eat macadamia nuts? Toxic — treat as an emergency
- Can pets eat almonds, walnuts and mixed nuts? Risky — depends on amount or preparation
- Can pets eat raw bread dough? Toxic — treat as an emergency
- Can pets eat bread? Not safe
- Can pets eat popcorn? Fine in small amounts
- 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
Sources
- MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual — Merck & Co.