Is putting products up high enough to stay safe?

For a dog height often helps, but not for a cat: cats jump onto shelves and tall furniture easily, so a high shelf is not automatically safe. The most reliable defence is a container that closes well, better still if raised, and the habit of never leaving dangerous substances unattended. Even a bag left on the sofa with medicines inside is a risk, because the animal can open it and rummage.

Can I give my pet a human medicine if it has the same symptom?

No, never on your own initiative. Many human medicines are toxic to dogs and cats even at doses that seem small to us, and the same molecule can be metabolised differently by different species. If you think your animal needs treatment, call the vet, who chooses the medicine, dose and form suited to its weight and species. Giving human medicines without instruction is one of the most frequent causes of household poisoning.

How do I manage a puppy that chews everything?

A puppy explores the world with its mouth and this phase lasts months, so safety should be built into the environment more than momentary control. Keep medicines, detergents and small objects out of reach, limit the spaces where the puppy stays unsupervised using gates or a curiosity proof room, and offer chew objects suited to it. As it grows and learns, the spaces can widen, but in the early days prevention is far more effective than correction.

What information does the vet need in case of ingestion?

The most useful are the name of the product or medicine, the active ingredient, the amount the animal may have swallowed and the time it happened, plus the animal's weight and the symptoms that have appeared. Having the packaging in hand when you call lets you answer these questions at once. The more precise the information you give, the faster the vet can gauge the level of risk and tell you what to do.

Safe home and enrichment20 minLevel: BeginnerUpdated on August 6, 2026

Keep medicines and cleaning products out of your pet's reach

How to secure medicines, cleaning products and dangerous substances at home, where the most common risks hide, and what to do if your pet swallows something.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog, Cat, All species
Scope: Valid everywhere

What you need before you start

Un giro completo della casa, stanza per stanza, con calma
Un mobile o un cassetto che chiude bene, meglio se in alto
Il numero del veterinario e del centro antiveleni salvati e visibili
Contenitori richiudibili per raccogliere farmaci e prodotti sparsi

Most household poisonings do not come from a hidden poison but from something ordinary left within reach: a pill dropped on the floor, a detergent bottle stood low down, a bag with medicines left on the sofa. Dogs and cats explore with their mouths, jump where we do not expect them to reach, and are drawn to smells and textures that hold no interest for us. A single tablet of a human medicine can be dangerous for an animal, and many cleaning products irritate or damage the digestive tract in small amounts already. The good news is that nearly all these risks disappear with a thoughtful tidy, done well once and then kept up with a few habits. This guide walks room by room through securing medicines, detergents and other substances, explains where the less obvious dangers hide, and clarifies what to do, and what not to do, if the animal swallows something.

Why so little is enough to create a risk

Animals do not reason as we do about what is food and what is not. A dog may swallow a packet of chewing gum, a cat may lick a treated surface, a puppy may chew whatever comes its way. Compared with a person they have a much lower body weight, so the same amount of a substance has a proportionally greater effect, and some metabolise certain molecules differently, so that products harmless to us prove toxic to them.

Weight matters: a dose that is tiny for a person can be significant for a small animal.
The mouth is the exploring tool: they sniff, lick and chew what they find.
Smells attract: sweeteners, fats and certain fragrances make dangerous substances appetising.
They jump and climb: a high shelf is not automatically safe for a cat.
Puppies and young animals are more at risk, because they nibble everything as they grow.

The room by room walk of the house

The most effective way to secure the home is to walk through it in order, imagining where the animal can really get to. Each room has its typical risks, and dealing with them one at a time avoids forgetting anything.

Common risks and where they are found
Room	Typical risks	Where to secure them
Kitchen	Detergents under the sink, dishwasher tablets, bin bags	Locked cupboard, bin with a lid or inside a closed unit
Bathroom	Medicines, hair products, cleaners, razor blades	Closed high cabinet, never on the edge of the basin
Bedroom and living room	Bags with medicines, sweets, pills on the bedside table	Closed drawers, bags hung up and not left on the floor
Storeroom and cellar	Garden products, paints, rodent baits, antifreeze	High closed shelves, original sealed containers
Garage and balcony	Antifreeze, fuels, fertilisers, chemicals	Out of reach, in closed and stable containers

How to really secure substances

Gather everything in one place
Walk through the house and collect medicines, supplements, cleaning products and chemicals. Seeing them all together helps you grasp how many there are and how many were left lying around without thought.
Choose a unit that closes and, better, up high
A drawer or cabinet with a secure closure, preferably raised, is the simplest solution. For cats, which jump, height alone is not enough: the container also needs to close.
Keep medicines in their original packaging
Original packaging protects better, shows the product name and expiry date and, in case of ingestion, lets the vet know at once what it is. Avoid decanting medicines into unlabelled containers.
Separate what is the animal's from what is yours
Veterinary medicines should be kept apart from human ones, so they are not mixed up in a rushed moment. A clear label and a dedicated compartment reduce the risk of error.
Treat the bin as a source of risk
Many animals rummage in the bin. Use a container with a lid or keep it inside a closed unit, and do not leave bags with leftovers, empty blister packs or scented wrappers on the floor.
Dispose of expired medicines properly
Do not leave old medicines in an open drawer waiting to be thrown out. Take them to the designated collection point and, in the meantime, keep them closed with the others, so they do not end up within reach by chance.

The less obvious dangers

Some risks are not in detergents or medicines but in objects and foods we keep at home without thinking. Knowing them helps you not leave them around with the same carelessness.

Sweeteners in gum, sweets and some baked goods, dangerous for dogs.
Chocolate, raisins, grapes and onion, foods of ours that are toxic to animals.
Blister packs and medicine bottles left on bedside tables, low tables or in open bags.
Laundry products in colourful capsules, which look like toys or morsels.
Repellents, slug and rodent baits, and garden products with attractive smells.
Cigarettes, butts and nicotine products, harmful if swallowed.

If the animal swallows something

Even with every precaution, an accident can happen. In that moment what counts is calm and speed in calling someone who can guide you, not the attempt to solve it alone with improvised remedies that often make things worse.

Move the animal away from the substance at once and take out of reach what is left.
Identify the product: take the packaging, so you can give the name, active ingredient and estimated amount.
Call the vet or a poison control centre at once and follow their instructions.
Do not make the animal vomit on your own initiative: with some substances it is dangerous and must be decided by a professional.
Do not give home remedies, milk, salt or anything else without explicit instruction.
Note the time, the estimated amount and the symptoms that appear, useful information for whoever treats it.

Frequently asked questions

Is putting products up high enough to stay safe?: For a dog height often helps, but not for a cat: cats jump onto shelves and tall furniture easily, so a high shelf is not automatically safe. The most reliable defence is a container that closes well, better still if raised, and the habit of never leaving dangerous substances unattended. Even a bag left on the sofa with medicines inside is a risk, because the animal can open it and rummage.
Can I give my pet a human medicine if it has the same symptom?: No, never on your own initiative. Many human medicines are toxic to dogs and cats even at doses that seem small to us, and the same molecule can be metabolised differently by different species. If you think your animal needs treatment, call the vet, who chooses the medicine, dose and form suited to its weight and species. Giving human medicines without instruction is one of the most frequent causes of household poisoning.
How do I manage a puppy that chews everything?: A puppy explores the world with its mouth and this phase lasts months, so safety should be built into the environment more than momentary control. Keep medicines, detergents and small objects out of reach, limit the spaces where the puppy stays unsupervised using gates or a curiosity proof room, and offer chew objects suited to it. As it grows and learns, the spaces can widen, but in the early days prevention is far more effective than correction.
What information does the vet need in case of ingestion?: The most useful are the name of the product or medicine, the active ingredient, the amount the animal may have swallowed and the time it happened, plus the animal's weight and the symptoms that have appeared. Having the packaging in hand when you call lets you answer these questions at once. The more precise the information you give, the faster the vet can gauge the level of risk and tell you what to do.

What to do next

Walk the whole house room by room and gather medicines, supplements, detergents and chemicals in one place. Store them in a unit that closes, better if raised, keep medicines in their original packaging and separate the animal's from yours. Watch the less obvious dangers such as antifreeze, sweeteners and detergent capsules, treat the bin as a source of risk, and keep the numbers of the vet and the poison control centre already to hand. In case of ingestion move the animal away, identify the product and call at once, without making it vomit or giving remedies on your own initiative.