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Antifreeze - A Sweet but Deadly Poison

In memory of Lulu- February 21, 2011

Ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in almost all major antifreeze brands, has an inviting aroma, a sweet flavor. Its appealing smell and taste often tempt animals and children to drink the highly poisonous substance.

It only takes a few tablespoons of highly toxic antifreeze to seriously jeopardize an animal's life. Pet guardians need to know how to help keep antifreeze away from animals, as well as detect the early symptoms of antifreeze poisoning.

Poison prevention

To lower the risk to animals, consumers can switch to a brand of antifreeze containing propylene glycol, a chemical ingredient that is less toxic than ethylene glycol. In addition to being safer, propylene glycol has a bitter taste that makes it less attractive to curious animals. Although it's safer than ethylene glycol antifreeze, propylene glycol antifreeze is still toxic. To reduce the risk of poisoning, all brands of antifreeze should be handled carefully and treated as a highly poisonous substance. Ensure that antifreeze is stored well away from animals and children, antifreeze spills are completely cleaned up, and leaks are immediately repaired.

Families can help save their own pet from an encounter with antifreeze by closely watching the animal in areas where antifreeze may be accessible, such as roads, driveways, or garages.

What to do

1. Switch to a brand of antifreeze that contains propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol.
2. Keep antifreeze sealed and away from animals; clean up spills completely, and fix any leaks immediately.
3. Don't allow your pet to wander unattended near driveways, roads, garages, or other places where she could come into contact with antifreeze.
4. Keep other products that contain ethylene glycol—like paint, cosmetics and novelty snow globes—out of the reach of animals, as well as any product of which you are not certain of the ingredients.
5. Monitor your pet for strange behavior. If you think she may have ingested antifreeze, take her to a veterinarian immediately.

How to detect poisoning

For pets exposed to antifreeze, the first few hours are critical. Animals who receive immediate veterinary care can recover successfully—but the longer they remain untreated, the less likely they are to survive.

Recognizing antifreeze poisoning symptoms is important—many pet guardians may not immediately realize that their pet has been exposed to the toxin until it's too late.

Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two phases. In the first phase, the animal typically appears lethargic, disorientated, uncoordinated and groggy. Symptoms usually appear 30 minutes to one hour after ingestion and can last for several hours.

The second phase, which can last up to three days, is characterized by symptoms such as vomiting, oral and gastric ulcers, kidney failure, coma and death.

Thousands of pets have suffered this preventable fate, prompting several states, and the federal government, to consider legislation that could drastically lower the incidence of antifreeze poisonings in both humans and animals.

Smart solutions

Six states—Oregon, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, and Maine—have successfully passed legislation requiring that a bittering agent be added to ethylene glycol antifreeze to make it unpalatable for animals and children. While other states have considered similar laws, potential costs to the industry and other legislative priorities may have both played a role in pushing the issue to the back burner and preventing passage of the legislation.

Until a federal antifreeze bittering bill becomes law, it's up to concerned citizens and animal lovers to keep even the most curious critters out from under antifreeze's sweet—but deadly—spell.

Protect Your Pet During Winter and Cold Weather

In many areas, winter is a season of bitter cold and numbing wetness. Pet owners are urged to take extra precautions during winter months to ensure the safety of their companion animals.

Help your pets remain happy and healthy during the colder months by following these simple guidelines.

Indoors and warm

Don't leave dogs outdoors when the temperature drops. Most dogs, and all cats, are safer indoors, except when taken out for exercise. Regardless of the season, shorthaired, very young, or old dogs and all cats should never be left outside without supervision. Short-coated dogs may feel more comfortable wearing a sweater during walks.

No matter what the temperature, windchill can threaten a pet's life. A dog or cat is happiest and healthiest when kept indoors. If your dog is an outdoor dog, however, he/she must be protected by a dry, draft-free doghouse that is large enough to allow the dog to sit and lie down comfortably, but small enough to hold in his/her body heat. The floor should be raised a few inches off the ground and covered with cedar shavings or straw. The house should be turned to face away from the wind, and the doorway should be covered with waterproof burlap or heavy plastic.

Keep the water flowing

Pets who spend a lot of time outdoors need more food in the winter because keeping warm depletes energy. Routinely check your pet's water dish to make certain the water is fresh and unfrozen. Use plastic food and water bowls rather than metal; when the temperature is low, your pet's tongue can stick and freeze to metal.

Be careful with cars

Warm engines in parked cars attract cats and small wildlife, who may crawl up under the hood. To avoid injuring any hidden animals, bang on your car's hood to scare them away before starting your engine.

Safety and salt

The salt and other chemicals used to melt snow and ice can irritate the pads of your pet's feet. Wipe all paws with a damp towel before your pet licks them and irritates his/her mouth.

Avoid antifreeze

Antifreeze is a deadly poison, but it has a sweet taste that may attract animals and children. Wipe up spills and store antifreeze (and all household chemicals) out of reach. Better yet, use antifreeze-coolant made with propylene glycol; if swallowed in small amounts, it will not hurt pets, wildlife, or your family.

Probably the best prescription for winter's woes is to keep your dog or cat inside with you and your family. The happiest dogs are those who are taken out frequently for walks and exercise, but kept inside the rest of the time.

Dogs and cats are social animals who crave human companionship. Your animal companions deserve to live indoors with you and your family.

Helping wildlife in winter

Simple steps to increase cold-weather survival for your wild neighbors

When autumn’s leaves have fallen, they become little more than a vast prairie of leaf litter to us—piles and piles waiting to be raked, bagged, and set by the curb for town pickup.

From a wild animal’s point of view, though, our annual clean-up is a blow: Just when the going gets tough, we are removing potential winter food and cover sources, leaving a bleak and uninviting landscape in which to survive the coldest months. Letting go of our need for an excessively orderly yard will mean more relaxation time for us and more winter food and cover for wildlife.

This autumn, take a look at your yard and see how you can help wildlife survive the coming cold weather by leaving well enough alone.

Keep those fading flowers

  • Hold off on nipping and tucking your garden beds or patio container plantings until springtime. Leave dead stalks, leaves, and seedheads standing to feed wildlife and provide cover.
  • Large seedheads like those of black-eyed Susans, sedums, purple coneflowers, joe-pye weed, and sunflowers are favorite wildlife foods. So too are the seeds of zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, phlox, and dianthus. 
  • Hardy ferns—which often remain green well into winter—can be valuable as both cover and a food source.
  • Berry-producing plants such as bayberries, junipers, and cotoneasters are year-round favorites for many species, particularly birds.
  • Many wildlife species will forage the seeds of grasses, and birds will pluck old stalks and foliage for nest-building material in the spring.

Leave the leaves

  • Think of fallen leaves as an organic windfall for your yard and garden.
  • Leaves make a cost-effective, water-conserving mulch for garden beds, and they are ideal additions to a compost pile. 
  • For mulch, leave the leaves where they fall or, better yet, shred and spread them uniformly in your garden.
  • To best improve soil fertility and retain moisture, aim for about two to three inches in depth with mulches of any kind.

Give 'em shelter

  • Building a brush pile is an easy and inexpensive way to clear your yard of stray branches and twigs, and the results will provide a safe haven for ground-nesting birds, chipmunks, rabbits, and hibernating reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
  • Create your brush pile in an out-of-the-way corner of your property, preferably close to food sources and away from buildings.
  • Start with a layer of larger limbs and stack branches loosely, adding vegetation and leaves on top to create nooks and crannies of various sizes.
  • A firewood pile will occasionally be disturbed through the cold weather months, but it, too, functions well as shelter for wildlife.
  • Pile your logs crisscross fashion in order to create internal spaces that invite your wild neighbors to come in from the cold.

Water sources

  • Water remains one of the most important and beneficial elements you can provide for wildlife, especially in winter when reliable watering holes often dry up or ice over.
  • Providing water close to home can save animals from having to search for it far afield, thereby saving them valuable energy, which may mean the difference between life and death on the coldest days.
  • Invest in a quality heater for your birdbath or artificial pond to keep water ice-free, and you will be rewarded with a continuous flow of wildlife activity in your sanctuary.

As the temperature starts to drop and you reach for your favorite sweater or that warm bowl of soup, don't forget about your wild neighbors. Just like us, they need a warm place to curl up and some comfort food, too.

Create a Sanctuary

Enjoy the company of your wild neighbors in your own yard. Every day, more and more wildlife habitat is lost to the spread of development. But you can help wild animals in urban and suburban areas by offering them sanctuary in your own backyard (or front yard, roof-top garden, or deck), no matter how small. Learn how your green space can become an urban wildlife sanctuary.