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Number of cats and dogs exposed to cocaine has increased significantly since 2019, study finds

A pair of animal health researchers, one with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the other the Pet Poison Helpline/SafetyCall International LLC, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, has found that the number of pet dogs and cats in the U.S. who have consumed cocaine has increased dramatically over the past few years.

In their paper in the journal JAMA Network Open, Orrin Ware, and Renee Schmid, describe their analysis of data surrounding calls to an animal poison control center, and what they learned about pet cats and dogs consuming cocaine and methamphetamine.

Prior research has shown that animals living in the homes of people using illegal drugs can sometimes lead to the animals being exposed to the substances. In some cases, such exposure can be limited, such as smoke inhalation. In others, it can be far more hazardous, such as if a pet dog or cat happens upon a quantity of the drug and sniffs or eats it.

Because of differences in body makeup, dogs and cats are both at extreme risk from such consumption, even in small quantities. In this new effort, the research pair wondered how often pets are exposed to two of the most common illicit drugs in the U.S.: cocaine and methamphetamine.

To find out, they looked at phone record data for the Pet Poison Helpline/SafetyCall International LLC, over the years 2019 to 2023, which notably, includes the years of the pandemic, when both humans and pets were confined to their homes much more than during normal times.

In looking at the data (from 433 dogs and 63 cats) which included information regarding a pet's weight, age, and location, in addition to symptoms that were usually easy to tie to drug exposure, the research pair was able to identify multiple instances of exposure to either cocaine or methamphetamine.

They also found that the number of such instances rose dramatically for cocaine exposure over the study period—by 52% for cats and by 39% for dogs—but not for methamphetamine.

The researchers were not able to identify how the pets came to be exposed to the drugs, but note that both cats and dogs are inquisitive by nature, and tend to put things in their mouth as a way to help them identify things. They suggest that if people with pets insist on bringing such drugs into their home, then it is important to prevent their pets from gaining access to them.