- Feeding onions and garlic to your dog or cat is not only bad for their health, but is potentially fatal for your pet. It's not just onions or garlic, there are many plants that fall into this category of onions, the botanical name *Alliacea*, which are listed below.   

- Onion, garlic, and many variegations of the onion plant  contain sulfoxides and disulfides, onion has higher concentrations. These chemical cause the red blood cells in cats to break up, which can result in hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia can make a cat fatigued, affect a cat's physical and mental performance and is potentially life threatening; the condition is known as  allium toxicosis.  

- If this type of poisoning occurs there is nothing that can be done to reverse the affects, only the symptoms can be treated; affected animals may be  treated with intravenous fluids and may require blood transfusions. 

- It's important to note the signs of toxicosis may not surface for several days after the animal has ingested the offending food.

- If your pets has eaten onions in any food, please monitor your pet and if any symptoms, like vomiting, diarrhea develop or your pet seems unwell over, seek the medical attention of your veterinarian.

The signs of toxicity are:  

> **CLINICAL SIGNS**  
> In dogs and cats, clinical signs of Allium  species
> toxicosis may appear within one day of  consumption if large amounts
> of material have  been ingested. However, it is more common  the
> development of clinical signs after a lag of  several days. The
> first signs are usually of  gastroenteritis: vomiting, diarrhea,
> abdominal  pain, loss of appetite, depression and dehydration.  It
> will take a few days for the dog to display the  signs associated with
> the loss of red blood cells:  pale mucous membranes, rapid respiratory
> rate,  difficulty to breathe, lethargy, dark colored urine  (reddish
> or brown), jaundice, weakness, and rapid  heart rate. Depression,
> hemosiderin in urine,  exercise intolerance and cold sensitivity may
> also  be observed. In cases of recent ingestion, the  breath of
> the affected dog or cat may smell like  onions or garlic. (1)

A full list of the plants associated with allium species toxicity is here:  
![enter image description here][2] table courtesy of Allium species poisoning in dogs and cats, Salgado BS, Monteiro LN, Rocha NS (1)



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References:

- Allium species poisoning in dogs and cats  
 Salgado BS, Monteiro LN, Rocha NS [PDF][3] (1)

- [Foods that are dangerous for your cat][4]   
 VCA Animal Hospitals

- [DennyVet.com][5]


  [1]: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16346/Alliaceae
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/N9dVQ.png
  [3]: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/jvatitd/v17n1/02.pdf
  [4]: http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/news/pet-news/foods-that-are-dangerous-for-your-cat/508
  [5]: http://www.denneyvet.com/INFONEW.html