Toxic effect of boric acid on animals

A. Hi, Juanita. I would guess that boric acid at the right concentration can be safely used to clean animals' eyes as it is used on human eyes. But if an animal (a rat you are trying to poison?, or a pet you are trying to keep safe?) gobbled it down, and whether they would do so, I don't know.

Please try to give us the scenario you envision. Your question is too open and abstract. Thanks!

A. Home made Boric Acid Roach Killer and whatever typically will cause a cat or dog to froth at the mouth and possibly barf. It is possible for an animal to die from it, but not very probable. Two cats and one small dog have lived thru it quite nicely, but it sure made a mess on the rug. Typical additives like sugar, condensed milk, peanut butter and bacon dripping will be eaten by animals if they can get to it.

Thanks James, now I see. Yes, boric acid is blended with attractive foods like sugar to get ants to eat it and be poisoned. I can also imagine a scenario where a dog might have no interest in eating plain boric acid but might chow down on sweet ant traps or other enticed boric acid :-(

Regards,

A. Here is a link to some info published by the National Cotton Batting Institute about the safety of Boric Acid. Turns out, the toxicity is somewhere between Aspirin and Table Salt. Also they state, "It is important to remember that there have been no known deaths resulting from the use of boric acid or Boron No. 10 in mattresses or upholstered furniture or even in their use as an insecticide."

www.natbat.com/docs/boron.htm

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Ed. note: That link no longer works, but we thank Nicholas for demonstrating a good way to provide an internet link (with a brief summary of what it says, so that when it breaks, which they usually do rather quickly, the response still has value). Plus, if someone wants to search for a new address for the link, they know what they're looking for. Thanks!

A. Hi, Mari-Alice. Animals are not people, so what's good or bad for us might not be equally so for cats. It may or may not be the best treatment for her eyes, but a boric acid eye treatment certainly won't kill her.

Regards,

A. Use regular eye drops on your kitten. It's much safer and it cleared up my son's kitten overnight.

Hi Stacey. Very sorry about your cat! Condolences.

But that 'actual scientific info' page starts off 100% dead wrong with, ludicrously, "What Is Borax? Borax is also known as boric acid." :-)

It most certainly is not! Borax is Na₂B₄O₇.10H₂O,; boric acid is H₃BO₃. That ehow page is utterly ridiculous; the very last thing it is is "scientific data" :-)

According to "Boric Acid/ Borates/ Borax Beyond Pesticides Rating: Least Toxic" at Beyond Pesticides
(www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefactsheets/leasttoxic/boricacid_borates_borax.htm)
"Boric acid ... is a low-toxicity mineral with insecticidal, fungicidal, and herbicidal properties ... however it can still pose health hazards and should be used with care."

According to "Common Cat Toxicities" at Cornell University Department of Animal Science
(www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxcat/toxcat.html)
"... boric acid ... has a low oral toxicity."

But it is certainly not safe for cats or any animal to eat uncontrolled quantities of it; James said he had pets who survived it but were sick from it, and I was answering Mari-Alice question about using boric acid an eyewash. Sorry for your loss.

Regards,

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your input but the original question was is boric acid safe, so yes, "we" are talking about boric acid in general, "you" were talking about an eye wash :-)

Here's another link which stipulates that extreme care should be taken to ensure that small animals do NOT have any direct contact with the substance:

www.vetinfo.com/cat-flea-treatment-boric-acid.html

Better to err on the side of caution, and find a product equally useful, minus the poisoning dangers.

Makes good sense, doesn't it ?

Hi Stacey. I'm certainly not here to harass a grieving pet owner, but the link you provided suggests that it is important to clean carpets with boric acid, not to avoid doing so.

Mary-Alice was talking about boric acid as an eyewash, and that is the context in which I said it won't kill her cat; to which you responded "Forget the misinformed persons who keeps saying that Boric acid won't kill a cat"
I asked Juanita to give us the scenario she had in mind, but she didn't get back to us. There is no such thing as "safe" -- there is only relative safety in specific contexts. People have died from drinking too much water, as well as from eating too many hot dogs.

Regards,

A. Hi Catherine. Yes, certainly it would harm them. If the poisoning was done effectively it might even kill them.

Regards,

A. Your post is from 2013. I hope your cats have remained safe.

In NEW YORK, poisoning these cats would be considered animal abuse - and is considered a Felony, punishable by jail time. I don't know if this is true in your state. Try to find out.

IF SO - and IF YOU RECEIVE MORE THREATS from this neighbor: 1.Report it to the police.
Having proof with you is best - so keep a hidden recorder with you - and converse in a polite, CIVIL manner with this neighbor about this issue. Try to get them to talk about their threats (eg. "Do you really intend to poison the poor cats?")
[Smart phones generally will record very well, and can be kept in a shirt pocket, or, maybe even in your hand. You can also buy inexpensive computer USB's ($10-20) that ALSO record on their own. Check Walmart.com or Amazon.
You might also consider leaving a note with your neighbor asking them not to harm these cats with poison or any other means. (You can use a personal reason (eg. "I Love them", and/or, "they are not causing you any harm"). Because, if you're lucky - they MAY respond to your note with a note threatening the cats again (Or confirming previous threats)- another form of proof. (Don't tell them it's illegal yet - or you may not get the response you want!)
2. If all else fails - can you bring these cats into your home?
There are many animal rescuers who are adept at trapping. Look on internet for cat rescuers nearby. Are the cats friendly/handlable by you - or are they Feral (Not handleable)? (I've taken several Ferals into my home. Still can't touch them, but they're wonderful!) Have them taken directly to a vet first - to have them tested for Leukemia/AIDS - with a vet who confirms he/she can handle ferals if they're feral. (Some rescuers can do this testing for you inexpensively - Ask). AIDS-Positive cats can be kept safely with Normal Cats - as long as there are no REAL FIGHTERS. Sharing Food/Water, and even "Play" bites will not transfer the disease. Only DEEP bites are risky.). Leukemia-Positive cats must be kept in separate rooms from AIDS or Normal cats. Leukemia transfers very easily.

If, sadly, the cats were already killed - again, you can try to engage your neighbor in a polite, CIVIL conversation about the happening - and record it. (eg. "How could you have the heart to kill these cats?") (Or, again, by note.) If this is a felony in your state - the statute of limitations may not have run out yet for prosecuting them - if you have proof.
Good Luck, Jackie

We don't know Catherine nor her neighbor, but we do know that Catherine in actively encouraging feral cats, which many people consider to be a genuine danger to their children and terrible destroyers of small wildlife -- so there may be two sides here. The neighbor may have no intention of harming anything, but simply be trying to discourage Catherine's hobby from expanding because, as an animal lover himself, he's sickened by the carnage she is promoting.

Civil conversation is great, and the right answer ... but feigning civility to engage in secret recordings, and faking it to try to entrap a neighbor into a felony? Geez!

Love of animals is a good thing. But please let's not let "love of animals" be a hollow excuse for misanthropy.

Regards,

If you have feral cats living in your back yard, the best thing you can do it exterminate them as quickly and humanely as possible.

Feral cats are a bane to the environment and the ecology.
They decimate the indigenous small animal/bird population and provide no useful contribution in return.
They have a negative effect on the entire ecosystem and disrupt the natural food-chain.

As an avid environmentalist, I see this regularly.

... Find something more useful for your emotions, like maybe helping people instead of animals?
Just saying

Thanks Ted. There is benefit to calm discussion and seeing the other's person point of view.

In my wall-to-wall suburbs there hasn't been a snake, raptor, bobcat, weasel, owl, fox, coyote, wolf, or hunter for at least 75 years. This complete lack of natural enemies to the swarms of chipmunks, squirrels, geese, rabbits, and groundhogs in every 100 x 100 lot, means that every vegetable patch & flower garden is stripped totally bare, then the animals succumb to starvation and disease -- and that isn't the natural ecological order either. I agree that I don't want a pack of feral cats, but I'm always very happy to see an occasional neighborhood cat passing through the yard as a small counterbalance to my completely unnatural suburb and it's unnatural and ridiculous concentration of rodents and other pests :-)

I certainly agree that people should concentrate on helping their neighbors, not try to trick them to get them charged with a crime :-)

Regards,

A. Hi Toni. Unfortunately you don't know whether he did or he didn't and therefore whether it justifies the hassle and cost of a trip to the vet. That's more a question of likelihood and personal philosophy than anything else :-(

If your pet gets sick or dies you'll be unhappy, but if you waste money on the vet you'll be unhappy. All I can say is if you're quite sure he did, you should probably take him. But if there's just a tablet missing without a good explanation, I personally wouldn't -- there's about 145 tablets in 6 oz., and they're only 40% boric acid, so it's not much boric acid ... but if it was my grandchild rather than my rabbit I probably would :-)

Regards,