Chocolate toxicity in dogs and cats
It's the big brown eyes that get you with that steady, silent plea. The licking of the lips is a dead give away that your dog or cat wants some of your chocolate. What could a little bit of chocolate hurt? Your pet loves it and the last time you gave it to them they seemed fine.
     The first problem with chocolate is that once introduced, your pet might find it to be an irrestible confection. This is a big problem for dogs who can eat 'treats' until they're sick because chocolate offers a fatal scenario for over indulgent dogs. For cats, it's their slight body weight that offers a deadly problem when it comes to chocolate.
     The second and more serious problem with feeding your pet chocolate is that it contains theobromine. Theobromine is a stimulant found in the cocoa bean that increases urination and affects the central nervous system and heart muscle. Symptoms from theobromine poisoning are nervousness, trembling, muscle tremors, increased urination, increased thirst, diarrhea, and vomiting. The more chocolate your pet eats, the more severe their symptoms will become, including seizures, coma, and death. These symptoms can happen quickly or show up to twelve hours later.
==>     There are two factors to consider when exploring the risk of a pet ingesting theobromine. Theobromine levels vary in different types of chocolate. The higher the level of theobromine, the more severe the threat is to pets. White chocolate has the lowest amount of theobromine with about 20mg per ounce. Milk chocolate ranges from 40-100. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate ranges from 150-300mg of theobromine per ounce. Baker's chocolate is the most dangerous with theobromine levels between 300-600mg per ounce.
     The second factor is the weight of the dog or cat. The liberal scale for chocolate consumption is 100mg of theobromine per one kilogram of animal weight (2.2 pounds). There have been reports that as low as 20mg of theobromine per one kilogram of body weight has caused toxicity for some dogs. The Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM) states "One ounce of milk chocolate per pound of body weight is a potentially lethal dose in dogs." This might seem like a lot of chocolate, but consider that theobromine levels in semi-sweet chocolate can be five times the amount of milk chocolate. That 35 ounces need for toxicity in a 35 pound dog is reduced to 7 ounces in a darker chocolate. It would only take 3-5 ounces of bakers chocolate to be deadly to the same dog.
     Chocolate is a staple in most homes and with Halloween here many of us will have plenty of this confection on hand. The first line of defense against themobromine poisoning is to not allow your pet to develop a taste for chocolate, although this may be hard considering dogs have extremely keen noses. Keeping the Halloween loot out of reach is the best preventative measure. If you suspect your dog or cat has eaten too much chocolate, contact your vet immediately. You may only need to keep an eye on your pet for the next 24 hours for the symptoms of toxicity. If symptoms exist you will to get your pet professional help right away.

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