Sago Palm
Also known as Coontie Palm, Cardboard Palm, Cycad, Japanese Cycad. One plant, one grade per pet — the verdicts below are transcribed from primary sources and human-reviewed.
Sago palm is life-threatening to cats (S4 Emergency): every part of the plant — the seeds most of all — contains cycasin, and any amount can cause liver failure and death, with symptoms sometimes delayed for hours.
FULL VERDICT →Sago palm is life-threatening to dogs (S4 Emergency): every part of the plant — the seeds most of all — contains cycasin, and any amount can cause liver failure and death, with symptoms sometimes delayed for hours.
FULL VERDICT →Care at a glance
What happens if it's eaten
Signs on record for each animal, transcribed from the cited sources.
- vomiting, diarrhea, bloody vomitus — 15 minutes to several hours after ingestion
- melena (dark, tarry stool)
- increased thirst
- stumbling gait, weakness, seizures
- bruising, coagulopathy (failure to clot)
- icterus (jaundice), liver damage, liver failure; death is possible — may take up to 48–72 hours
- vomiting, diarrhea, bloody vomitus — 15 minutes to several hours after ingestion
- melena (dark, tarry stool)
- increased thirst
- stumbling gait, weakness, seizures
- bruising, coagulopathy (failure to clot)
- icterus (jaundice), liver damage, liver failure; death is possible — may take up to 48–72 hours
When to call the vet
Immediately, on any ingestion — there is no safe wait-and-see window. Even a symptom-free cat needs veterinary assessment after sago palm exposure, because liver failure can be delayed by days.
FULL VERDICT →Immediately, on any ingestion — there is no safe wait-and-see window. Even a symptom-free dog needs veterinary assessment after sago palm exposure, because liver failure can be delayed by days.
FULL VERDICT →Safe swaps, graded S0
Non-toxic on record for cats — verified against the index at build time.