Ninety-two percent of the 17,979 cat poisonings reported to poison control centers in the US in 1993-94 occurred at home. Seventy-six percent of these resulted from the cat eating or drinking something he or she shouldn't have. The information was compiled by Carl Hornfeldt of the Hennepin Regional Poison Center College of Veterinary Medicine. This information was recently published in Veterinary and Human Toxicology.

Most poisonings (87 percent) are unintentional and only a small percentage are from adverse reactions to food, drugs or other products. Approximately 1 percent of all cats poisoned by nondrug products were poisoned by plants, but only 23 of the 4,296 cats poisoned by plants died as a result of the poisonings. Twenty-one percent of the poisonings were from insecticides, resulting in 75 deaths. Poisoning by cleaning products accounted for nearly 13 percent of all feline nondrug poisonings.

Antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics or antivirals, for example) accounted for 15 percent of the drug poisonings in cats. Analgesics (e.g., acetaminophen, nonsteroid-al anti-inflammatory drugs or prescription painkillers) were responsible for nearly 13 percent of feline drug poisonings. Eleven percent of cats poisoned by drug products were poisoned by topical preparations (anything you put on skin). Only 26 of the 3,472 cats poisoned by drugs died as a result of the poisonings.

The moral: Keep dangerous chemicals, drugs, insecticides, rodenticides and cleaning fluids away from your cat; prevent access to toxic plants in the house; and never give a medication without consulting your veterinarian.

The writers are Dr. Steven B. Holzman, Dr. William R. Haagenson and Dr. Kathleen Tapley. They are associated with the Nassau-Suffolk Veterinary Hospital of Farmingdale.