Celebrate Thanksgiving Safely
If you’re anything like me, you are ready for the season…pumpkins, cinnamon, holiday cookies…BRING. IT. ON. But, as the festivities begin, your pet becomes more exposed to harmful and toxic foods.
· Written by Brandie Ahlgren
· November 19, 2020
It’s important to remember which foods are bad for dogs and cats, especially during holiday meals when dogs and cats beg for table scraps and guests might fall for those cute faces. The last thing anyone wants is a trip to the emergency vet during Thanksgiving dinner. We’ve partnered with Pets Best Health Insurance to bring you tips to make sure your holidays with Fido and Fifi are safe and fun!
What Foods Are Toxic To Dogs And Cats?
Thanksgiving is almost here and that means an abundance of delicious food. However, many popular human dishes aren’t healthy for pets to consume. It’s important to remember which foods are bad for dogs and cats. During holiday meals when dogs and cats beg for table scraps and guests might fall for those cute faces.
Below are six Thanksgiving foods to keep away from your pets. Also, don’t forget to inform your family and dinner guests about these potentially dangerous or toxic foods for pets so they do not feed them to your four-legged family members.
Stuffing. Thanksgiving dressing is often made with onions, scallions or garlic. These ingredients, however, are extremely toxic to dogs and cats and can cause a life-threatening anemia (destruction of the red blood cells). It’s best to avoid feeding any amount of stuffing to pets.
Ham. Ham and other pork products can cause pancreatitis, upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea. Pork is also high in fat, which can lead to obesity in pets. Even a small amount of ham can contribute a very large amount of calories to a small dog or cat’s diet.
Turkey Bones. Bones can cause severe indigestion in dogs and cats, potentially causing vomiting and obstructing the bowel. Bones may also splinter and cause damage to the inside of the stomach and intestines. In some cases, turkey bones may even puncture through the stomach and cause a potentially fatal abdominal infection.
Mashed Potatoes. While potatoes are safe for pets to eat, mashed potatoes usually contain butter and milk, which can cause diarrhea in lactose intolerant pets. Additionally, some recipes call for onion powder or garlic, which are very toxic to pets.
Salads with Grapes and Raisins. There are many salads served at Thanksgiving that include grapes or raisins as an ingredient, from fruit salad, to Waldorf salad, to ambrosia. However, grapes and raisins are very virulent and potentially deadly. Grapes can cause severe, irreversible and sometimes fatal kidney failure in dogs. Be sure to keep all dishes that include grapes and raisins away from pets.
Chocolate Desserts. While pumpkin pie is the most famous Thanksgiving dessert (canned pumpkin also has many pet health benefits), many people offer a variety of chocolate desserts at Thanksgiving. Chocolate is toxic to dogs and cats, yet dogs love the smell and taste of it. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is. Keep all chocolate desserts out of the reach of pets to prevent an emergency trip to the veterinarian.
If your pets ingest any of these foods this Thanksgiving, be sure to call your veterinarian immediately. The most important part of holiday pet safety is early action, which may prevent more costly and serious complications from developing.
What Foods Are Safe For Dogs And Cats?
Maintain a Regular Feeding Schedule. During the holidays, there is a lot of extra food around the house. That means lots of tasting and snacking all day long. With that in mind, try to maintain your pet’s regular feeding schedule. Offering a treat here or there is likely harmless, but try to resist the urge to share too much. Also, remind holiday guests to avoid feeding pets. A nibble here and a nibble there can quickly lead to overeating and an upset stomach. Dogs and cats need routine, so do your best to stick to regular feeding times and quantities.
What About Turkey? Perhaps the most common question this time of year is whether it is safe to give your dog or cat turkey? The answer, however, is not simple. On the one hand, turkey is not toxic to dogs or cats, so a little turkey will be a nice treat. However, the key is moderation. Only feed your pet a small amount of fully cooked, skinless, unseasoned boneless turkey. While your pet may want to gobble up all the leftover turkey, you don’t want to stuff your pet. Also, don’t let your dog near the wishbone, or any turkey bones for that matter. Turkey bones are very brittle and can cause choking or injury to dogs.
Which Foods are Off Limits? There are a lot of foods that you should not feed your dog or cat during the holidays. In other words, no-thanks-giving! While most pet parents already have a working knowledge of which foods are toxic to animals, or likely to cause a stomachache, the holidays bring a wide range of foods to the table. For example, never feed your pet: grapes, chocolate or alcohol.
Another rule of thumb is to consider how the food is prepared and whether it poses a risk to your pet. In other words, as we mention above, stuffing is a no-no for pets because it is can be prepared with spices and ingredients like onions, garlic, or raisins that are harmful to pets. So be sure to think about what ingredients were used to prepare the food, and when in doubt, don’t share with pets.
What Foods are Okay to Share with Pets? In addition to small quantities of turkey, as mentioned, other foods safe to feed pets include: sweet potatoes, raw vegetables like green beans, carrots and corn, cooked eggs, apples (with seeds removed), and unsweetened and spice-free pumpkin. But again, the key is moderation, and always consider the ingredients that were added. For example, plain cooked pumpkin or squash is fine for pets, but pumpkin pie filling is harmful because it has a lot of sugar added and may cause an upset stomach.
Other Tips to Keep Pets Healthy During the Holidays. Dogs and cats have very different digestive systems than adults, so many human foods are simply too rich and fatty for pets to digest properly. Human food also tends to be prepared with high amounts of salt and sugar, which are harmful to pets.
If you and Fido are spending this year’s Thanksgiving together on the couch, by all means…snuggle up and be sure to binge-watch The Pack, premiering November 20 on Amazon Prime! The Pack, a TV show that celebrates the pure joy of the relationship between humans and dogs, is hosted by Olympic gold-medal winning ski racer Lindsey Vonn, and sends 12 teams of dogs and their humans on an epic adventure across multiple continents. Yes, please!