Treats and eats for the holidays. Wolfie and I spoke with veterinarians to get to the bottom of the treat bowl, because as you know everyone will tell you “it’s fine” or I gave my pets this all the time and nothing ever happened.” Even worse, they treat behind your back!
When I asked Dr. Rachael L. Currao, Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (SA) and Staff Surgeon at the Surgery Department for New England Veterinary Center and Cancer Care, for some foods to avoid here’s what she said:
“This is my usual list. More could be added but these are some of the most popular:
Onions, garlic and chives, Chocolate, Macadamia nuts, Corn on the cob, Avocado, Artificial sweetener (Xylitol), Alcohol, Cooked bones, Caffeine and Bread dough”
Additionally, Dr Currao also stated the most common reasons she see’s dogs and cats in the ER over the holidays are, ‘Toxicities (food, chemicals, drugs, etc), foreign object ingestion (tinsel, ornaments, bones, corn cobs, etc), pancreatitis (sometimes from ingesting large amounts of human food) are some of the top reasons we get emergency visits.”
I also wanted to get a little more specific as to why some foods can be toxic and Dr Kristin Haviar DVM at the Animal Hospital of Rocky Hill explained, “ A common known toxin is chocolate which is found in many of our holiday treats and gifts. The toxicity can vary based on the type and amount of chocolate ingested as well as the size of the dog. Baker’s chocolate, dark chocolate, and cocoa powder have the highest level of toxicity and small amounts of these types of chocolate can cause harmful effects. It’s important to keep all chocolate out of reach of your dogs, this includes not putting any gifts that may contain chocolate UNDER YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE where your dog may have access to It! ( I’ve had this happen a couple of times where someone puts a box of chocolates under the tree and the dog eats the whole box!)”
And most important she goes on to say, “Grapes and raisins are also known to be toxic and can be found in many holiday dishes. Any amount of grape or raisin can be toxic to a dog no matter their size. Grapes can cause kidney failure if the pet is not seen and decontaminated quickly. Xylitol is an artificial sugar that is found in many products including baked goods, peanut butter, and chewing gum. This product can be highly toxic to dogs and lead to liver failure. “
All our contributors for this article do not recommend rawhides, especially those with the festive red and green dyed colorings. A warning for pet parents of counter surfers, plastic food wrap can be deadly! All offered great alternatives to those friends and relatives who think you are starving your beloved furry children; make a special treat bowl/platter/area filled with approved goodies by YOU and direct all animal lovers to the designated treat area! Gaiting the kitchen area may be a good suggestion although cat parents know that may not be a deterrent for our feline family members!
This is part of an article that you can find in Seasons Magazines!