If you love your pet, the last thing you’ll want is for it to get hurt. When on holidays, it can be tempting to let your pet in on all the holiday delicacies.
However, there are holiday foods that are dangerous for pets, which you should avoid giving to them. If your pet should eat any of these foods, it could result in poisoning.
As the popular saying goes, prevention is better than cure, so you need to be proactive about protecting your pet from coming into contact with these foods.
Here is a list of 10 festive human foods that are poisonous to cats and dogs you should avoid giving your pet.
You should also see our list of ten holiday safety tips for pets as many pet accidents happen during the holidays.
Table of Contents
1. Sugar And Salt
A lot of dishes you make during the holiday contain very unhealthy amounts of salt and sugar. Neither of these is safe for your pet to consume, especially if you own a dog or a puppy.
Salt can make pets extremely thirsty or result in excessive urination. This could kill your pet if it has a cardiovascular or kidney condition. Some of these health conditions do not even show signs in time, or you just might not know what to look for. Therefore, you end up exposing your pet to these holiday ingredients that can trigger the condition and cause health problems.
In addition, sugar can result in diabetes or obesity. It’s is also more dangerous for pets with arthritis.
2. Nuts
No matter what type of nut it is, it isn’t very safe to feed your pet. Generally, nuts are high in fat, which is not very pet-friendly. High fat can lead to pancreatic issues or problems. They can also lead to excessive weight and obesity.
Also, most nuts contain toxins, most particularly Macadamia nuts. When consumed by pets, these toxins could cause various complications, including paralysis, tremors, vomiting, etc. At the very least, it could cause stomach upset.
Finally, some large nuts such as almonds can be choking hazards, which is also another form of danger to your pets.
3. Alcohol
As bad as alcohol poisoning is to humans, imagine what happens when it’s your pet? It’s known that the effect of alcohol is higher in pets than people, which is why you should keep your pets far away from it.
Alcohol can get your pet drunk and cause it to stagger. This alone can leave it prone to avoidable dangers in the environment like bumping into things.
Also, if taken in relatively large quantities, the toxins could cause a cardiac arrest, which could lead to death.
4. Onions
Onions are a classic example of human holiday foods that are bad for dogs and cats alike. Depending on the recipe and the holiday, many holiday foods contain onions. Onions are dangerous to your pets because they contain thiosulphate, a sulfur oxyanion.
This can burst your pet’s red blood cells, which can cause serious problems. Even the smallest amount of onions can be dire. Your pet could develop hemolytic anemia and symptoms like vomiting, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and lethargy, amongst others.
5. Chocolate
The caffeine and theobromine content in chocolate is toxic to pets. Although chocolate comes in different forms, they all have both of these ingredients, even in the smallest quantities.
You should keep chocolates not just away from your pet but in a safe place beyond their reach. This is because they could smell and locate it on their own when you’re not watching.
If they accidentally consume a piece, kindly contact your vet immediately.
6. Caffeine
Caffeine is one of the holiday foods that are dangerous for pets, as previously mentioned. While it can be an advantage to you with all the holiday errands you need to run, it isn’t the same for your pet.
Also, note it not just chocolates that contain caffeine; there are caffeine drinks, coffee, tea, colas, etc. Generally, before you give your pet any drink, check to be sure it’s free of caffeine.
7. Nutmeg
You are likely to spice up a lot of veggie dishes using nutmeg during holidays. There’s nothing wrong with doing that so long as none of those dishes are consumed by your pet.
There are hallucinogenic properties in nutmeg. This can result in nervous system problems, seizures, shock, tremors, and even death. You can serve your pet’s raw vegetables instead.
8. Milk
When talking about holiday foods that are bad for dogs and cats, we can’t afford to exclude milk. Cow milk, to be specific.
Milk contains lactose, and unlike humans, pets can’t properly break down lactose as they have less lactase. Hence, milk could cause digestive upset and diarrhea when it is taken by your pet. Worse, it could cause dehydration.
9. Grapes And Raisins
Never give your pet grapes and raisins to eat. Grapes and raisins cause kidney failure in pets, especially dogs. It is truly very dangerous to them. The toxin responsible for the kidney failure it causes is yet to be identified, but the concentration is higher in raisins than in grapes.
A very little amount of these can cause several uncertainties and a higher risk of kidney failure in about a day. Be careful, leaving these around carelessly as your pet can steal and eat them.
10. Dough With Yeast
We tend to do a lot of baking during the holidays. Dough with yeast should not be fed to your pet during holidays. This is because it could rise inside your pets’ stomach.
It puts it at risk of severe abdominal pain, bloating, and vomiting. You should wait for the dough to be fully prepared into a pastry before feeding your pet if you must.
See the video below for more foods that are dangerous or poisonous to your pets.
Conclusion
Now you know the holiday foods that are dangerous to pets. It is important to avoid these foods as they can be poisonous. According to Pet Poison Helpline, some signs that your pet has been poisoned include vomiting, nausea, drilling, collapse, etc. You shouldn’t wait for any of these to happen to your pet; keep these foods far out of reach.
You might also want to know which foods are ok to feed your pet. Well, it’s always best to stick to pet foods, whether on holiday or not. Dog food and Cat foods are safe and contain the right nourishment for your pet, specifically for their needs.
Nevertheless, you can feed your pet human foods such as carrots, peas, green beans, and pumpkin while on holidays. They are safe and healthy. We hope you enjoyed reading this article on holiday foods dangerous to pets; please share it with others in your network.
