Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Pet On Thanksgiving
November 1st is National Cook for Your Pet Day, and at Capital Home Veterinary Care, we like to celebrate by treating our pets to a delicious meal, and what better day to do this than on Thanksgiving Day, of course!
If you choose to invite your furry family members to your grand feast this year, just be sure that you feed them a pet-friendly, safe, and non-toxic celebratory meal by avoiding the following popular Thanksgiving foods.
5 Foods Not to Give Your Pets This Thanksgiving Day
1. Turkey
Turkey might seem like a safe choice for your pet, and it isn’t toxic or extremely harmful. However, it can be too fatty for dogs and cats which can lead to an upset stomach and even pancreatitis. Plus, many Thanksgiving turkeys are prepared with ingredients that are toxic for pets. The better option would be to boil a dog a plain chicken tender for thanksgiving or open a packet of tuna for a cat.
2. Stuffing
Several common ingredients in bread dressing or stuffing are toxic for pets, such as raisins, certain nuts, garlic, and onions. It’s best to leave the bread dressing out of your pet’s holiday meal.
3. Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potatoes are actually a healthy and safe treat for pets. However, sweet potato pie contains far too much sugar and fat for pets to safely and healthily consume. We recommend setting a bit of plain sweet potato aside for your pet to enjoy before you mix up this delicious treat.
4. Anything With Garlic or Any Kind of Onions
All plants in the allium plant family are poisonous to pets. This includes garlic, chives, onions, leeks, spring onions, scallions, and more. Keep these ingredients away from your pets and be sure to keep any foods that contain them safely out of reach, as well.
5. Desserts
Pets should never eat human desserts. They contain amounts of sugar and fat that are typically too high for people, and they’re way too high for our feline and canine friends that require diets of mostly protein. Their digestive systems aren’t built for processing these kinds of foods, and this can result in them becoming very sick.
Additionally, many desserts contain poisonous ingredients like chocolate, raisins, nuts, and artificial sweeteners like xylitol. If you want to treat your pet, make them some homemade treats by blending pureed banana with plain Greek yogurt and a bit of peanut butter.
Nutritional Counseling With Our Mobile Veterinary Clinic
To learn more about feasting safely with your pet this Thanksgiving, we welcome you to schedule a nutritional counseling appointment with Capital Home Veterinary Care.