Pets & Thanksgiving

Nov 10, 2015

We all give thanks for our pets. Let’s keep them safe for this Thanksgiving with the following tips:

1. ) No fatty foods. The moist common fatty food that pets tend to eat over Thanksgiving is turkey skin. Fatty foods can results in vomiting, diarrhea, or pancreatitis.

2.) No bones. Turkey bones can splint and cause severe intestinal problems.

3.) No stuffing. Stuffing typically contains onions, grapes, and raisins which can all be toxic to dogs and cats.

4.) Clean up and take the trash out. Dogs will frequently knock over trash cans for a Thanksgiving feast after we have left the kitchen. Aluminum foil and other trash can lead to intestinal obstructions and left over food can lead to the problems listed above.

5.) Keep collars on and update microchip information. Pets often get out of the house when relatives are coming in and out. If your pet is prone to darting out the door try keeping them in a separate room or behind baby gates to keep them safely indoors.

6.) Talk to your guests and watch children closely. Make sure your guests know to keep doors closed and not to offer food without your permission. Not all animals like small children and sometimes their toys are scary. Always make sure to have a responsible adult monitoring any interaction with pets and small children. Finally, elderly guests tend to be on medications and can accidently drop medications without realizing it. Help your guests with their medications if needed to keep everyone healthy.

7.) Give lots of exercise. If you exercise your pet before your guests arrive they are more likely to relax the rest of the day.

8.) Make pets a special treat! Most Thanksgiving foods are potentially problematic for pets, but its Thanksgiving and we want to spoil our pets too. Try giving dogs a Kong stuffed with frozen dog food or turkey/chicken baby food. Cats may enjoy a new catnip toy. Toys also have the benefit of keeping pets busy during dinner and away from the table and counters. If you still would like to give your pets some human food stick to small amounts of safe foods: white meat turkey with NO skin or plain carrots or green beans with no seasoning.