The holidays are a wonderful time of year; A time to spend with your families, maybe watch some football, possibly eat too much, or maybe prepare for your Christmas Eve gift wrapping extravaganza. We at Telford Veterinary Hospital want to make sure that whatever your holiday tradition is, it does NOT become an annual visit to the veterinarian’s office. While there will be an abundance of tasty treats for you and your family, not all are meant to be shared with the 4-legged members of our families.
Here are a few of the common problems we see after holiday dinners:
- PANCREATITIS: Our cats and dogs are not designed to handle the rich foods that we love this holiday season. Too much of a good thing can lead to vomiting and diarrhea, or even pancreatitis. If you want to share some of the festivities with your pets, here are some good options: plain sweet potatoes (before any butter or toppings are added), veggies (carrots are great snacks for dogs – they love the crunch and they are low calorie), adding a small amount of chicken/turkey broth to their usual dinner. Remember, what may seem like a small portion to us may be a large source of calories and fat to our pets.
- FOREIGN BODIES: Things like chicken/turkey bones are very enticing to dogs and cats but can splinter easily and quickly become sharp objects in your pet’s GI tract, which can lead to irritation and punctures. Any small objects: bottle caps, game pieces, small children’s gloves/socks/toys, etc, can quickly go missing with the hustle and bustle of people coming and going but can quickly turn into a HUGE problem when eaten by our furry friends.
- TOXICITY: There are some favorites this holiday season that not only cause vomiting/diarrhea in our pets but can be toxic and even fatal. These include chocolate, caffeine (coffee or coffee-flavored desserts), grapes, raisins, onions, gum or candy with artificial sweetener as one of the ingredients, and alcohol. If you think your pet may have ingested any of these items, best to call your vet or animal poison control right away.
We all have so much to be thankful for; and at Telford Veterinary Hospital, we want you to be able to enjoy your holiday with your loved ones, celebrating old traditions or making new ones, instead of spending your time at the emergency vet!
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