Holiday Food Warnings for Your Pets

Holiday season food your pets should avoid
By Francis A. Kallfelz
Special to the Journal

With Thanksgiving approaching it's important to know which foods your pet should avoid. It can be tempting to feed your pet scraps but make sure to always avoid giving these deadly human treats. Chocolate Chocolate contains a methylxanthine compound called theobromine, which is in the same chemical family as caffeine. The main sites of xanthine action are in the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, kidneys, and muscle. Theobromine is a smooth muscle relaxant e.g. dilating blood vessels such as coronary arteries.   It also stimulates the heart and is a diuretic, increasing urine production. Toxicity signs in dogs include vomiting, diarrhea, panting, restlessness, increased urination and muscle tremors. This can progress to seizures, coma and death. The theobromine content in most chocolate candy products is relatively low; in most cases a medium sized dog would have to consume 1.5 lbs of milk chocolate to ingest a potentially toxic dose. Cats are less likely to eat chocolate than dogs, since they do not have a craving for “sweets.” Onion Feeding large amounts of onions to dogs or cats can be toxic, resulting in an anemia (reduction in the number of red blood cells) due to oxidative damage and hemolysis (rupture of the membranes of the red cells). Signs of hemolytic anemia produced by onion toxicity include diarrhea, vomiting, depression, fever and dark-colored urine. Cats appear to be more susceptible to the toxic effects of onions than dogs. Fatty foods At holiday time, it is not unusual for owners to feed their pets meat scraps, meat sauces etc. that are high in fat content. This is dangerous as it can lead to a disease called “acute pancreatitis,” a disorder that can be fatal. Alcohol It should go without saying that it is basically cruelty to animals to give your pet alcoholic beverages. Not only is alcohol a concentrated source of calories, contributing to overweight and obesity, it is also a toxin causing the same neurologic effects as occur in people. Alcohol intoxication causes the same abnormalities in people and pets, up to and including death if sufficient amounts are consumed. Francis A. Kallfelz, DVM, Ph.D., is the DACVN James Law Professor of Veterinary Nutrition Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell University. Related news from the Web Latest headlines by topic: • Holidays  • Life  • Food  • Thanksgiving  • Nutrition  • Chocolate  Powered by Originally published November 8, 2006