November: Thanksgiving Time!

by | Nov 21, 2024 | Blog

It’s that special time of year once more when we bring family, friends, and feasts together to celebrate Thanksgiving. While the festivities abound, so do our curious furry companions with eager eyes and hungry bellies in search of yummy handouts. While sticking to a pet’s normal diet is always recommended, it’s understandable that pet owners want to include their furry loved ones in enjoying delicious holiday nibbles. Keeping pets safe on Thanksgiving will give us yet another reason to be thankful!

Here are some tips on how to keep your Thanksgiving fulfilling for everyone in your household:

  1. Just a bite.
  • If you feed your dog or a cat a small piece of turkey or other meat, make sure it is boneless, skinless, and fully cooked. Raw or undercooked turkey may contain salmonella bacteria and poultry bones can be a major choking hazard. Turkey skin and other fatty foods, even in small amounts, can cause the life-threatening condition called pancreatitis in pets.
  • Best to avoid offering your pets bites from dishes containing onions, garlic, stocks/gravies made with bouillon cubes (high sodium levels), raw yeast bread dough (bloating, ethanol ingestion), cream of tartar, raisins, or grapes.

2. No sweets for your sweeties.

  • Make sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter of baked goods, especially those containing raw eggs. Salmonella bacteria may lead to food poisoning, which is never worth the risk.
  • As always, avoid giving pets any desserts, especially those with chocolate and/or artificial sweeteners containing xylitol. Cakes, pies, and cookies can be just as tempting for pets as they are for us.

3. Take out the trash. 

  • While cooking and entertaining can be very demanding and distracting, it may be hard to keep tabs on your pet’s whereabouts throughout the festivities. As renowned opportunists, dogs and cats will most likely be hanging around wherever there is food. Not only at the dinner table or near kitchen counters, but the ever-expanding trash offers a whole different array of holiday hazards such as discarded food scraps, bone shards, and food wrappers/packaging materials.

  • Try your best to keep pets out of the kitchen and away from any trash areas. Same goes for outside garbage bins in your backyard.
  • Empty your trash receptacles as often as needed throughout the day to remove that dining option for lurking pets.

4. Quick action can save lives.

  • If you believe your pet has been poisoned or has eaten something they shouldn’t have, immediately call your local veterinary emergency clinic. Your regular veterinarian’s clinic will most likely be closed in observance of the holiday.
  • You can also call the ASPCA Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) or the Pet Poison Helpline (855-764-7661)
  • Signs that something might be wrong with your pet include sudden behavior changes, gagging/hacking, discomfort or pain, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving

from all of us here at Animal Works Veterinary Surgery!

Fort Collins, CO 970-694-2625

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