Many of us are looking forward to sharing our blessings and good times with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Most of us will celebrate with a traditional Thanksgiving feast trimmed with your families own traditional dishes. While all of this is a treat for the humans in your family it can be very dangerous to your furry kids! Veterinarians see an increase of “eating” illnesses during the holidays so here are some things to keep in mind during your celebration. Remember your veterinarian is the best source for information if you have questions ot think something is wrong with your pet.

The Biggest Thanksgiving pet hazzards are:

• Rich, fatty foods (turkey skins, gravy, etc,) can contribute to pancreatitis. This inflammation of the digestive gland is painful and can be serious–requiring emergency veterinary assistance.
• Cooked bones can splinter and cause tears or obstruction in a pet’s digestive tract.
• Baking strings, if ingested, can create trouble if ingested by your pet.’
• Sage and other herbs contain essential oils that can cause tummy upset and central nervous system depression if eaten inlarge quantities.
• Onions in holiday stuffing can lead to canine anemia if consumed by your dog.
• when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal’s body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.
• Grapes and raisin toxins can cause kidney failure in pets.
• ngesting chocolate can kill your pet.
• Caffeine and alcohol are also toxic for pets.

Keep all goodies out of reach!

It is also a good idea that While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.