With all the dietary options in the way of pet food these days, it is surprising how many people still feed their pets table food, which is not always healthy for their pet. And during the holidays, it seems more prevalent as folks are wishing to share their holiday meals with their pets.
Halloween Candy Advise your pet parents that all candy should be kept out of reach of pets. Chocolate is toxic along with raisins, and aspartame and xylitol, which are types of artificial sugar that can be used to sweeten candy and peanut butter. When eating candy, small children should always be supervised to ensure they do not intentionally or accidentally feed something to a family pet.
Holiday Feasts During the holidays, we have a tendency to want to include our pets in all the holiday feasting, but human food typically is too salty, too fatty, and just too dangerous for our pets. We also tend to be busier in the kitchen and more distracted, making it easier for pets to pilfer something off the counter or the table or snatch something that’s been dropped on the floor. Each year, around the holidays, vet clinics and animal hospitals treat multiple cats and dogs that have pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas. The condition often manifests in pets that have eaten fatty human foods, such as meat trimmings and bacon, rather than their normal diet. Also, foods high in salt can be hazardous to pets with heart disease. Bones, such as a hambone, drumstick or rib, can be dangerous because they can become lodged in the esophagus of dogs, requiring emergency endoscopy or surgical removal. Poultry bones can splinter, which can be problematic for the digestive track. Raw yeast bread dough continues to convert the sugars in the dough to carbon dioxide gas and alcohol after it is ingested by a dog or a cat. This can result in bloated drunken pets, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring hospitalization.
Alcohol During the holidays, we also tend to entertain more, which also tends to include more alcoholic beverages. Be sure all alcohol stays out of reach of pets.
Pets Need Pure & Simple Foods Foods prepared for the family are always a mix of components and may contain ingredients that are poisonous to pets. Any table food given to a pet should be pure and plain with no added salt, seasonings, or include foods that are dangerous like onions, garlic, scallions, chives, leeks, grapes, raisins, currents, nuts, nutmeg, chocolate, rhubarb, citrus rinds, just to name the most common. Foods that are okay if kept plain include cooked and deboned proteins; yams, sweet potatoes, and potatoes that have been cooked and skins removed; carrots, green beans, cranberries, bananas, and spinach.
Feasts on the Shelves Stock your shelves and freezers with foods and treats in holiday flavors and encourage customers to treat their pets to these instead of foods from the family table. There are plenty of dry kibbles, wet foods, raw frozen and freeze-dried foods, broths, elixirs, goat milks, etc., that are safe and tasty for a pet’s holiday feast.
Don't forget, you can stop by Clearview Hardware & Feed in Snohomish for all of your Pet Food Needs! We also carry a full selection of Hay and Animal Feed. Clearview True Value delivers Alfalfa, delivers Orchard Grass, delivers Timothy, delivers Straw! We also have low price on Propane Refills, and low price Energy Logs and Fuel Pellets. Call us with any questions or to order: (360) 668-6363. We deliver Hay Snohomish County and deliver hay King County. We sell all WDFW Licenses Snohomish! Fishing Licenses, Hunting Licenses, Discover Passes. We offer free Paint Recycling Snohomish too!
