5 Festive Foods All Pets Should Avoid

The festive period is also the season of parties, indulgence and, unfortunately, visits to vets in Singapore. With food and treats emerging in abundance, it’s only natural that you’ll want to include your pets in the festive fun and give them a taste of the holiday feast.

While there’s nothing wrong with pampering your pets, there are several holiday special foods that will bring more harm than happiness to your pets. Apart from the list of usual foods, that pets should steer clear of, here are five more to add to the list.

Bones

Despite being known for licking and chewing on bones, feeding your dog bones from a bird is an absolute no. If you’re serving any meal that contains bones from a turkey, chicken or another animal, remember to keep them out of reach from your canine and inform your guest of the same. These cooked bones are soft and are capable of easily breaking into sharp shards. These shards may splinter your dog’s digestive tract and throat if ingested. Additionally, swallowing these shards may cause internal injuries in your dog as well.

Turkey Skin (and other fatty foods)

Turkey skin is an absolute no-no for dogs. While the meat itself—white and in small amounts—isn’t dangerous, the skin enveloped in herbs, seasonings and fats can be life-threatening for your furkid. The fat content, in the worst case scenario, can cause your pet to suffer from pancreatitis while the seasoning can induce irritation in your pup’s stomach.

Nutmeg

As with xylitol, nutmeg can be found in numerous holiday foods or as a seasoning. When consumed in large amounts, your dog can experience myristicin toxicity which can cause it to hallucinate, experience an increased heart rate and blood pressure as well as cause abdominal pain, disorientation and even seizures. However, while it is unlikely that your holiday foods will contain such huge amounts of nutmeg, err on the side of caution and keep the spice away from your canine.

Ham and Bacon

Source: Pinterest

Meat is a staple in a dog’s diet. However, processed meats high in fats and sodium should never be part of your pet’s intake. Regardless of the meat your ham or bacon is made from, the high levels of sodium and fat in them is too much for your dog to handle. These high levels of salt and fat can cause pancreatitis or a deadly condition called “bloat”.

Bloat causes your pet’s stomach to expand because of gas, food or liquid and puts pressure on the other organs, making it life-threatening. Additionally, due to the high salt content in these foods, it also causes dehydration and the excess water in your dog will also put pressure on the other organs, causing almost the same results as bloat.

Xylitol

While it many not exactly be a dish, this sweetener can be found in several treats as a substitute for sugar. Xylitol is especially harmful to dogs as even a small amount of it can lower blood sugar levels, seizures and liver collapse, among other complications. If you’re unsure which foods contains xylitol, check the ingredient list and be especially careful with products that are labelled to be sugar-free. Examples include peanut butter, baking mixes and jams.