Christmas is a time of celebrating and if you’re anything like us in the VNR office that includes a lot of tasty food, decorations and the odd glass (or two) of mulled wine. Amongst the excitement, it can be a veterinary professional’s worst nightmare as our lovely pets can often ingest tasty treats (or not so tasty treats) that they shouldn’t. But how can you manage this? What’s safe and what isn’t?
As a general rule, you should stick to your animals’ natural diet. They have their own food for a reason! However, we have all been victim to those puppy eyes and giving the odd ‘human’ treat. With this being said, there is a definite list of what not to give your furry friends as these can be toxic/cause harm:
- Chocolate
- Cooked bones
- Corn on the cob
- Alcohol
- Grapes
- Raisins
- Onion
- Garlic
- Chives
- Nuts
- Xylitol (sweetener)
- Fatty foods
*List taken from https://www.myfamilyvets.co.uk/9-christmas-foods-that-are-dangerous-to-pets [Accessed on 4th Dec 2020]*
Mince pies are delicious for humans… but not for your pets!
However, it’s not just food that can cause problems! Christmas decorations, Christmas trees and even some Christmas plants can be dangerous for your pets. It’s important to try and keep things that you think could be swallowed out of reach and try to limit access to things like your Christmas tree if you’re not around to monitor what your pet is up to. It really is better to be safe than sorry!
But, on the other hand, you can also take this as an opportunity to really treat your pet. Buy them an approved toy, give them some tasty animal friendly treats and spoil them rotten with kisses and cuddles! If you’re ever in doubt, you can always research whether a plant/food is toxic to animals to know where you stand.
If by any chance your fur baby does come into contact/ingest something they shouldn’t, it’s always worth talking to a Vet or getting them checked over. Your pets can often surprise you with what they can naughtily steal! With this in mind, we want to take the time to thank all the Veterinary professionals who are working over the Christmas period to provide ongoing, high standards of care and customer service to their clientele. We are very grateful.
Christmas is a time to enjoy being surrounded by festivities and your pets are no different. Everyone loves a treat – just save the mince pies for the humans!
