Thanksgiving is a time for friends, family and holiday feasts—but can also be a very hectic day. With so much going on, curious pets often find a way to snoop where they shouldn’t, so it’s important to keep an eye on them, when you and your family are giving thanks.
To ensure Thanksgiving safety for your pets, keep them away from fatty human foods, bones, and toxic ingredients like onions, garlic, and chocolate. Secure all trash, monitor decorations that could be ingested, and provide a quiet, safe space for your pet to retreat to during the festivities.
Food safety
- Avoid toxic ingredients: Do not give pets onions, garlic, chives, leeks, chocolate, or anything containing artificial sweeteners like xylitol.
- No fatty foods: Fatty foods like turkey skin, gravy, and ham can cause pancreatitis and other digestive issues.
- Bones are a hazard: Cooked turkey bones and other bones can splinter, posing a risk of choking or internal injury.
- Secure trash: Keep all food scraps and carcasses in a securely lidded trash can to prevent your pet from getting into the trash.
- Watch for hidden ingredients: Raisins and grapes can be toxic to pets, so check ingredients in stuffing, desserts, and other side dishes.
- Raw dough is dangerous: Raw yeast dough can expand in your pet’s stomach and cause dangerous bloating or it can produce alcohol.
Decorations and environment
- Keep decor out of reach: Many festive decorations, including certain flowers (like lilies), plants, pinecones, and corn, can be toxic or cause blockages if ingested.
- Supervise guests: Remind guests not to feed your pets from the table and ensure they keep their bags out of reach as they can contain human medication or candy.
- Use safe candles: If you use candles, place them out of reach of pets to avoid burns or accidental fires.
- Make ID up-to-date: With guests coming and going, ensure your pet has up-to-date ID tags and that their microchip information is current.
Keeping your pet calm
- Create a safe space: Set up a quiet, comfortable retreat with their bed, toys, and water where they can go to escape the noise and activity of the holiday.
- Use a leash or baby gate: Keep your dog on a leash or use gates to help manage excitement from guests coming and going to prevent escape.
Just a Taste: While we recommend sticking to your pet’s normal diet on Thanksgiving, we understand that even our furry friends can’t resist the smell of a delicious turkey or other festive dishes. If you do decide to feed your pet a small bite of turkey or other meat, make sure it’s boneless and fully cooked. Raw or undercooked turkey may contain salmonella bacteria and poultry bones can be a major choking hazard.
Make sure you are mindful of the ingredients and spices in your food as well. Onions and garlic are both prevalent in a lot of Thanksgiving dishes and can be toxic to pets. Bouillon cubes used for making stocks and gravy contain high amounts of sodium which can lead to gastrointestinal problems and even seizures. Raw yeast bread dough can also be toxic to pets. The raw dough can expand in the stomach, causing them to become bloated, and the ethanol (alcohol) will be absorbed by the body, leading to drunkenness and other serious side effects.
Don’t Let Them Eat Cake: If you plan to bake Thanksgiving desserts, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning. Desserts containing artificial sweeteners, can cause low blood sugar, liver damage or even death. Chocolate is also a major hazard to our four-legged friends and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death.
A Feast Fit for a King: While your family enjoys a special meal, give your cat and dog a small feast of their own. try mixing some pieces of turkey, sweet potatoes and green beans into their usual dinner. You can even top it off with a drizzle of gravy. You can also opt to stuff their Thanksgiving treats into a puzzle toy to keep them occupied during your meal.
Practicing a little safety and common sense will make Thanksgiving a rememberable one. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving, not only for you and your family, but for your fury loved ones as well.
