As much as we may like to share food with our dogs, and maybe our cats too, there are some foods they just cannot have. Some aren’t healthy for them and some are downright deadly. It’s important to know which ones could harm them, so you can avoid accidentally giving them something poisonous.
I try to be extremely careful about what my dog eats, because he’s still just a puppy and gets into everything! I have to be extra vigilant to keep everything out of his reach. My cats thankfully don’t care about getting into things they aren’t supposed to. As long as they get to sleep for about 19 hours a day, they don’t care about much!
So here’s a list of the 7 deadliest foods that you should keep your beloved fur family away from:
7. Macadamia Nuts- Just one nut can be problematic if ingested by a dog, causing symptoms such as vomiting, shaking and a fever. These nuts usually aren’t deadly, but they can make your pet sick, so keep your pup or kitty away!
6. Hops from brewing beer- This is more of a worry for anyone who brews beer from home…the hops can cause a very high fever in your pet.
5. Grapes and raisins- This is an important one. It’s so easy to be snacking on grapes and want to share with your begging pup! I know, I’ve wanted to before, but no, they are deadly! Even in small amounts, grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure.
4. Alcohol- It basically affects animals in a similar way that it affects us, but they can get alcohol poisoning much faster. I would hope that it’s common sense not to give your cat or dog alcohol, but you never know…
3. Onions and garlic- Now with this one, I’ve heard garlic is ok in small doses, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Onions and garlic both have a compound that breaks down red blood cells in both cats and dogs. It’s usually not lethal, but sounds like it’s best to keep both foods away from your pets.
2. The artificial sweetner, Xylitol- This is something you’ll find in sugar-free gum, candy and even toothpaste! My husband chews a lot of gum, so I am always very careful to keep it away from my animals. The xylitol can cause your cat or dog’s blood pressure to plummet.
1. Chocolate- I *think* and hope that most people know chocolate is poisonous to animals. Just in case you didn’t know, it very much is. With this one, and like most foods that are harmful to pets, you have to worry more about dogs than with cats, because dogs are definitely more prone to scarfing down as much of anything they can get their paws on…while cats are usually indifferent. Believe me, I have 4, they don’t care about anything, haha! The bottom line though, just be vigilant around your animals and always keep things they shouldn’t have well out of their reach.
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