Even though dogs and cats share most parts of family life with their human owners, these pets should not necessarily eat all the same foods that their owners eat daily. Read the following information to learn about 10 table foods that you should never feed your cat or dog.
Keep Your Pet Healthy: 10 Table Foods You Should Never Feed Your Pet
Bones
Even though it may seem natural for a dog or a cat to chew on bones, think twice about this. Bones can splinter, and this action can cause tears or blockages in the intestines, or cause the animal to choke. What causes problems are not the bones found in pet stores, but the cooked bones from your meals. Don’t feed your pets bones that have been cooked.
Caffeinated Foods and Beverages
Chocolate, coffee and tea are all examples of caffeinated foods and beverages that you should not feed to pets. Not only do they contain caffeine, which is a stimulant, but they also contain theobromine. Both substances can be toxic to your pet’s nervous system, heart and digestive tract.
Dairy Products
Dogs and cats do not tolerate dairy products well, as their digestive tracts are unable to digest lactose in the proper manner. While the probiotics in yogurt may be healthy for you, your pet won’t get the same benefits. If your dog is experiencing diarrhea, you can get them a different kind of probiotic at your local vet instead.
Garlic and Onions
Garlic and onions can irritate the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and cats. Cats are a bit more sensitive to these foods than dogs, but both types of animals should avoid eating garlic and onions.
Grapes and Raisins
Grapes and their dried counterparts, raisins, cause sudden kidney failure in dogs and cats. Research has yet to prove which substances in the grapes and raisins cause this serious health issue. For small treats and snacks, consider something instead, like apples.
Macadamia Nuts
These nuts cause a toxic reaction in both cats and dogs for an unknown reason. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, abdominal pain, tremors and stiff joints.
Persimmons
The seeds of persimmons can cause an obstruction to occur in the intestinal tract of cats and dogs. They also can be the reason your pet develops enteritis, which is an inflammation of the small intestines.
Raw Eggs
While hard-boiled eggs are an ideal source of protein for cats and dogs, uncooked eggs can pose certain issues. For one thing, raw eggs contain avidin, and this can prevent the absorption of biotin in dogs and cats. They also can contain Salmonella along with E. coli both of which could cause diarrhea and vomiting.
Uncooked Dough
Bread dough that is uncooked is not safe to eat for pets, mainly due to the live yeast. This can cause problems like vomiting. Cookie dough can also be problematic, again because of the uncooked eggs. Be sure to closely monitor pets that may have ingested uncooked dough.
Avocado
All parts of the avocado tree from the fruit to the bark can be toxic to your cat or dog since they contain Persin. Symptoms of toxicity from this food include diarrhea and vomiting. On top of that, the pit is too large to safely ingest, and many breeds of dogs may try to, resulting in problems.
If you feel there is an issue with any food you have fed your pets, the safest route is to consult with a veterinarian, say the experts at Chester Valley Veterinary Hospital. After all, you want your pet to stay healthy and live a long, happy life.
I keep trying to tell my son’s girlfriend not to give her dogs chocolate and she still insists it is ok in very small amounts. Some people are too stubborn for their own good.
I am a firm believer in not feeding any table scraps to any of my pets ever.
Very welcome advices. Thank you!
So awesome of you to do this topic! SO many people are unaware of the dangers of feeding dogs the wrong foods! These are great tips and info to live by, thank you for this 🙂
Thank you for sharing this. I never knew that you should not feed your dog these foods. I had always heard chocolate, but never anything else. I will keep this list hand so everyone in the family knows. Thank you again!!
This article is a great reminder for pet owners that foods we eat are sometimes not good for them!
I am glad to know what not to feed my little doggy
This is very good information; I hadn’t heard of a few of these before.
I didn’t know about avocados and dogs. It makes sense about cookie dough though. Raw cookie dough isn’t good for people either. The eggs….
this dog is so cute
Very helpful advice!. I never knew that you should not feed your dog these foods
I didn’t know about some of these. Thanks for sharing!
Just Like you, I liked & love dog also, I always feed them 3 times a day and sometimes 4 times a day, I just want my pet to be healthy. But this time, I want to thank you for sharing this to me, I learn a lot. God bless!
Thank you for posting this. Everyone needs reminding!
Very interesting and helpful piece. I think there’s often a lot of confusion about what foods dogs can or cannot eat, but at the end of the day, it’s better to be safe than sorry!
I did not know about this dairy thing. My vet tells me to give my dog a pill wrapped in a little piece of cheese. It doesn’t seem to bother him. What up with that I wonder?
interesting – i never knew about some of these foods to avoid giving your dog
I do not give my dogs table food; however, this is good to know. Thank you for sharing.
I never give my pets scraps/our food. Not only can it be dangerous but then they take up the annoying habit of begging everytime they see you eating. Drives me crazy. This is a great post.