As fall continues to fly by, we’ve finally reached that last autumnal milestone before the countdown to Christmas and the December holiday season begins: Thanksgiving! This is one of America’s favorite holidays featuring excess quantities of food, drink, merriment, and time spent cherished with good friends and family. Indeed, this truly is a great time of the year and we couldn’t be more excited here at Goshen Animal Clinic.
Avoiding Any Unwanted Accidents With You And Your Pet
While Thanksgiving is a time of feasting and fun, it also presents the ultimate food tease for your cat or dog. Chances are, your dog begs for food on a regular basis, and an event like Thanksgiving is only going to drive them a little crazy. Before you go ahead and give them a little bit of this and a little bit of that, you should know what’s generally safe to feed them and what you shouldn’t feed them.
Read below from our Goshen Animal Clinic, your veterinarians in Gaithersburg, as we cover some popular Thanksgiving foods and whether or not they’re safe for you and your pet.
Can I Feed My Pet Turkey?
We’ll start with the big one. Generally, yes, turkey is safe for a pet’s digestive system, so long as you know whether or not it tends to agree with your pet’s stomach. The turkey should be unseasoned and without any skin or bones, and keep it to a small amount.
Can I Feed My Pet Mashed Potatoes?
So long as you’re skipping out on the butter and gravy, your cat and dog can safely enjoy plain mashed potatoes. In fact, like turkey, many pet products and foods actually contain a certain amount of potatoes.
Can I Feed My Pet Stuffing?
Under no circumstances should you ever feed your pet stuffing, because grapes, onions, and raisins are toxic. This is more the case for dogs, but don’t feed your cat any stuffing either.
Can I Feed My Pet Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are generally fine for pets, so long as they’re cooked and prepared plain with no seasonings, sugar, butter, and so forth. Consider making plain sweet potatoes just for your pup along with seasoned sweet potatoes for everyone else!
Can I Feed My Pet Pumpkin Pie?
As much as your pet wants to indulge on this oh-so-sweet Thanksgiving finish, our Gaithersburg veterinarians do not recommend feeding them any pumpkin pie. Raw pumpkin meat itself, however, is actually quite good for cats and dogs. Because your local pumpkin patch is well past closed at this point, simply feed them some plain, canned pumpkin. Boom! Everyone wins.
What Else Should I Be Concerned About?
As most people know, chocolate is very toxic for pets, especially dogs. Xylitol, an artificial sweetener typical found in chewing gum and other baking products, is also harmful.
Generally, the rule of thumb is this: if you’re not sure if it’s safe to feed to your pet, don’t feed it to them!
Happy Thanksgiving From Your Friendly Vets In Gaithersburg!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us today.
