Thanksgiving Safety Tips for Your Pets

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with friends and family. However, this may also be a stressful time for your furry companions. Therefore, it is paramount that you take all the precautions necessary to keep them safe and healthy during this time.

Precautions Against Food 

Thanksgiving dinners feature an array of foods and drinks. However, some of the dishes or ingredients may cause harm to your four-legged companions. For example, turkey bones can cause perforations in your pet’s intestines, causing severe internal bleeding. Dressings can be toxic to your furry friends, as they may contain garlic, chives, or leeks, known to cause acute anemia in dogs. While chocolates may be suitable for humans, they may mean an emergency trip to the doctor since they contain theobromine, which causes restlessness and abdominal upset to your pets. You may also want to keep salads that have currants, grapes, or raisins away from your pet. Similarly, ensure that your guest does not feed your pets fatty foods, including pork, gravy, or turkey skin, since pets have poor digestion capabilities of fat. Lastly, ensure that all meat fed to your pets is well cooked to reduce the possible occurrence of food-borne illnesses such as salmonellosis. 

Decoration Reminders  

Creating that impeccable instagrammable set will take more than the proper arrangement of forks and plates. You may want to include beautiful floral pieces, perhaps or display decorative pumpkins or light bulbs. Your Instagram post of your grinning fury baby next to these decorations will probably get more likes than usual. However, as a responsible pet parent, taking the necessary precautions regarding decorations is paramount. Certain beautiful flowers, including Chrysanthemum, lilies, and Sweet William may be toxic to pets. Ensure that you supervise your pets so they do not eat the decorative pieces. 

Hosting While You Have Pets 

While the constant visits from your favorite aunt and cousins may be exhilarating to you, this may be different for your pets. Pets are creatures of habit. Therefore, a slight change in their environment may increase stress and anxiety. Consequently, you must understand your pet’s needs before having him spend the day with strangers. If your little ones love to socialize, then, by all means, you can let them mingle. However, if not, you can give them a secluded place or room to relax. 

Conclusion 

As a responsible pet parent, you must ensure your companion stays safe and healthy. During Thanksgiving, certain non-avoidable situations may mean an emergency trip to the veterinary. Therefore, it is paramount that you take the proper precautions to ensure your pets’ safety. 

References: ASPCA, AVMA