Protecting our Pets from Products that we use every day

We, as humans, sometimes forget that some foods that we eat are actually hazardous to our four-legged friends. While we would NEVER think about eating our pet’s food, our pets don’t know the distinction between their food and ours. It is our responsibility, as their owners, to protect them from these situations.
In that vein, I would like to spotlight some of these items throughout the next few months. As with all medical issues, prevention is always better, and cheaper, than treatment!!

Foods are listed in order of severity of reaction

Moderate to Severe reactions

Caffeine: Caffeine affects dogs and cats much more aggressively than people. It is easy for a pet to overdose on caffeine due to its toxicity and the pet’s smaller body size. Examples of common forms of caffeine that our pets enjoy are:

Baker’s chocolate, cocoa mulch, diet pills,
no-sleep aids, coffee, energy drinks and cocoa powder.

Play Dough – Homemade: This child’s craft toy, when homemade, usually contains high amounts of food coloring and salt. Ingestion of this tasty toy can result in salt poisoning (see next category).

Salt: **PLEASE NOTE: the old method of using table salt to induce vomiting in our pets is NO LONGER recommended**. Salt poisoning is very dangerous to our pets, and, since it is used to make things taste better, is very attractive to our cats and dogs. Common forms of salt ingested are: Table salt, de-icers (rock salt), paint balls, sea water, and enemas containing sodium phosphate.

Mild to Severe reactions

(greatly depends on amount ingested in relation to size of pet)

Alcohol: Alcohol poisoning is a very real threat to our pets, especially due to their size. Common forms of alcohol ingested are rumsoaked fruitcake, unbaked bread dough, and alcohol in all forms, such as beer and hard liquor. Please don’t share happy hour with your pets!

Bread Dough: unbaked bread dough and unbaked pizza dough are extremely dangerous for our pet to ingest. Always keep them away from prying noses when rising or preparing for the oven. Both of these products contain yeast, which, if ingested in sufficient quantities, will result in alcohol poisoning and other life-threatening problems.

Chocolate: see Caffeine

Currants: Even in small doses, currants, grapes, raisins and grapeseed extract can cause renal failure in both cats and dogs.

Mushrooms: Luckily, there are only 3 species of mushrooms that are toxic to cats and dogs: Amanita, Galerina, and Lepiota.

Star Fruit: Plants that contain soluble calcium oxylate, such as the Star Fruit, Rhubarb and Shamrock Plant, can be harmful to our pets.

Xylitol: This is a natural, sugar-free sweetener found in many sugar-free foods. It is, unfortunately, harmful to our pets if ingested. Common foods that contain Xylitol are sugar-free chewing gums, mints, oral rinses, toothpaste, chewable vitamins, and sugar-free desserts, such as puddings and gelatin snacks.

Mild to Moderate Reactions

Apricots: the seeds, leaves and stems of the apricot tree contain cyanide, a dangerous substance for our pets.

Cherry: Cherry trees and shrubs – all parts other than the ripe pulp around the seeds – also contain cyanide.

Garlic: Onions, garlic, chives and leeks are all dangerous to our pets if ingested in high enough doses. Please note that garlic is five times more toxic than onions.

Onions: see Garlic

Macadamia Nuts: toxic to our pets if eaten in a big enough dose.

Moldy foods: Since dogs and cats are typically “trash hounds,” moldy foods found in the garbage or compost piles put our pets at risk for toxicity due to mycotoxins, found in the mold. Always keep your garbage in a container that is pet-proof and your compost bin properly protected from wandering mouths.