People food can kill your pet

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
May 17th 2008 7:00AM

Categories: Healthy Home, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

It's clear what kinds of foods are bad for us. Anything loaded with sugar, trans fats, and sodium for starters. But do you know what kinds of foods are bad for pets? Think human foods, not pet foods.

It's best to stick with pet foods for the nourishment of your beloved pup. But it's tempting to treat your furry friend to a little table food now and then. And that's what many people do. In 2007, the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center received more than 130,000 calls regarding animal poisoning caused by common human foods and household items. Here are the top culprits.

Avocados

Beer

Chocolate

Candy

Caffeine

Grapes and raisins

Nuts

Onions

If you simply must indulge your canine companion, these items are safest. Check with your veterinarian first, though, because some animals may have sensitive gastrointestinal tracts. And keep the extras to five to 10 percent of your pet's daily caloric intake.

Baked potatoes

Cooked, lean meats. No bones.

Fruit, like apple slices, orange slices, bananas, and watermelon. No seeds.

Rice and pasta

Vegetables, like carrot sticks, green beans, cucumber slices, and zucchini

In the case of a pet-food emergency, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

Source

Comments (2)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dave 5-17-2008 @ 9:17PM

Weird, growing up we had an avocado tree in our yard and when the ripe fruit fell to the ground and softened up my dogs would eat them up in no time, so did my cats. I have never met a dog that would willingly eat a grape. My dogs hated that boring dried food we fed them, I would have to mix it with beef/chicken stock to get them a little excited canned cat food was like a drug for them, when they saw me feeding the cats they would look at me like I was playing favorites. I fed them human food (Left overs) all the time, they ate what they wanted and turned their noses at the rest.

Nish 5-17-2008 @ 1:57PM

Strange. My lab will sit and beg at the table until I give him some onions. My old dogs would snarf down chocolate... and they all thought grapes were heaven!