Can Our Pets Enjoy Festive Foods Too?

As the festive period approaches, we are looking forward to spending more time with family, friends, and our beloved pets. Our pets can be included in the celebrations but it is very important to remember the foods they can and cannot eat to avoid unnecessary vet visits.

Which Festive Foods Should Our Pets Not Eat?

Dogs and cats can eat most meats; turkey, chicken, and beef, but pork should be avoided due to high fat and salt contents. If you are going to feed your pets meat ensure that it is lean meat, without skin or bones as the skin has high-fat content, and bones from cooked meat could splinter and harm your pets. Dogs and cats can consume potatoes but please ensure that these are not cooked in fats or oils, instead, potatoes should be baked or boiled, with no added flavors or spices since onions, spices, and other herbs can be toxic for dogs and cats. This means that stuffing is off the menu for our pet companions also.

Christmas desserts also should not be shared with our pets, Christmas cakes tend to contain sultanas, raisins, and currants all of which are highly toxic for pets. Chocolate-based desserts are also highly toxic. So please be careful with your pets this Christmas period!

Which Festive Foods Do We Recommend For Dog Christmas Dinners?

Lean meat (except pork), cooked through, skinless and de-boned.
Boiled/baked potatoes with no added flavorings.
If you would like to add gravy to your pet’s meal we would recommend buying a product made for dogs. Pets At Home provide some taste toppers perfect for this.
If you would like to add some vegetables to their meal, peas, beans, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli are all safe additions, but vegetables should be boiled as opposed to being cooked in oils/fats.

What Festive Foods Can Cats Eat?

Lean slithers of meat
Small cubes of boiled/baked potatoes with no flavourings.
To add gravy to your cats meal we recommend buying a cat safe product in gravy, like this one linked here.
To add vegetables to your cats meal you can include, sprouts, carrots and/or parsnip.

An Important Note to Remember:

If you are going to treat your pets this Christmas, you may want to decrease the size of their other meals to accommodate. It is also very important to remember that Christmas foods tend to be rich, ensure that all treats are given in moderation as part of a healthy balanced diet.

We wish all of our customers and pets a happy and safe Christmas from the team at The Grange Retreat.