Food for thought: Foods to avoid for your cat

Dogs aren't the only family members at risk when it comes to consuming tasty tidbits from the table. Below are some foods to avoid for our feline friends:

Alcoholic Beverages: Can cause intoxication, coma and death.

Baby food: Can contain onion powder, which may be toxic to dogs. Can result in nutritional deficiencies if fed in large amounts.

Bones from poultry, fish or other meat sources: Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system

Canned tuna (for human consumption): Can lead to malnutrition as it lacks the proper levels of vitamins and minerals.

Dog Food: If fed repeatedly may result in malnutrition and heart disease.

Chocolate, coffee, tea and other caffeine: Contain caffeine, theobromine which can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous system.

Citrus Oil Extracts: Can cause vomiting.

Fat Trimmings: Can lead to pancreatitis.

Grapes and Raisins: Contain an unknown toxin which may lead to kidney damage.

Human vitamin supplements containing iron: Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to other organs including the liver and kidneys.

Liver: Large amounts can cause Vitamin A toxicity which affects muscles and bones.

Macadamia Nuts: Contain an unknown toxin which can affect digestive and nervous systems and muscle. Can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hyperthermia in dogs.

Milk and other dairy products: Some adult cats are lactose intolerant. Diarrhea may result if ingested. Lactose-free milk products are available for pets.

Moldy or spoiled food: Can contain multiple toxins causing vomiting, diarrhea and can affect other organs.

Mushrooms: Certain species of mushrooms can contain toxins which may affect multiple systems in the body causing shock and resulting in death.

Onions and Garlic (raw, cooked or powder): Can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions.

Potato, rhubarb & tomato leaves; potato and tomato stems: Can affect the digestive, nervous and urinary systems. More of a problem in livestock.

Raw eggs: Decrease the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin) which can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Also may contain Salmonella.

Raw fish: Can result in a thiamine deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures and in severe cases, death. More common if fed regularly.

Salt: In large quantities it may lead to electrolyte imbalance.

Sugary Foods: Can lead to obesity, dental problems and possibly diabetes mellitus.

Table Scraps in large quantities: Not nutritionally balanced and may contain onion, garlic, mushrooms (see above).

Yeast dough: Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.

Food for thought: Foods to avoid for your dog!

The Holidays are no longer upon us but there are here! With all of the hustle and bustle of the Holidays it is not uncommon for our furry four-legged family members to pick up treats that they normally do not have. One of the most common questions I hear from clients is "Is it safe to feed my dog or cat people food?". The answer is always the same: It is highly discouraged to feed pets human food although, realistically, they are going to get things. It is important to me, as a veterinarian, that my patients eat their daily dog or cat food rations. While some foods can be fine in moderation, others can be fatal. It is important for pet owners to be aware of human food related hazards to know what to look for when ingestion occurs.

Foods to avoid for your dog:

Alcoholic Beverages: can cause intoxication, coma and death.
Avocado: The leaves, fruit, seeds and bark contain Persin. Large amounts may cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs.
Baby Food: Can contain onion powder, which may be toxic to dogs. Can result in nutritional deficiencies if fed in large amounts.
Bones from poultry, fish or other meat: Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system.
Canned tuna: Can lead to malnutrition as it lacks the proper levels of vitamins and minerals.
Cat Food: Generally too high in protein and fats for dogs.
Chocolate, coffee, tea, caffeine: Contain caffeine, theobromine which can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous system.
Citrus Oil Extracts: Can cause vomiting.
Fat trimmings: Can cause pancreatitis.
Grapes and Raisins: Contain an unknown toxin which may lead to kidney damage.
Hops: Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temp, seizures and death.
Human vitamin supplements containing iron: Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to other organs including the liver and kidneys.
Liver: Large amounts can cause Vitamin A toxicity which affects muscles and bones.
Macadamia Nuts, Walnuts: Contain an unknown toxin which can affect digestive and nervous systems and muscle. Can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hyperthermia in dogs.
Milk and other dairy products: Some adult dogs are lactose intolerant. Diarrhea may result. Lactose-free milk products are available for pets.
Mushrooms: Certain species of mushrooms can contain toxins which may affect multiple systems in the body causing shock and resulting in death.
Onions and Garlic (raw, cooked or powder): Can damage red blood cells and cause anemia, cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions.
Potato, rhubarb & tomato leaves; potato and tomato stems: Can affect the digestive, nervous and urinary systems. More of a problem in livestock.
Raw eggs: Decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin) which can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Also may contain Salmonella.
Raw fish: Can result in a thiamine deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures and in severe cases, death. More common if fed regularly.
Salt: in large quantities it may lead to electrolyte imbalances.
Sugary Foods: Can lead to obesity, dental problems and possibly diabetes mellitus.
Table scraps in large quantities: Not nutritionally balanced and may contain onion, garlic, mushrooms (see above).
Yeast dough: Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.

Holiday Hazards #5: Ribbon and tinsel

These shiny strings are too tempting for cats to resist. Though they're not poisonous, when ingested these strings can result in a life-threatening linear foreign body, intestinal perforation, and septic peritonitis (infection in the abdominal cavity). A linear foreign body occurs when pets swallow something stringy, like ribbon, yarn, floss, or cassette-tape ribbon. The stringy item wraps around the base of the tongue or anchors in the stomach and is unable to pass through the intestines. As the intestines contract and move, this string slowly saws through the intestinal tissue, resulting in severe damage and possible rupture of the pet's intestinal tract. The treatment for linear foreign bodies involves complex and expensive abdominal surgery, hospitalization, antibiotics and pain management. Even after surgical removal, some pets may not survive.

If a pet does ingest a long piece of tinsel, ribbon, thread or string, advise the owner to immediately bring the animal into the clinic for an examination. Most importantly, if pet owners report they can see the string hanging from the pet's mouth or anus, tell them not to pull on it as doing so may result in further tissue damage. Only trained veterinary professionals should remove such strings.

Holiday Hazards #4: Holiday Plants

Curious pets often nibble on holiday plants. Though most are fairly safe, some can prove fatal, even with small ingestions.

Lillies: All flowers of the Lilium species, including Stargazer, Easter, Tiger, and other Asiatic lilies, are extremely poisonous to cats. (Lilies are not toxic to dogs, and only self-limiting vomiting is expected if a dog ingests them.) The ingestion of just one or two leaves or petals is enough to cause sudden kidney failure. Even the pollen from these flowers is toxic to cats. Signs of kidney failure due to lily ingestion include vomiting, reduced appetite, increased or decreased urination, and lethargy. Kidney failure will begin within a few days of a cat eating lilies and, if not treated, the cat often dies. Any cat ingesting even small pieces of a lily needs an immediate medical evaluation accompanied by intensive intravenous fluid therapy, blood work, and hospitalization.

In spite of their names, plants such as the Peace Lily, Lily of the Valley, and the Calla Lily are not true lilies. While they may cause other issues (like gastrointestinal distress, arrhythmias, etc.) for pets, they do not cause sudden kidney failure.

Poinsettias, Holly, and Mistletoe: Though traditionally thought of as quite toxic pets, the potential for poisoning from poinsettias is overhyped. The milky sap of poinsettias contains irritating saponin-like (or detergent-like) properties. While exposure to the sap may cause irritation to the skin and mouth, along with vomiting and diarrhea, serious or fatal poisoning is highly unlikely.

American mistletoe is commonly used in the U.S. as a Christmastime decoration, and is less toxic than its Eurpean counterpart. Ingestion of mistletoe most commonly causes self-limiting vomiting and mild neurologic depression. Rarely, diarrhea and hypotension (low blood pressure) may occur.

Holly is also less toxic than previously touted. The most likely problem caused by ingesting holly is irritation to the gastrointestinal tract from the saponins (similar to poinsettias) and physical damage to the stomach and intestinal tract from the spiny points of the leaves. Though holly also contains methylxanthines (also found in chocolate and caffeine) and cyanogens, these chemicals rarely lead to poisoning from small ingestions of the plant. Additionally, large ingestions of holly may also cause a bowel obstruction because the leaves are difficult to digest.

Holiday Hazards #3: Chocolate

Particularly with the holidays, there is plenty of food out for pets to get into. One of the more common foods that pets (especially dogs) get into is chocolate. Many people are aware that chocolate is not good for dogs and do a good job of restricting access to it; however, dogs can be very determined and get to chocolate in the most well concealed places.

The main intoxicants in chocolate that cause problems are methylxanthines. These include things like caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. Various chocolate types have differing amounts of these products with cocoa powder and bakers chocolate having the highest amounts and milk and white chocolate having the lowest amounts.

With low doses, you will only see gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea or vomiting. Higher doses is where the major problems occur with complications like heart arrhythmias, muscle tremors, and high blood pressure developing. If not treated promptly or properly, these can lead to death. For a typical 30 lb dog, he/she would have to get into around 8-10 ounces (less than 1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips) to start to see changes in their heart rate and rhythm.

So, what should you do if you find your pet in the pantry. First, I would try to figure out the maximum amount of chocolate and type of chocolate they could have gotten into. After that, contact your veterinarian. Many times they can calculate the amount of methylxanthines your pet could have gotten into and decide the proper treatment. With high doses, we would typically first try to make your pet vomit up whatever they ate. Whether we can be successful with this is determined by the amount of time it has been since they ate the food. Typically, if eaten within 2-4 hours, we will try to make them vomit.

After decontaminating the stomach, we would then likely give activated charcoal by mouth to help bind up any remaining toxins that entered the the intestines. The liver does a good job of recirculating the chocolate components between the liver and intestines, so multiple doses of activated charcoal over 12 hours may be performed. During this time, your pet will also likely receive intravenous fluids to help flush any toxins out of the body. The heart rate and rhythm will also be monitored and if any complications are discovered, medications can be given to combat these.

The good news is that with appropriate and timely care, a majority of pets recover fine. If no problems are encountered within 24 hours of ingestion, then your pet should be in the clear. As always, it is much easier to prevent a problem then to treat it, so if you have a pet with a propensity for eating things he shouldn't, please make sure to have all food properly put away.

Happy holidays!