We all know that our pets love a treat from the dinner table as often as we are willing to give one to them. However, there are many human foods that can be damaging to your pet’s health and it is not just foods such as chocolate that you need to keep away from your animal’s food bowl.
Whilst chocolate is actually poisonous to dogs in even fairly small doses, there are plenty of other foods that can be harmful to the health of your cats or dogs.
The main reason for this is just how different our digestive systems are. Whilst we ourselves are omnivores, cats and dogs are both carnivorous animals and therefore have digestive tracts that have evolved accordingly. Feeding them food that has not been part of their natural diet is therefore going to cause problems to how they actually break down their food.
Human food can also simply be poisonous, with everything from avocados to nuts being extremely dangerous to animals, and it is therefore sensible to try and always stick to the cat or dog food recommended by your vet. Whilst there are a few foods that you can feed your pet, such as lean meats, fruit and veg, even these treats should be kept to a minimum, and no matter how cute they look when they are waiting patiently by the dinner table, try to instead simply offer them good quality cat or dog food and treats that have been formulated specifically for pets.
It may seem cruel to deny your pet the food that you love so much, but the truth is their bodies simply won’t be able to deal with most human food. To be safe, it is always best to consult your vet to see which treats they recommend you give your pets and more importantly which foods you should ensure they never have the chance to ingest.
