The holiday season brings festive foods, decorations, gatherings, and changes to our normal routines. Unfortunately, it can also introduce new hazards for our pets.
From tempting table scraps to ribbons, ornaments, medications, and toxic foods, many common holiday items can lead to an unexpected veterinary emergency.
Knowing what to keep out of reach—and when to seek emergency care—can help keep your pets safe throughout the season.
Pets are often very interested in what is happening in the kitchen or around the dinner table. Even foods that seem harmless to us can cause serious problems for dogs and cats.
Chocolate contains methylxanthines, including theobromine and caffeine, which can be toxic to pets.
In general, darker chocolates and baking chocolate contain higher concentrations than milk chocolate.
Chocolate toxicity may cause:
If your pet eats chocolate, try to determine what type of chocolate was eaten, approximately how much, and when the exposure occurred.
Do not wait for symptoms to develop before contacting a veterinarian.
Grapes and raisins can cause acute kidney injury in dogs.
The amount required to cause toxicity can vary, which means there is no reliably safe quantity for an individual pet.
Holiday foods that may contain raisins include:
Any known grape or raisin ingestion should be taken seriously.
Xylitol is a sweetener that may be found in certain sugar-free products, including:
In dogs, xylitol can cause a dangerous drop in blood sugar and, depending on the exposure, serious liver injury.
Always check ingredient labels before sharing human foods with your pet.
Members of the allium family can damage red blood cells in dogs and cats.
These ingredients may be present in:
Remember that powdered or cooked forms can still pose a risk.
Rich holiday meals can cause significant gastrointestinal upset and may contribute to pancreatitis in some pets.
Avoid sharing:
Keeping your pet on their normal diet is usually the safest choice during holiday gatherings.
Cooked bones can splinter, while bones and other food scraps may become lodged in the gastrointestinal tract.
Foreign-body ingestion can lead to:
Keep plates, trash cans, countertops, and leftover containers securely away from curious pets.
Alcohol can be dangerous to pets, even in relatively small amounts.
Remember that alcohol exposure does not only come from unattended drinks. Certain desserts, fermented foods, and other holiday products may also contain alcohol.
Keep alcoholic beverages and foods safely out of reach.
Holiday décor can be especially tempting to playful dogs and cats.
Cats in particular may be attracted to long, thin objects such as ribbon, string, and tinsel.
If swallowed, these objects can create a potentially serious gastrointestinal foreign body.
Avoid allowing pets to play unsupervised with:
Never pull string or ribbon that is visibly protruding from your pet’s mouth or rectum. Seek veterinary care.
Broken ornaments can cause cuts, while small decorations may be swallowed.
Place fragile ornaments higher on the tree and keep small objects away from pets who like to chew or ingest non-food items.
Chewing electrical cords can result in burns, electrical injury, or other serious complications.
Cover or secure cords whenever possible, especially around puppies, kittens, and pets known to chew household objects.
Some seasonal plants can also pose problems.
Lilies are particularly dangerous to cats.
Certain true lilies and daylilies can cause severe kidney injury in cats. Exposure can occur from the plant itself, pollen, or even water from a vase.
Homes with cats should avoid bringing potentially dangerous lilies into the environment.
Plants such as poinsettias may cause irritation or gastrointestinal upset if chewed.
Because plant toxicity varies considerably by species, it is best to verify whether a particular plant is pet-safe before bringing it into your home.
Visitors can unintentionally create another source of exposure.
Purses, suitcases, backpacks, and bedside tables may contain medications that pets can access.
Common human medications can be dangerous to animals, so ask guests to store medications securely behind a closed door or inside a cabinet.
Never give your pet a human medication unless specifically instructed to do so by a veterinarian.
After a holiday meal, the trash can contain several hazards at once:
Secure trash cans and remove food waste promptly, especially before leaving pets unattended.
Contact a veterinarian promptly if you know or suspect that your pet has eaten something potentially dangerous.
Seek emergency veterinary attention for symptoms such as:
You do not need to wait for symptoms to appear after a known toxin or foreign-body exposure.
Early treatment may provide veterinarians with more treatment options and can help prevent more serious complications.
If you believe your pet has eaten a potentially dangerous food, medication, plant, decoration, or foreign object:
Do not induce vomiting or give home remedies unless specifically instructed to do so by a veterinary professional.
Pet emergencies don’t follow a holiday schedule.
EPIC Vets – Emergency Pet Intensive Care is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency and critical veterinary care.
If you’re concerned about your pet, call us or come directly to our hospital.
EPIC Vets – Emergency Pet Intensive Care
27727 Jefferson Avenue
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 695-5044
EPIC Vets. EPIC Care. Always Here. Always Ready.
