This time of year, pet illnesses spike—it’s not some sort of doggy flu or cat cold, it’s owners sharing the delights of the season.
This Thanksgiving, don’t give your dogs or cats table scraps, whether you want to share the excitement the day of, or throw them a treat as you enjoy leftovers. If you do, you might find yourself dealing with the following effects:
A taste of pumpkin can cause diarrhea. Holiday meats and sauces often have too much salt, and can cause huge problems for pets, from stomach upset to heart troubles. And, bones can often break, leading to choking or internal damage.
If you want to give them a treat (and feel like making an extra dish), you can always make your own dog or cat food. Dogs are omnivores who can eat grains, vegetables and meat, and cats are carnivores, eating only meat. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with holiday flavors or apply human tastes to the dish.
Turkey is a great base for homemade dog food—just make sure it’s not already soaked in salt. Some recipes cook it with rice, rosemary, and frozen vegetables, others leave out the rosemary and keep it bland for more delicate pets.
For cats, many advocate a balance of cooked and raw food for a better diet. Make sure you read up on how to safely prepare raw food, or else how to prepare a balanced diet of cooked food. A key to cat food is keeping it wet or very moist—cats need the water from wet food.
One of the benefits of going DIY is that you avoid the contamination that often comes with premade foods, as well as the cheap ingredients (plant based proteins instead of meat based, for instance).
Don’t want to do the extra work? That’s ok. It’s a good idea to supplement your pet’s diet with a few drops of an immune boost, like colloidal silver, either way.
What do you do with your pets on Thanksgiving?
