With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the time has come to find out why you shouldn’t feed table scraps to your pets. Millions of pets die annually because their owners unwittingly feed them the same food that we eat, which is inappropriate for them.
Thanksgiving, a national holiday of the United States, has been celebrated since 1863 with copious and various amounts of food, dominated of course, by the turkey. Other types of food include cranberry sauce, bread crumb stuffing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and homemade rolls. As many people tend to cook more food than they and their family and friends can eat, dinner turns to food scraps that end tossed to our furry friends.
Many people tend to do so because they know that pets have eaten scraps from humans since the dawn of time and consider it normal. However, what they don’t keep in mind is that these pets didn’t live as long as the pets do in our time, thanks to scientific discoveries and proper food. Furthermore, the popular belief that dogs eat all sorts of bones is terribly wrong.
The Humane Society released several warnings against certain types of food. So, what should we avoid giving our pets?
Holiday types of food contain a high level of salt, which is to be avoided. Sodium should also be avoided, as it can cause an upset stomach to dogs and cats. It is found particularly in ham bones.
Chicken and turkey bones can break into shards thus leading to internal injuries or getting stuck in the animal’s throat. What you also shouldn’t do is drip turkey fat over the food of the pet, because your furry friend might suffer from stomach pains after it eats.
Pumpkin is known to cause diarrhea, especially to cats and dogs, who are also affected by grapes and raisins, since they lead to kidney failure, and thus to death. Last but not least, people are advised to not feed uncooked onions or garlic to their pets.
Now that you’ve found out why you shouldn’t feed table scraps to your pets and which types of food you should avoid, the next step is convincing your close ones, so that we can enjoy the company of our furry friends a bit longer!
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