Pets can feel the magic of the holiday season too! Whether it’s wearing a cute Christmas sweater, playing with new toys, or indulging in special treats, our furry friends are living their best lives during this time of year. In this blog, we’ll discuss the holiday delicacies you can and cannot share with our pets, ensuring they stay healthy, happy, and most importantly safe!
The traditional Noche Buena and Media Noche wherein family members, relatives, and friends feast together at around midnight to commemorate the birth of Jesus and to celebrate the new year as it unfolds. With the savory and delicious aromas filling the air, it’s no surprise that our furry friends (who have a sense of smell 40x stronger than humans!) may be tempted to join in the feast! And beware, they’ve for sure mastered the art of charming your guests with those irresistible eyes! To ensure their safety, make sure to inform everyone not to share any food with your pets without your permission. Below is a list of festive foods that are harmful or toxic to pets:
Lumpia: A deep fried lumpiang shanghai or spring roll is high in calories and fat, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea, or worse, pancreatitis, a condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed and swollen. It also contains ingredients of allium vegetables, certain spices and seasonings that may pose danger to our pets' health.
Castañas: While properly prepared sweet chestnuts can be safe for our canine friends, seasoned chestnuts and horse chestnuts are toxic to them. Horse chestnuts contain a harmful toxin called esculin, which can be fatal, especially when eaten in raw form. It acts as a blood thinner, making it difficult for blood to properly circulate through veins and capillaries. For this reason, all raw chestnuts, whether sweet or horse chestnuts, are unsafe for pets. If pets accidentally eat these, it can lead to gastrointestinal problems since our pets have difficulty processing the toxin. Symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. In severe cases, it can affect the nervous system, leading to coordination problems or even seizures and death.
Spaghetti: Plain cooked pasta is unlikely to harm our pets, especially when eaten in small amounts. However, pasta sauce can be dangerous, as it often contains ingredients that are toxic to them such as tomato sauce and onions. While plain pasta itself is generally safe for pets, it lacks nutritional value and can just contribute to weight gain if fed in excess. Additionally, be mindful of gluten intolerance, as some pets are sensitive to gluten.
Grapes: Even in small amounts, all kinds of grapes- whether green, violet, cooked, seedless, peeled, dried or fresh are harmful to pets. The exact toxic substance in grapes is still unknown, but dogs are unable to metabolize tannins, flavonoids, and monosaccharides found in them. This inability is believed to be the main reason grapes are toxic to pets. It can result in sudden kidney failure, which, if untreated, may eventually lead to death.
Leche Flan: This sweet baked custard dessert is a Filipino staple, but it is not suitable for pets due to its high levels of caramelized sugar and milk. Eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain and other health problems. It may go unnoticed but some pets also experience lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance can cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, gas, upset stomach, and other digestive issues. You definitely wouldn’t want to deal with that mess during Noche Buena!
Fatty meats or Meat scraps: Pieces of seasoned chicken, beef, goat, lamb, pork and other animal proteins are high in saturated fats and sodium. Excessive consumption of these can lead to obesity and other health issues in pets. Cooked fatty meats are also difficult for our pets to digest, especially for senior pets with teeth and other underlying conditions. Overeating such fatty meats can increase the development of pancreatitis, diabetes, and gastrointestinal issues.
Ham: While ham, especially in deli meat form, may be safe to eat in small amounts, it is not advisable to use it as a meal replacement due to its high sodium and fat content. Overconsumption can cause stomachache and obesity. The regular intake of ham can also cause long-term health problems, including hypertension, kidney disease, and heart disease.
Macaroni Salad: Just like spaghetti, plain cooked macaroni pasta does not pose a harmful threat to our pets when eaten in moderation. However, the sauce and toppings served together with the macaroni pasta can be harmful, as they contain ingredients that are not suitable for pets. Excessive intake can also disrupt our pets’ metabolism, especially our feline friends.
Foods that contain xylitol: Xylitol is a sugar substitute used in cakes, cookies, peanut butter, muffins, and the likes. While there are no reports of cats getting ill from xylitol intake, it can be extremely toxic to dogs as it can cause a rapid drop in blood sugar, causing seizures, convulsions, liver failure, and potentially death. To be safe, it's best to check the labels and avoid letting our pet consume foods containing xylitol. Tip: Double check the peanut butter used in that Kare-Kare!
Any Viand or Dish with onion, excessive garlic, salt, and spice content: Onions and excessive amounts of garlic are toxic to pets, even when properly cooked due to a harmful compound called N-propyl disulfide. This compound damages red blood cells, leading to anemia. Dishes that contain strong spices, such as habanero, cayenne or paprika, can overwhelm our pets’ systems, causing distress. Excessive salt intake can lead to dehydration, hyperthermia or salt toxicosis which may increase blood pressure and worsen the symptoms of heart disease.
And of course, the classic chocolates. Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine, which can pose serious health risks to our pets, including heart problems, muscle tremors, and seizures. In severe cases, it can be fatal, as cats and dogs are unable to metabolize the components of chocolate effectively. The darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more dangerous it is to our pets. Cocoa beans contain the highest concentration of theobromine, followed by unsweetened cocoa powder. Baked unsweetened dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate contain the least amount of theobromine but are still unsafe for pets.
The foods mentioned above are popular holiday staples that are not only mouthwatering to humans but can also be tempting to our pets. Some of them can actually be safely enjoyed by our furry friends when properly cooked and served in moderation. Bananas, rice cakes, lechon, roasted turkey or chicken, vegetables like carrots and potatoes, and eggs are some of the table foods that are included in the OK list or safe for pets to eat. However, it’s important to serve these foods in moderate amounts and rinse them in water to reduce salt and seasonings. This will help prevent potential health issues or digestive problems.
While our pets may often show interest in festive human foods, we can’t let it interfere with their dietary needs. If we’re not careful, they might start preferring table food over their regular meals and become picky eaters. To prevent this, let’s keep our pets busy this holiday season so they don’t keep begging for scraps. Interactive and engaging toys like the Mewoo Veggie Patch Snuffle Toy, Mewoo Blooming Garden and Mewoo Snuffle Mat are great distractions while you and your guests enjoy indulging your Noche Buena and Media Noche feasts. These interactive toys feature multiple treat compartments where you can hide your pet’s favorite treats, encouraging hours and providing both mental and physical stimulation.
The holidays should be a time of joy, not stress, and that includes making sure our pet stays safe. With a little preparation and awareness, you can keep them away from harmful foods while still letting them be part of the fun and memorable festivities. Avoid being the pet parent scrambling for the emergency vet number, so plan ahead, and you’ll be able to enjoy a stress-free holiday with our four-legged best friend by our side.
REFERENCES:
Can Dogs & Cats Eat Ham? (& Other Pork Products) | Hill's Pet
8 common human foods that are poisonous to cats | Vets Now
Can Cats Eat Lumpia? - catfoodadvisorph
Can My Dog Eat This? A List of Human Foods Dogs Can and Can't Eat
Holiday Foods for Your Dog to Avoid | Hill's Pet
What Can Dogs NOT Eat? Holiday Food for Dogs Explained | PetPlate
Holiday Foods to Avoid Feeding Pets
