By Elisa Black-Taylor
Midnight wants a treat too
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I'd just like to offer a few simple Thanksgiving treats that are safe for our pets. Most of you already know these and can maybe add a few of your own at the end.
Cooked turkey minus the bone and skin are good treats for both cats and dogs. These can be fed alone or mixed with some cooked sweet potato or pumpkin.
Cooked vegetables such as green beans, English peas, broccoli and squash are also good choices. My cats love boiled squash or even a bit of squash casserole with cheese and eggs.
If you have a small pet such as a hamster or gerbil, some broccoli or English peas are perfect as a treat.
It's a tradition in the U.S. to make the leftover turkey into turkey salad to use in sandwiches for a quick meal over the weekend. Cats are crazy about mayonnaise and the turkey salad is a good treat for your cat so long as it's fed in moderation.
Now for some precautions since all kinds of food are served for the Thanksgiving feast. Keep pets away from fruit salads as these often contain raisins or grapes. Keep food away from pets if they contain artificial sweeteners as these can be toxic to them. Avocado is also a no-no for pets.
Do not feed dressing or stuffing to a pet as most contain either onion or onion powder, which can also make a pet very ill. Sage is not a good food for pets and is a key ingredient in dressing. So even though we all love a good Thanksgiving dressing, don't be tempted to offer a morsel to your pets.
Also a word of caution not to feed any food that has sat out too long. Meat and mayonnaise can quickly spoil.
It's important to plan ahead on Thanksgiving treats that are safe for pets. So do your homework. If there's a food not mentioned here that you'd really like to offer your pet, please Google it to be sure it's safe. There's nothing worse than a trip to the vet with a sick pet when we'd rather be out shopping on Black Friday.
Please feel free to add your own Thanksgiving treats or any bad foods I may have missed.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Elisa
I would stick to meat for cats. Thanksgiving and Christmas don’t mean anything to our pets. They will be happy to get attention and their normal food. If you want to give treats, go to a petstore. No need to feed pets from your dinner table. Just my thoughts on the subject.
I don’t think people will do it as much with cats as with dogs. Dogs will sit in front of you and beg until you give in. Many cats are too afraid to stick around a house full of people. This is a very old article and I just wanted to give a few give/don’t give examples.
I am a bit naughty because I am too soft. I will tend to give my cat the odd human food treat. But I do watch their weight 😉
You are so right Oker.
We make sure our cats are fed and content with the food they enjoy and is good for them before sitting down to our own meals, then they don’t need to ask for any treats they don’t really need and may be in fact bad for them.