We love to feast ourselves each time a celebration happens in our house or if there is a grand festival. Our beloved pets also see this as a great opportunity to devour everything tasty they could find. While it is hard for a pet owner to resist their pet’s pleading eyes, feeding table scraps to dogs and cats is not a great idea.

In this blog, you will learn why pets shouldn’t eat table scraps and also see some highly toxic foods you should completely avoid feeding them. Moreover, you will also discover how you can offer treats to your dogs and cats in a healthy manner.

So let us get started,

1) Stomach Upset

The digestive functioning of humans and pets differ greatly. The same foods that are safe for humans to consume may create trouble for pets. Also, most table scraps are generally high in salt, sugar and fats which can trigger stomach upsets in both dogs and cats. It can also lead to stomach pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and excessive flatulence in them.

2) Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a condition caused by consuming too much fatty foods, which can become fatal for pets. Normally pancreas releases enzymes into the digestive tract when your pet has ingested food, as it helps break down the fat and promote digestion. When Pancreatitis happens, these enzymes are released prematurely way before digestion, and this causes inflammation in the pets. 

The clinical signs of Pancreatitis include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite etc. Contact your vet immediately when you see these signs. 

3) Toxic Foods

There are a lot of human foods with ingredients that are highly toxic for pets. For example, items like Garlic, Onion, Chives, Leeks etc can be dangerous to both dogs and cats, even if they eat them in moderate amounts. Other toxic items include chocolate, grapes, raisins, sultanas, macadamia nuts etc which are present in most desserts and sweets present in functions. 

4) Risk of Choking

There are many human foods that despite being nutritious for pets, are still dangerous because of choking hazards. All meat bones including turkey and chicken bones, whether raw or cooked can create a choking hazard in both dogs and cats. This is because whole or splintered pieces of bone can get stuck anywhere in your pet’s throat to the stomach. These pieces can even cause blockage in the intestines, needing surgery for removal.

5) Obesity

If you think occasional sugary sweets won’t cause harm to your pets, you will be surprised to see how the compound effect works in this case. They will gain so much weight in a short time frame. An obese pet, whether a dog or a cat can experience many health problems and can also affect the quality of their life. Hence, it is important to feed your pet a highly nutritious dog food or cat food, which will give them balanced nutrition. 

If you are feeding your pet, either a dog treat or a cat treat, keep it less than 10% of your pet’s calorie intake for the day. 

6) Increase Begging Tendency

Feeding your pets table scraps can also make them beg for food each time you sit down to have a meal. Not only this is an unwanted behaviour, but it can also result in your pets being fed by the guests that come to your house. This can make your pets overweight and lead to other health problems as well.

How to Give Treats to Your Pet in a Healthy Way?

One healthy way to feed your pet treats is by using the treat as a reward for exercising. What you can do is give them an engaging dog toy or a cat toy to play with and make them burn enough calories, and then you give them the treat. This will ensure that the pet treats factor into the overall daily calorie requirement of your pets and also prevent the risk of obesity.

All in All,

Pets will eat and enjoy anything which is offered to them. However, it doesn’t mean all of them are good for their health. Yes, it can be highly difficult to resist those pleading eyes, but not giving in to them will only benefit your pet’s health. Also, it is important to feed them a diet that is designed exclusively as per their age breed, size and lifestyle, which will help them flourish in the best manner.