Halloween Pet Safety – What Is Safe For Them to Eat?
As the date inches ever so closer to the 31st, we can’t help to contain our excitement for Halloween!
However, the frightening fun brings some preventable risks to your pet’s health. Therefore, in this #WiseWednesday post, we thought we would go over Halloween pet safety for the upcoming spooky festivities.
In this article, you will learn what common Halloween snacks may prove to be harmful to our family animals, and give you some ideas for some delicious treats that you could be giving instead.
Halloween Pet Safety: What Foods Are Harmful?
On the night of Halloween, there is likely to be a lot of sweets and chocolate throughout the home. For those of us with a sweet tooth, this could be a dream could true, but for our pets, these tasty treats could serve to be a real danger to their health.
Chocolate is well-known to be toxic within both cats and dogs, due to the build-up of an alkaloid called Theobromine. Candy can also cause serious illness in dogs due to a common artificial sweetener known as Xylitol, which can cause a severe drop in their blood sugar levels.
So what can we do to help?
How Do I Keep My Pets Safe On Halloween?
Now that we have an understanding of the potential food-related dangers, it’s important to keep such items out of reach. Keep sweets elevated to a point where pets cannot reach!
It’s also recommended to keep your pets supervised if they are in a room with candy.
If you do see your dog munching down on sweets or your cat nibbling at chocolate, it’s time to ring the vet. Depending on the amount ingested and your pet’s body weight, you may need to take them in. Do not induce vomiting by yourself without a vet’s go-ahead. It’s much better to have a professional examination before doing anything rash.
For the symptoms of chocolate poisoning, see here. To see the symptoms of Xylitol poisoning, check here. Ring the vet if you notice any of these symptoms!
What Alternative Treats Can I Give My Pets This Halloween?
Just because chocolate and candy aren’t great for pets doesn’t mean they don’t deserve any treats at all!
There are plenty of risk-free treats available to give your pets that are healthy and tasty for them. For example, if you wanted to be truly keeping in line with the festivities, you could give your pet pumpkin treats!
It can be given raw or cooked, but be aware; they aren’t easily digestible and should be fed in small amounts to avoid upsetting your pet’s stomach. Also, keep in mind that raw pumpkin can go rancid quickly; don’t be giving your pets the jack-o-lantern that has been sitting on the porch all week!
If pumpkin doesn’t interest your pets too much, you can find Halloween-themed treats for both dogs and cats on sale at Chewy. For a more personal approach, why not prepare homemade treats? We have some great and healthy recipes you could use!
Have a Fantastic Halloween From All of Us At Groomit!
We hope this article has helped you prepare a safe and exciting Halloween night for your family and pets!
Remember, if you are looking to have your dog or cat spruced up for the festivities, whether that be for a spooky costume or to just bring out their cutest qualities, we at Groomit are always on hand to give them a stress-free professional grooming session. Just give us a shout!
Let’s all keep our pets safe and involved this Halloween!
