Toxic Table Scraps

There is an old saying that goes something like this, "People get people food, and pets get pet food." Even though we love to treat our pets as though they are a part of the family, they still are not people. While some people may take offense at this bald statement, it does not really change the underlying fact of its truthfulness. There is a very serious reason as to why you only want to give your pet's food that has been made for them, and that is if you are not careful you could accidentally poison or hurt the furry members of your family.

It is important to consider this a rule when it comes giving your fuzzy family food. Otherwise you might innocently give them something that, while it in actuality can hurt them quite a bit. While unfortunately there is no hard and fast rule for what human foods you can give to your pets across the board, there are some food items that will definitely hurt your pet if they eat it. The ones that are listed below are just a few of the items, and should in no way be considered a comprehensive list. I have only included the ones that are most likely going to be found in the average person's home.

• Chocolate. There is a chemical compound that is found in chocolate called theobromine. This is a chemical that has been found to be extremely poisonous to both cats and dogs. If enough is ingested, this chemical can cause theobromine poisoning which in turn leads to death. While it is possible to treat if found early enough, why risk it?
• Onion Family. Anything from the onion family should be kept away from animals, but most particularly cats. This means onions, chives, garlic and so on need to be avoided when feeding your pet. One of the substances in these veggies/herbs (N-propyl disulphide) can cause a cat's red blood cells to die off. In effect this destruction of the red blood cells is going to cause a type of anemia to form, called Heinz Body Anemia.
• Solanine. This is a compound that is typically found in raw potatoes and tomatoes. This is only mildly toxic to an animal which causes digestive problems. Now, in and of itself these are not going to be immediately fatal, but over time any health problem can become fatal if untreated.