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Holiday Food Can Be Dangerous For Pets

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Any dog owner will tell you to keep chicken or turkey bones away from your pet, but that's not the only danger this time of year.

Foods we think are delicious can be deadly for your pet.

One of the most comment culprits for an emergency trip to the vet is pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas.

Courtney Burke with Greenfield Veterinary Hospital says it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and dehydration.

Often the problem comes when the dog eats something off our holiday table.

"Dogs can not pass corn cobs through their intestinal tract and they don't typically chew them enough and the end up lodging and becoming stuck so we have to go in surgically and remove them," Burke said.

While there can be problems for dogs, there can be an issue for cats too. Because felines are naturally curious, if you are wrapping presents during the holidays, you need to be careful about the strings.

"Cats will eat string," Burke said. "String is a big thing in cats if you are wrapping Christmas presents or anything like that and they eat string and it can get caught in there just like a corn cobs can."

Millions bake and cook this time of year and basic ingredients like macadamia nuts and raisins can lead to big problems.

"Raisins do cause kidney failure – absolutely – and it happens very quickly," Burke said. "You have to get them into a veterinarian establishment very quickly after ingesting raisins and once the kidneys do start to have issues, it's hard to get them back."

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