Blog

With Christmas and New Year’s Eve just around the corner, our cupboards are being stocked with some delicious festive foods which may pose a serious risk to your kitty. In this month’s blog, we look at the potential dangers that are lurking in the kitchen and why they are such a danger to our beloved pets.

Chocolate: Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine which are both toxic to cats. Even small quantities of these ingredients can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid heart rate, tremors and seizures. The higher the cocoa percentage, the higher the contents of both of these toxic substances. Even chocolate cakes, biscuits or other chocolate containing foods can cause a potential risk.  

Onions (garlic, leek, scallions etc): Despite being packed full of flavour, onions (and other vegetables in the same family) are also packed full of disulphides and thiosulphates which are extremely dangerous to cats. These substances lead to the destruction of red blood cells (known as Heinz Body Anaemia) and cause weakness, increased heart rate, difficulties breathing, thirst, pale gums, collapse and even death if left untreated.   

Raw Dough: As yeast ferments from the dough rising, gas is expelled which causes severe pain and distension in the stomach. The bloating can even cause the stomach to twist on itself which requires emergency, lifesaving surgery. During fermentation, alcohol is also produced as a by-product which causes more problems of its own (see below).

Alcohol: Alcohol of any kind can cause gastrointestinal upsets such as vomiting and diarrhoea as well as neurological symptoms including respiratory depression, incoordination and coma.

Grapes and raisins: Ingestion of grapes and raisins (even when inside mince pies or fruit cake) can lead to acute kidney failure and even lifelong kidney problems. Despite advances in veterinary medicine, there is still very little known as to why grapes and raisins can cause such devastating side effects. Unlike some other foods, there is no known ‘toxic quantity threshold’ and even one single grape can cause severe injury to a cats kidneys.

Xylitol (arftifical sweetener): Xylitol is one of the most common artificial sweeteners used in most gums, breath fresheners, lollies and even some coffee and tea sweeteners. The faux sweetener causes a sudden release of insulin, dropping the cat’s blood sugar levels to a dangerous low and results in weakness, incoordination, collapse, seizure and sometimes death. Despite treatment, some pets sadly end up with lifelong liver issues or liver failure.

Milk and Dairy: Cats do not have the digestive enzyme know as lactase that is responsible for breaking down and metabolising lactose, the main ingredient in milk and dairy products which leads to vomiting and diarrhoea. Whilst the side effects of ingesting these food items are less harmful the some others, it can be very uncomfortable for the cat to go through and in severe cases can cause dehydration.

Coconut products: Though small amounts of coconut based foods are unlikely to cause harm, milk and flesh of coconut contains high amounts of oil which can cause diarrhoea and dehydration. Coconut water should also be avoided as it is high in potassium and can affect the kidney’s.

Cooked bones: Whilst this type of food doesn’t pose a toxic risk to your cat’s health, they do pose a major risk due to their brittle composition. Cooked bones often crack and splinter which can potentially poke or perforate through the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. This sadly leads to death as bowel contents leaking in to the abdomen causes sepsis.

Fatty Foods (like Christmas Ham and Roasts): These types of foods are not immediately dangerous to your cat, they often are the pre-cursor for other major issues such as pancreatitis. Foods high in oils and fats will often cause diarrhoea and vomiting. In many cases, these types of foods are often very salty (meaning high sodium content) which can affect a cat’s kidney function.

If you suspect your cat has ingested anything dangerous or harmful, be sure to contact your local veterinary hospital as soon as possible for further instructions. Whilst some cases may be mild and require minimal veterinary intervention, other cases may be more life threatening. It is always best practice to get your pet checked if you have concerns.

Follow us:.