Veterinary medical emergencies can crop up anytime, but pets are especially prone to illness or injury during hectic holidays. On Thanksgiving, pets can become hyper focused on all the delicious foods, often stealing food, begging guests for scraps, or getting into the trash. These food-related scenarios can lead to serious illness and a visit to our West Vets ER facility for immediate care. Learn the top three Thanksgiving pet emergencies, how to avoid them, and what to do if they happen to your pet.

#1: Thanksgiving pet poisonings

Toxic food ingredients are high on the list of Thanksgiving pet dangers, because they are easily accessible during a large holiday meal. Pet owners may be unaware of the dangers associated with specific foods and unintentionally feed their pet a toxin, and guests may expose pets by inadvertently allowing them to steal inappropriate foods. Common toxic ingredients found in a Thanksgiving meal include:

  • Garlic and onions — These foods from the Allium family, and related foods such as leeks, can damage a pet’s red blood cells and lead to poor oxygenation or blood cell destruction. Cats are more sensitive than dogs and may develop anemia with general lethargy and pale gums several days later.
  • Chocolate — Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, which belong to a substance class called methylxanthines. Small amounts can overstimulate a pet’s nervous system, causing hyperactivity, tremors, seizures, elevated body temperature, arrhythmias, vomiting, coma, or death. The darker and more concentrated the chocolate, the deadlier the potential effects.
  • Raisins — Raisins and their fresh cousins, grapes, can induce kidney failure in dogs, typically a few days after ingestion. Kidney damage may cause vomiting, increased thirst and urination, or general lethargy.
  • Xylitol — Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that tricks your pet’s body into releasing insulin, causing blood glucose to drop to extremely low levels. Affected pets may show depression, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of consciousness, and also liver failure. Small amounts of xylitol can cause significant damage.

Keep pets out of the kitchen, if possible, and do not allow them to eat any table food. Pets who eat a suspected toxic food should receive prompt emergency veterinary care from our WestVets ER team. We also recommend pet owners call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center or Pet Poison Helpline prior to their visit. These toxicology professionals provide extremely efficient life-saving care by collecting information and determining expected effects from the consumed toxin dose and will guide veterinary teams through specific treatment recommendations.

#2: Diet-associated pancreatitis in pets

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, which leads to vomiting, appetite loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and lethargy. The condition can be acute or chronic, with the acute form usually being more serious. Ingesting a fatty meal, such as Thanksgiving dinner, can cause acute pancreatitis in dogs. Turkey skin, butter, gravy, and scraps are potential pancreatitis triggers. Severe, acute pancreatitis sets off a chain inflammatory reaction throughout the dog’s body, potentially causing clotting problems, multiple organ failure, or death.

Avoid feeding pets table scraps or allowing them near the trash during or after the Thanksgiving meal. If you must offer pets a holiday treat, try small amounts of plain, white meat, skinless turkey with a few vegetables cooked with no butter, oil, or spices. 

#3: Foreign body obstruction in pets

A gastrointestinal (GI) foreign body is an inedible object that gets stuck in the digestive tract, which is dangerous, because food and nutrients cannot move through the body, gas backs up, and the pet is in severe pain. Blood flow to the GI tissues eventually becomes compromised, and intestinal sections die and leak bacteria or inflammatory mediators into the abdomen. Obstructed pets may experience persistent vomiting and abdominal pain and need emergency surgery to avoid life-threatening consequences.

Cooked turkey and ham bones are common Thanksgiving foreign bodies. These bones can splinter as your pet chews them, increasing the chances for serious intestinal damage. Eager pets may mistake food-laced items in the trash for treats and swallow them. Do not offer pets cooked bones to chew and remove food-containing trash to secure outdoor bins as soon as possible.

Emergencies are stressful and most pet owners would prefer to avoid them, but accidents happen. Also, pet health needs aren’t always predictable or convenient. Our West Vets ER team is here for all your emergency and urgent care needs—whenever you need us the most. Contact us for immediate assistance, or visit during our extended emergency hours if your pet develops a Thanksgiving-related illness, or you suspect they have consumed a toxic food.