Anumberofhumanfoodsaredangeroustopets.Manyofthesefoodsmayseemtastytoourpetsbutcanprovedeadlyifeaten.Itcanbeverytemptingtoofferpetsfoodfromthetable,butpetsshouldnotbegivenhumanfoodunlessrecommendedbyyourveterinarian.
Ifyoususpectyourpetmayhaveeatenadangerousfood,contactyourveterinarianimmediately.Inmanycases,earlyrecognitionandtreatmentarecritical.
Chocolate,Coffee,andCaffeine
Chocolatecontainstheobromine,achemicalthatistoxictodogsinlargeenoughquantities.Chocolatealsocontainscaffeine,whichisfoundincoffee,tea,andcertainsoftdrinks.Differenttypesofchocolatecontaindifferentamountsoftheobromineandcaffeine.Forexample,darkchocolateandbakingchocolatecontainmoreofthesecompoundsthanmilkchocolatedoes,soadogwouldneedtoeatmoremilkchocolateinordertobecomeill.However,evenafewouncesofchocolatecanbeenoughtocauseillnessinasmalldog,sonoamountortypeofchocolateshouldbeconsidered“safe”foradogtoeat.Chocolatetoxicitycancausevomiting,diarrhea,rapidorirregularheartrate,restlessness,muscletremors,andseizures.Deathcanoccurwithin24hoursofingestion.
GrapesandRaisins
Grapesandraisinscancauseacute(sudden)kidneyfailureincatsanddogs.Itisunknownwhatthetoxicagentisinthesefruits.However,clinicalsignscanoccurwithin24hoursofeatingandincludevomiting,diarrhea,andlethargy(tiredness).Othersignsofillnessrelatetotheeventualshutdownofkidneyfunctioning.
GarlicandOnions
Garlicandonionscontainchemicalsthatdamageredbloodcellsincatsanddogs.Affectedredbloodcellscanruptureorlosetheirabilitytocarryoxygeneffectively.Cookingthesefoodsdoesnotreducetheirpotentialtoxicity.Fresh,cooked,and/orpowderedgarlicand/oronionsarecommonlyfoundinbabyfood,whichissometimesgiventoanimalswhentheyaresick,sobesuretoreadfoodlabelscarefully.
Manycasesofhumanfoodtoxicityinpetsareaccidental.Apetmayfindandchewonapackageofgumorcandy,orstealfoodfromacountertoportable.Thebestwaytopreventthisistokeepallfooditemsinclosedcabinetsorinareasthatareinaccessibletopets.Thismaybeparticularlydifficultduringtheholidayseason,whenmorecandy,chocolate,fruitbaskets,andotherfooditemsarearound.Duringthesetimes,increasedvigilancecanhelppreventpetsfromfindingandeatingdangerousfoods.
Childrenshouldalsobetaughttonevergivecandy,gum,orotherhumanfooditemstopets.
有些适合人类吃的食物对宠物是有害的。这些食物味道可口，但是宠物吃了以后可能会死亡。人类餐桌上有各种各样充满诱惑的食物，但是给宠物吃之前，最好询问一下兽医。
如果你发现你的宠物可能吃了一种危险的食物，赶紧联系兽医，很多情况下，早发现和早治疗是至关重要的。
巧克力和咖啡
巧克力包含了可可碱，这种化学物质达到一定数量后，会使得狗狗中毒。巧克力同时还包含了咖啡因，在咖啡、茶和某些不含酒精的饮料中都含有咖啡因。不同种类的巧克力包含了不同数量的可可碱和咖啡因。比如说：深色咖啡和烘焙巧克力包含了比牛奶巧克力更多的可可碱和咖啡因。
一只成年大狗可能要吃下很多牛奶巧克力才会患病，然而对于一只小狗来说，一点点的可可碱或者咖啡因都是异常危险的。
葡萄和葡萄干
葡萄和葡萄干会引起猫和狗的肾功能衰竭。这些水果中的有毒成分目前还不得而知，但24小时临床表现包括呕吐，腹泻，无力和肾功能衰竭等。
大蒜和洋葱
大蒜和洋葱包含了能够破坏猫狗身上红细胞的化学物质，受此影响的红细胞会减弱甚至失去输氧功能。煮过后也不能有效降低内部毒性。新鲜的，煮过的大蒜或者洋葱不能作为食物给动物吃。
防患方法
许多例宠物误食人类食物导致中毒事件都是意外发生的。一只宠物找到一块口香糖后，可能就会不假思索地咀嚼起来，有些小猫咪也会趁主人不在从厨房或者橱柜里偷吃一些食物。在长假中，家里随处可见的甜点、巧克力和水果等也应该特别留意。
家长应该教育自己的小孩子不要随意把蜜饯，口香糖等食物给宠物吃。