What not to feed your pet

You didn't hide any chocolate or avocado in here did you?

What nearly every pet I checked should never have? That favorite of lovers, the hand-it-over-and-no-one-gets-hurt food. In a word: chocolate! Seriously, the chocolate warning shows up for both dogs and cats (not too surprising as dogs and cats overlap on lots of food warnings), ferrets (which really shouldn’t have much except protein), rabbits, guinea pigs and other rodents … but also parrots and other birds. And I can’t imagine anyone trying to interest a reptile in chocolate, but you really shouldn’t.

Alcohol, which can cause breathing difficulties, abnormal blood acidity, coma and death in dogs, does the same but more so in smaller mammals. Actually, it does the same in humans, as deaths in frat hazings prove nearly every year. But people are larger than all but very large dogs—think dose-response curve. A 250-lb football player can safely imbibe much more alcohol—as long as he doesn’t try to drive for a couple of hours after—than a 25 lb dog or a 2.5 lb ferret. But many smaller mammals’ (and most birds') livers cannot metabolize ethanol, multiplying its poisonous effect greatly. So don’t let your guests (most likely those who’ve  already had much too much themselves) offer your pet a ‘drink.’

On to some unexpected problem foods: Avocadoes contain persin, which can cause digestive upsets and heart problems in not only carnivores like dogs and cats but also rabbits and guinea pigs. Broccoli in large amounts can cause illness in dogs and cats—but is also a huge problem for guinea pigs because it makes them gassy. Why does this matter? How to put this delicately … the little rodents can’t poot and they may die of bloat if fed anything in the cabbage family.

Pennies are another danger worth mentioning. Those dated after 1981 are made from zinc with a thin copper coating. Any free-ranging pet large enough to swallow just one of these pennies can suffer damage to red blood cells, and kidney failure, due to zinc poisoning.

This gives you enough to think about for one day, but plenty of species-specific food hazards remain. I’ll return to this topic, but you should follow a general rule of not letting your pet eat anything except food your vet approves for this animal. If your pet steals or finds—and eats—some unapproved food or other substance, check with your veterinarian immediately to know whether you should take immediate action or merely watch your pet closely for possible adverse effects.