GOODBYE 2008

Pieper and I hope that you all had a nice Christmas and are looking forward to the new year ahead...

With all the food around for the holidays, I thought it might be time to remind us humans that our little furbabies--much as they might like eating off our plates--probably shouldn't.

Pieper loves pizza crust, roast beef, salsa, sesame shrimp (when she can tear it out of my hot little hands), among other delicacies that she can procure with a cute blink and the rub-up-against mommy action. Little scamp! Oh, wait...are only boy cats scamps? Well, then, she must a scampi!

COMMON FOODS THAT CAN HARM YOUR PETS:
Alcohol--no brainer here; does damage to humans too.
Fruit seeds and stems--apples, apricots, cherries, peaches and plums--contain cyanide type compound.
Avocados--no more guacamole for Pieper--very, very toxic for the little ones.
Baking powder and baking soda - serious potassium problems, heart failure & muscle spasms.
Chocolate--probably the best known food item to cause problems for our pets.
Coffee grounds and beans--caffeine toxicity.
Fatty foods--can cause pancreatitis
Dairy products--not highly toxic, but can produce symptoms similar to lactose intolerance in humans.
Grapes and raisins--often found in breads during the holidays.
Macadamia nuts--as few as six can cause severe toxic reactions.
Moldy or spoiled foods--nuff said.
Mushrooms.
Nutmeg--often used in holiday cooking.
Onions and Garlic--all forms are problematic, be they frozen, fresh, dehydrated. This warning includes using garlic as flea control.
Yeast dough--they are speaking here of raw yeast dough...yeast raises in the stomach, ferments and alcohol is produced--causing alcohol toxicity.

There is a wonderful website called www.petplace.com. They have a very extensive collection of what can harm your pet, what the symptoms are and what to do if these are ingested!

Do not use Ibuprofen or Tylenol!

Have a great day!