23/12/2025
🎄🐾 Christmas foods & curious pets – a gentle reminder from Dr Kay 🐾🎄
Christmas is a wonderful time of year — full of family, friends, celebration… and food everywhere! 🍽️
But while we enjoy festive treats, some common Christmas foods can be dangerous (and even life-threatening) for our pets.
I wanted to share a few simple reminders to help keep your dogs and cats safe over the holiday season 💜
🍫 Chocolate & cocoa products
Chocolate contains theobromine, which pets cannot process safely. Even small amounts can cause vomiting, tremors, heart problems and seizures. Dark chocolate and cooking chocolate are especially dangerous.
🌰 Macadamia nuts
These are highly toxic to dogs and can cause weakness, tremors, vomiting and pain. They’re often found in bowls, bikkies and festive baking — best kept well out of reach.
🍇 Sultanas & raisins
Found in fruit cake, Christmas pudding and baked treats, these can cause acute kidney failure in dogs — sometimes with just a small amount. Unfortunately, we can’t predict which pets will be affected, so it’s safest to avoid them completely.
🍺 Alcohol (including eggnog)
Alcohol can cause serious neurological and breathing problems in pets, even in small quantities. Curious laps from a glass or bowl can be enough to cause harm.
🧅 Onions (and garlic)
Often hidden in stuffing, gravies and cooked meals, onions can damage red blood cells and lead to anaemia. Both cooked and raw forms are unsafe for pets.
🥓 Fatty foods like ham, crackling & rich leftovers
While tempting to share, fatty foods can trigger pancreatitis, a painful and potentially serious condition. Symptoms often appear a day or two later and include vomiting, lethargy and abdominal pain.
🦴 Cooked bones (ham, turkey, roast meats)
Cooked bones can splinter, causing choking, intestinal blockages or internal injury. They’re one of the most common holiday emergencies we see.
🎁 My best advice?
Keep pets out of food prep areas, secure rubbish bins, and let well-meaning guests know not to share festive snacks. If you’d like to include your pet in the celebrations, stick to pet-safe treats instead 🐶🐱
If you’re ever worried your pet may have eaten something they shouldn’t have, please seek veterinary advice as soon as possible — early treatment can make a big difference.
From my family to yours, I wish you a safe, happy and pet-friendly Christmas 🎄💜
— Dr Kay 🐾
