Have you ever heard of pancreatitis in humans? Well it happens in cats and dogs as well. And it is a condition that is extremely serious and something that you as a responsible pet owner do not want to happen to your dog or cat. The possibility that your pet could quite easily get pancreatitis is generally caused by eating the wrong foods, and holidays often are the times that a pet either willfully is given rich food or the pet sneaks bites of or maybe consumes the entire roast, turkey, or whatever meat you left on the kitchen counter or dining room table.
Now you ask. What has the food got to do with my pet? For starters- feeding your pet any of this rich food that he/she is not used to eating can lead to a (dangerous and sometimes fatal condition) if left untreated. Am I ruining your holiday mood yet? It would be awful to enjoy the day and then later in the night or the day find that your dog or cat is acting strange and perhaps actually looking sick. As in: lying around, vomiting, groaning in pain, diarrhea, weakness, decreased body temperature. Your pet might not exhibit all of those symptoms but if your dog and to a much (lesser degree cat) is showing any of these signs then get your pet to a vet or animal emergency room immediately.
In mild or minor pancreatitis the outlook for your dog or cat is good. In pets that are very sick the road to recovery is difficult and only 50% of these animals will live. According to Dr. Daniel, other veterinarians and the vet books, eating food other than what you normally feed your dog/cat is the cause of most cases of pancreatitis. Rich food such as the drippings, gravy, the meat, mashed potatoes, deserts, etc, etc. are all bad for your pet.
In little dogs it only takes a small amount of food to make the dog sick. By now some of you might be saying, “I give my pets table scraps all the time.” Perhaps your pet has just been one lucky dog not to have gotten sick. But that does not mean that at any given time in the future your animal is safe from eating table scraps. “Rich food and excessive amounts of food are the problems here.
<span style="color:#800000;In the summer of 2011, I was at Dr D's and I tagged along with her when she was called to look at a 15 year old Yorkie. Indeed the little one was sick. Dr. D. treated the little dog on site with some emergency meds and then told the people to take the little dog to the emergency room. The Yorkie recovered but early intervention and follow up at the ER probably saved that precious little dog. Her owner had given her a small piece of barbecued rib in the morning and by 2PM the Yorkie was ill. The dog had not previously eaten fatty meat- she had only eaten DOG FOOD.
So don’t be a turkey on turkey day. Give your dog or cat only the food that it normally eats, as in dog or cat food. Even small amounts can make your pet ill. After all, you want your pet to be around for what ever holiday you celebate or not celebrate in December and in the years to come.
Post Yvonne Daniel
Pets, People and, Life 
Thank you for publishing this post. I don’t feed anything but the regular diet our pets are to receive and then there’s my husband, the pushover. I knew when it happened once, I would be talking my head off. Our little shih tzu, Miss Priss, who we adopted at age 8 from a puppy mill when she only produced 1 puppy, has a very sensitive tummy and I keep her on a restricted diet and her tummy gets along just fine. However, give her one of the many food items she doesn’t get along with and all heck breaks lose. Now you’ve provided me more information and I’m ever so grateful for that. Thank you from the bottom of both my heart and that of Miss Priss and Mr. Scooter.
Sheri, I am so glad that you have found this post to be helpful. It is true that some dogs simply can not handle human food and many owners think that they are being kind to their pet when just the opposite is true. If I give my dogs any human food it is either partially cooked small bites of carrot or small bits of apple. Those food items seem to be safe since there is virtually no fat involved.
And of course you know not to give any grapes, raisins, chocolate, etc. to dogs or cats. These are very toxic to the kidneys and can lead to renal failure. There are more no-nos but you can find a list by looking on Googoe just in case you are not aware.
Yes, thank you, Yvonne. My father was strict about what the animals on the ranch were allowed to eat and I’ve read a great deal about what and what not to give our pets.
Farmers and ranchers generally know all about their animals as you have written that your father was very particular about the animal’s food. They have to be aware for the animals are the source of income. My dad’s ideas were like your dad’s. Over feeding was a big no-no.
Conversely, homeopathics work for animals as they do for people!
Right Diana. Alternative medicine has its place but not in all instances. Thanks for commenting.
I’m back home, and catching up. This post and your previous one are full of great information.
I’ve got another question. There’s someone I read who has a cat. They’ve been thinking about getting second cat, and now they have three kittens they found on the road. Two will be given up for adoption, but she’s thinking of keeping the third, and wonders how best to introduce the two to each other. You might stop by her blog, Window on the Prairie, and see what’s up. I thought if anyone would have a good hint or two, it would be you!
Thanks Linda for reading and commenting. I’ll hop over to Window on the Prairie.
http://windowontheprairie.com/
~yvonne
I left her a comment.
Very important post, Yvonne. Thank you. Better we understand before the fact than put our beloved fur babies through hell. Wishing you very happy holidays filled with laughter, joy, and good health. 🙂
Thanks, Paulette. You’re so correct about not putting our fur kids through hell if we know about what not to feed our pets. Killing with kindness rings so true in many cases. Pet owners just need to feed DOG FOOD and forget about the extra little treat/s. Thanks so much for commenting.
Here’s wishing you a lovely holiday season as well.
I had no idea that pets could get problems with their pancreas. I shall be keeping an even more careful eye over Colin Snout after reading this post. Thanks, Yvonne. Lottie xxx
Hey Lady of The Casa. Good to know that I had something worth while that you did not know about. Hope all is well with you. I’ve been charging around like a mad hatter since 8am today and just now am taking a break to lie down for awhile. Took three cats to the vet for blood work. They are litter mates that I hand raised. All is well with them except one has high white count so will put him on Doxycycline that was compounded for cats. I’ve got 60ml for $56 I think it was. So I’m giving it to several cats with chronic snuffles. I am always busy with the pets so probably that is a good thing since I don’t focus on myself and all the other BS in my life. I’ll probably edit some of this out when I figure that you’ve read this.
~yvonne xxx
Good information, Yvonne, thank you! And Happy Thanksgiving to you, as well!
Thanks, Cindy for commenting. much appreciated.
Very timely and great post.
Thank AC. I’m glad that you find the post to be a good one. Hope at least, that folks pay attention to what I wrote. 🙂