Editor's Note: This is a repost of an article from earlier this month, just as a reminder to pet owners on the holiday.
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Jon Austin, DVM with Hutchinson Small Animal Hospital is urging pet owners to continue their normal feeding schedule with their pets, even when bringing the family together for holiday gatherings, especially on Thanksgiving.
"It's definitely a holiday for us, not for them," Austin said. "It's just another day for them, or it should be, for their GI tract. Pets tend to get included in things. I know that, during that holiday, we're going to see some pets who got some gravy and who got some fat and who got some turkey and maybe one that got in the kitchen and knocked the turkey off the counter and got some bones and things. It's part of the holidays, as far as the veterinary perspective. It's something that we have to be concerned about."
High fat is not good for dogs, in particular.
"Their systems are not really designed to manage and handle the quantity of fat that is in the food that we eat," Austin said. "We see everything from bone problems, irritating the GI tract, to pancreatitis, which is a response by their body to the amount of fat that they consume, when they get into the gravy or the drippings from the turkey."
If your pet develops pancreatitis, that can need to be treated with the vet keeping your pet.
"It kind of depends on what's happening," Austin said. "If they do get pancreatitis, we have to avoid them using their GI tract, so they have to stay in the hospital for a few days and get everything through their vein. We put a catheter in and we take care of them intravenously. We avoid them eating or drinking anything because, every time they do that, that chemically stimulates the pancreas and that's what we're trying to heal and give a rest to. If they get a bone and are trying to pass it, we'll have them in and monitor."
If you have further questions about any topics, call your regular veterinarian. They would be more than happy to explain.
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