Q: I have read that onions, garlic, grapes, raisins and chocolate are bad for dogs. What do these items do to dogs? Are there other common human foods that are bad for household pets?
—David Dickey, Dallas
A: Onions, garlic and chives can cause upset stomachs in both cats and dogs, but could also lead to red blood cell damage and anemia in cats, pets.webmd.com states.
Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in both dogs and cats, but the exact “toxic substance” is not known, according to aspca.org.
Theobromine, which is in chocolate, can cause heart arrhythmias, muscle tremors or seizures, according to several websites.
“Although most cats won’t eat (chocolate) on their own, they can be coaxed to eat it by owners and others who think they are giving the cat a treat,” pets.webmd.com states.
Cats shouldn’t eat “a steady diet” of tuna because it doesn’t have “have all the nutrients a cat needs,” pets.webmd.com states, but they can occasionally eat tuna.
Coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks shouldn’t be given to pets and cause cats to “become restless, have rapid breathing, heart palpitations (and) muscle tremors,” petmd.com states.
Citrus fruit can irritate an animal’s stomach, coconut products can cause diarrhea and nuts should never to given to pets. They can cause vomiting, diarrhea and pancreatitis.
Other foods to avoid include raw meat and eggs, candy, gum and yeast dough, which “can cause the stomach to bloat, and potentially twist, becoming a life threatening emergency,” aspca.org states.
Alcohol can cause several problems for pets, including vomiting, diarrhea, labored breathing and death.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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