No Easter chocolates for pets

Chocolate – what would life be without it? With its delicious sweet taste and creamy texture it has the ability to fix almost anything – from curing a broken heart to improving a bad day.

However, this treat could have dire consequences for your pets so. Especially with Easter just around the corner, the pet food industry (PFI) warns pet owners not to share their favourite treat with their pets. This warning also applies to cats, which are often overlooked on the forbidden pet foods list.

Sugar and caffeine pose their own health risks to humans and pets alike, that is why it is not recommended to feed your pets anything that contains these ingredients. However, with chocolate, the theobromine is the real concern. This is a natural stimulant found in cocoa beans and acts as a diuretic as well as a cardiac and central nervous system stimulant. In essence, it causes the body to lose fluids and increases the heart rate.

Humans are not affected in the same way as pets, because we have the required enzymes to metabolise theobromine efficiently, but pets don’t. Therefore the theobromine will build up to toxic levels in your pet, which could have lethal effects.

Various factors contribute to the level of poisoning, such as the size of the animal, type of chocolate consumed (dark chocolate being the worst) and the amount ingested. But, since as little as 100 milligrams of theobromine per kilogram of body weight is considered toxic it is better to play it safe and not give this toxic treat to your pet at all.

But we all know just how sneaky and inventive pets can be, so if they do manage to find your secret chocolate stash and indulge themselves, here’s what you need to do:

• Contact your veterinarian for professional advice.

• If symptoms of chocolate poisoning, such as extreme thirst and energy, diarrhoea and/ or vomiting, pacing, panting, shaking, increased urination, tremors, seizures and a racing heart rate is noted, rush to the vet immediately.

• Make sure that you give the following information to your veterinarian: how much chocolate was eaten, what type of chocolate (wrappers will be useful) and how much time has passed since ingestion. A sample of your pet’s vomit may also be helpful.

Easter comes and goes, but chocolate will always be present in our homes, so consider this advice all year round. When looking for tasty treats to reward your pet for good behaviour, rather look to a suitable, pet-appropriate treat or specially formulated pet chocolates suitable for your pet.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

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