Want to Avoid a Trip to the Vet on Black Friday? Guard Your Leftovers!
I love Thanksgiving dinner. By the end of the meal I inevitably feel sick. Fortunately, I have yet to become truly ill as a result of Thanksgiving indiscretions.
Sadly, the same can not be said for my patients. Many cats and almost all dogs also love turkey, gravy, and all of the trimmings of a Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for pets to raid leftovers.
The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday by retailers, is known as Pancreatitis Friday in some veterinary circles. Although I may feel sick after my meal tonight, I will recover. On Pancreatitis Friday many of my patients actually will be sick.
Pancreatitis is a life threatening inflammation of an organ that helps to digest food. It can be triggered in pets by eating large quantities of rich food such as turkey carcasses, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and gravy. Most, but not all, animals with pancreatitis survive if they receive treatment.
And don’t forget that turkeys have bones. Those bones have the potential to lodge in the intestines, creating a life-threatening surgical emergency. Thanksgiving weekend is no doubt a busy one for on-call surgeons.
Have a great Thanksgiving! But put the leftovers in the fridge before you adjourn to the sofa.
Photo: Buster dreams of Turkey. He’s not getting any.
Or is he?
You have questions. 
Wise words, indeed!! Having had a cat who contracted pancreatitis, I can attest that it’s a challenging malady and best avoided, if possible.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pancreatitis Friday and the day after Christmas are our two of our busiest times of the year. Everyone needs bloodwork and almost always hospitalization and IV fluids, along with other injectable medications, since the GI tract is too inflammed to handle oral meds for several days. There’s vomit and diarrhea everywhere. Glad I’m off tomorrow and Saturday!!!
[...] Want to Avoid a Trip to the Vet on Black Friday? Guard Your Leftovers! [...]
Thanks for posting this great information. I’ll be sure to pass it on!
And pancreatitis is something you do not want your pet to get..Keep human food away from them..and In turn, Stay out of your dogs food… ;)
Furrget leftovers! Last Thanksgiving, when my Mom’s back was turned, Snoopy ran off with the entire un-cooked bird!!! Thankfully he didn’t get far…