Thanksgiving for Pets: Tips to Keep your Pets Well-Fed and Safe

Thanksgiving is a time for feasting with your family — both humans and your furrier family members! For those of you celebrating the holidays with pets, it’s tempting to include them in the holiday celebrations and feed them scraps from your Thanksgiving meal.

However, many of the foods you and your family will enjoy around the dinner table can be unsafe for pets to consume.

The best option to keeping your pets well-fed, safe and happy over Thanksgiving is to feed them pet-specific foods from your local pet or grocery store. On Instacart, you can instantly shop tons of options that are safe for pets and Thanksgiving themed, like Blue Buffalo Thanksgiving Feast Dog Food, Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner Canned Cat Food, or Prairie Nature Turkey Chewies Dog Treats.

However, if you’re keen on feeding your pets some real food from the Thanksgiving table, make sure to read the following do’s and don’ts of what to feed your pets!

DO feed your pets:

• Small nibbles of white meat turkey. Stay away from feeding them pieces with skin, bones or undercooked meat.
• Bites of fresh, raw veggies like carrot, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes or pumpkin.
• Apples (any part but the core) are a crunchy treat for pups!

DON’T feed your pets:

• Sage
• Nutmeg
• Onions and garlic
• Grapes and raisins
• Raw bread dough
• Anything with low-calorie sweetners
• Chocolate
• Anything with high levels of sodium, like mashed potatoes

Remember, the best way to keep your pets safe this holiday season is to keep everything in moderation, and not to deviate too far away from their normal diet! When in doubt, it’s best to opt out of feeding your pets table scraps, and give them pet food or treats instead.