Attention chocolate - Cacao products are as dangerous!
Pets friendly through the Advent season
All pet parents of this world know the feeling when your beloved furry friend stands in front of you with big, expectant eyes, you can hardly resist. But even if we let our little darlings nibble on the sausage or tuna from time to time - one treat remains strictly forbidden: chocolate. Because this sweet seduction can end up dangerously for your pet.
Chocolate poisoning is most common in dogs, as the curious pet simply can't keep their mouth off the sweets. Cats tend to be rather disinterested in human treats, but caution is advised here too! To keep the chocolate inaccessible for your pets, you should use closed cupboards and tins. If you know your dog, you also know that a paper package will not stop your dog from eating the temptingly smelling chocolate.
What happens in the animal's body when it ingests chocolate?
Cocoa beans contain theobromine - an alkaloid that is harmful to animals and in the worst case can even be fatal. If the theobromine enters the bloodstream via food intake, the animal's blood pressure and pulse rate increase. The blood vessels constrict and the nervous system is overstimulated. This results in restlessness, trembling and in the worst case even seizures. It can happen that you don't even notice when your pet has been nibbling from your chocolate supplies. In this case, such symptoms may indicate theobromine poisoning. Vomiting, diarrhoea or increased thirst can also be a warning signal!
By the way: the darker the chocolate, the higher the theobromine content. That does not mean that light chocolate is therefore allowed. Because here too the candy is too fatty and sugary for the sensitive animal stomachs. In the same way, you should keep all other foods containing theobromine strictly away from your pets. These include cookies, cakes or other baked goods to which cocoa powder has been added.
What to do if your pet has already eaten the chocolate?
If the poisoning is not treated, it can be fatal for the cat or dog. So if you know or suspect that your pet has ingested chocolate, you should go to the vet as soon as possible. The vet can artificially induce vomiting to prevent more of the dangerous substance from entering the animal's intestines. This is only possible if the animal ate the chocolate not more than two hours ago. If it is too late for this, activated carbon can remove the theobromine that has already entered the intestinal-liver cycle and allow it to be excreted with the bowel movement.
How much chocolate is actually harmful?
Chocolate can be dangerous even in very small quantities. A small dog of only about 5 kilograms can die from 25 grams of dark chocolate. A large dog can proportionally tolerate much more chocolate before severe symptoms occur. In cats, the lethal dose is between 25 and 50 grams, depending on the size of the cat and theobromine content of the chocolate.
Our tip: If you want to sweeten the Advent season in a healthy way for your four-legged friend, you will certainly find something in our treats for dogs and cats!