A Merry & Healthy Christmas: Festive-Season Pet Nutrition Tips for Dogs & Cats

The festive season is a time of celebration, abundant meals, family gatherings, and… far too many opportunities for our pets to sneak a tasty - but not always safe - treat from under the table.

While December brings warmth and joy, it also brings one of the highest spikes in gastrointestinal upsets in dogs and cats. From rich roasts and seasoned sides to sugary desserts and salty snacks, many holiday favourites are unsafe or even dangerous for pets. Ensuring your furry family members stay healthy during the holidays begins with understanding how their nutritional needs differ from ours and how a few simple choices can help prevent Christmas turning into an emergency vet visit.

Why Festive Foods Can Upset Your Pet’s Stomach

Most traditional holiday meals are too rich, fatty, salty, or spicy for pets. Foods like gammon, duck and turkey skin, gravies, roast trimmings, bones, and Christmas puddings can cause vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, choking hazards, or even toxicity. Even something as innocent as a small piece of cheese or buttery potato can trigger digestive distress in a pet with a sensitive stomach.

Cats and dogs thrive on balanced, species-appropriate diets. Sudden changes - especially to high-fat or highly seasoned foods - disrupt gut bacteria and digestive enzymes, leading to gastrointestinal irritation. Older pets, those with existing GI issues, or pets with food intolerances are even more vulnerable during this time.

Safe Festive Feeding: How to Include Your Pets in the Celebration

You don’t need to exclude your pets from Christmas celebrations - simply include them safely. Instead of sharing human leftovers, consider:

• Lean, unseasoned cooked meats (no bones, no skin).

• Plain steamed vegetables like pumpkin, butternut, green beans, or carrots.

• A spoonful of pet-friendly broth or topper.

• A festive-themed enrichment toy filled with their usual diet or healthy treats.

Enrichment during the holidays is especially beneficial as pets can become overstimulated by visitors, noise, or routine changes. LickiMats, slow feeders, and filled chew toys provide calming sensory engagement that supports digestion, mental wellness, and boredom reduction.

Holiday Hazards to Avoid

To keep your pets safe this Christmas, steer clear of:

• Chocolate, xylitol, raisins, grapes, and Christmas pudding

• Cooked bones (these splinter easily)

• Onion, commercial garlic, leeks, chives, stuffing

• Excess fats, gravies, cured meats, and salty snacks

• Alcohol and caffeine

• Leftovers sitting out for extended periods

If your pet accidentally ingests any of these, contact your vet or emergency clinic immediately.

Stock Up on Healthy Festive Treats – and Save!

From 8 to 12 December 2025, we are running an exclusive up to 50% off Christmas Special on a wide selection of healthy, gut-friendly dog treats and enrichment essentials. This includes beloved brands like Craving Nature, Cuthberts, functional toppers such as Badoodoo Big Stretch Bone Broth, and even LickiMat enrichment toys - perfect for both dogs and cats. These carefully selected products help keep tummies happy, support digestion, provide natural chewing satisfaction, and offer safe ways to spoil your pets during the holidays.

By choosing wholesome, nutritionist approved treats instead of table scraps, you significantly reduce the risk of gastrointestinal upsets and ensure your furry companions enjoy the festive season as much as you do.

Shop here to stock up on healthy, safe treats and toppers (and maybe a new enrichment toy) for your dogs and cats - Christmas Special - only while stocks last!

Final Thoughts: A Joyful, Balanced Christmas for All

With a little awareness and preparation, the festive season can be magical for pets and pet parents alike. By sticking to pet-friendly foods, avoiding holiday hazards, and offering safe, nutritious treats and enrichment toys, you’ll be supporting your pet’s wellness through one of the busiest - and most tempting - times of the year.

Healthy choices lead to happy holidays. Here’s to a Christmas season filled with love, laughter, wagging tails, and purring contentment.