Pete the Vet: The facts about feeding your pets Christmas leftovers and treats

"Chocolate is the first one: if a pet eats more than one square of plain, or two squares of milk chocolate per 5kg body weight, they’re at serious risk of heart arrhythmias that can be fatal."

Think twice before giving your furry family member that bit off your dinner plate!

‘Tis the season of leftovers! In the days between Christmas and New Year, many of us have fridges that are full of the uneaten surplus of food that we prepared for our seasonal feasting. Often there’s simply too much for the humans in the household to consume, and it’s very easy to turn to the furry members of the household for help. It’s perhaps no surprise that the most common reason for visits to the vet at this time of year for pets who have succumbed to gastroenteritis, often caused by overeating of rich seasonal foodstuffs.

So what should pet owners do? Is it possible to safely combine the surpluses of the moment with generous indulgence to our much-loved pets? Or is it safest just to take a stern line: no human goodies for animals?