Avoiding fruits that are dangerous to your pet

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Although fruit is good for humans, there are fruits that you should avoid feeding to your pet. While you may think that feeding fruit to your pet is a healthy choice, it can actually do more harm to your pet than good. Here are a few of the fruits you should strictly avoid feeding your beloved pet.

Apples, Cherries, Plums, Peaches and Apricots

Apples, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots are all great additions to a balanced human diet, but each of these types of fruit can be quite dangerous to your pet. In fact, if your pet eats a large amount of any of these fruit, it can be toxic to its body. It is not just the fruit that is toxic, however, as the seeds, stems and leaves are also dangerous to your furry friend. This is because all of these parts of the fruit and its plant contain a type of cyanide. If your pet ingests any of these fruit, you should contact your veterinarian right away. Signs of poisoning from these fruits include:

• Apprehension
• Breathing Difficulty
• Dilated Pupils
• Hyperventilation
• Shock

Avocados

Avocados can be used to make a tasty dip that humans enjoy, but resist the temptation to share this treat with your pet. Not only is the fruit potentially fatal to your pet, so is the bark, leaves and seeds. If your pet has ingested avocados, signs to look for include:

• Breathing Difficulty
• Enlarged Abdomen
• Fluid Accumulation in the Chest
• Fluid Accumulation in the Abdomen
• Fluid Accumulation in a Sac Around the Heart

No one is certain how much of the fruit and / or its plant parts needs to be ingested before these signs develop. Therefore, it is important to avoid feeding any part of the avocado plant to your pet.

Grapes and Raisins

Eating grapes and raisins can be fatal to dogs. In fact, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has reported 10 confirmed canine deaths resulting from eating grapes or raisins. The amount of grapes or raisins consumed ranged from just 9 ounces to 2 pounds. In addition, many dogs eating grapes or raisins have suffered from kidney failure, which requires aggressive treatment to save the animal's life. Experts are uncertain as to why raisins and grapes have this effect on dogs and are uncertain of how much it takes to have harmful effects. Therefore, if your dog eats any amount of raisins, you should contact your veterinarian right away so treatment may begin as soon as possible.

When feeding your pet foods other than dog food, be extremely careful about the foods you choose to feed. While most foods may seem perfectly harmless - or possibly even healthy for your pet - it is possible that you could make your pet quite ill without realizing it. In addition some animals are opportunistic and will search through the garbage looking for anything edible. If you have such a pet it’s important that you eliminate the opportunity for them to rummage through your trash.