Christmas Pet Safety - Foods, Plants and Decorations to Watch
This page is not veterinary advice. Paw Multiverse is not a veterinary practice. There are no doses, no home remedies and no treatment steps here, on purpose. If your pet has eaten something it should not have, ring your vet, an emergency vet or your national animal poison line now and let them decide. Full disclaimer.
Christmas changes a house for a few weeks: rich food on low tables, chocolate under the tree, flowers in vases, string and tinsel everywhere, and visitors who do not know the rules. Emergency vets feel it. Vets Now, which runs out-of-hours clinics in the UK, reported a 79% rise in its caseload over Christmas 2022, including 958 dogs that had eaten chocolate and 667 that had eaten mince pies. This page puts the common risks in one place, with a plan for the day and links to the pages that explain each one properly.
On this page (6 sections)
On the table
Mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake
These are full of dried fruit: raisins, currants and sultanas. PDSA warns that grapes and their dried forms can poison dogs and may lead to kidney failure, and that it is impossible to know in advance whether a dog will be badly affected. The ASPCA names kidney damage as the main concern. If your dog has eaten any, phone your vet now; can dogs eat grapes and the grape and raisin checker explain why. Detail: can dogs eat mince pies and can dogs eat Christmas pudding.
Chocolate
Chocolate gifts sit under the tree at nose height for days. The ASPCA says the darker the chocolate, the greater the risk, with baking chocolate and cocoa powder the most concentrated. A Veterinary Poisons Information Service article in Vet Times reports that around one in five chocolate cases reported to the service happen in December. PDSA advises avoiding chocolate tree decorations altogether in homes with pets. See can dogs eat chocolate, can cats eat chocolate and the chocolate toxicity calculator.
Sugar-free sweets and baking
Xylitol, also sold as birch sugar, is toxic to dogs, according to the US FDA, and turns up in sugar-free sweets, mints, gum, baking and some nut butters. Pet Poison Helpline says it can cause life-threatening low blood sugar and liver failure in dogs. The xylitol page lists where it hides.
Stuffing, gravy and the onion family
Onions, garlic, leeks and chives harm both cats and dogs, and the ASPCA notes that cats are more susceptible. Stuffing and gravy usually contain them. The VPIS article in Vet Times notes that the resulting anaemia can take one to five days to show, so a pet that seems fine the same evening is not in the clear. More on can dogs eat onions, can cats eat onions and the onion and garlic page. Detail: can dogs eat stuffing.
Turkey bones and fatty leftovers
The US FDA advises against giving a dog turkey or chicken bones because they are too brittle, and the ASPCA warns that bones can injure or block the gut. The ASPCA also lists fatty foods among holiday dangers, and PDSA names recently eating high-fat food as a trigger for pancreatitis in dogs. Plain cooked turkey meat is covered on can dogs eat turkey; the skin, the bones and the carcass in the bin are the problem. For cats, see can cats eat turkey; plain vegetables are covered in Brussels sprouts and cranberries.
Alcohol and nuts
Pet Poison Helpline warns that alcohol can cause a dangerous drop in a pet's blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature, and glasses left on a low table are easy to reach. The ASPCA lists macadamia nuts as harmful to dogs, causing weakness, vomiting, tremors and overheating. See can dogs eat macadamia nuts.
Plants, the tree and decorations
Lilies in bouquets. International Cat Care states that all parts of the lily are toxic to cats, and that licking pollen off the coat or drinking water from the vase can be enough to cause kidney failure. Christmas flowers often include them. If a cat lives in the house, leave lilies out of it; are lilies poisonous to cats explains why.
Poinsettia, mistletoe and holly. Pet Poison Helpline describes poinsettias as only mildly dangerous, usually causing mouth or stomach irritation (more on poinsettias). The ASPCA says mistletoe and holly can cause stomach upset and heart and circulation problems if eaten, and Pet Poison Helpline adds that holly's spiny leaves can damage the gut.
The tree. PDSA says pine needles are not toxic but can irritate the mouth, stomach or eyes, and advises not adding chemicals, fertilisers or preservatives to the tree water. The ASPCA advises securing the tree so it cannot tip over, covering the water, and keeping cables out of reach, because a chewed wire can deliver a potentially lethal electric shock.
Tinsel, ribbon and string. Pet Poison Helpline notes that tinsel is not poisonous but can cause a severe linear foreign body. VCA Animal Hospitals explains that swallowed ribbon, string or tinsel can tangle in the intestines. Cats find all three hard to resist.
Batteries, glass and salt dough. The ASPCA warns that a punctured battery can burn the mouth and oesophagus, that broken glass ornaments can damage the mouth and digestive tract, and that salt dough ornaments can cause life-threatening electrolyte imbalances. New toys and gadgets bring button batteries into the house on the day itself.
The rest of the house
Antifreeze and snow globes. Antifreeze tastes sweet and is highly toxic; the MSD (Merck) Veterinary Manual notes that dogs and cats are the animals most often affected and that the outcome worsens the longer treatment is delayed. The ASPCA points out that some snow globes contain ethylene glycol, the same chemical. Wipe up drips on drives and garage floors.
Visitors, doors and noise. Guests who feed pets from their plates, doors that open all day, and fireworks at New Year all add risk. Ask visitors not to feed your pets, and give your pet a quiet room. If a pet gets out, the lost pet poster builds a printable poster in a minute.
A plan for the day
- Keep chocolate gifts, mince pies and Christmas cake off low tables and out from under the tree until they are opened and put away.
- Tell everyone in the house, children and guests included, that no food goes to the dog or cat from the table.
- Strip the turkey into a closed container and put the carcass and bones in a bin your pet cannot open or tip.
- Leave lilies out of the house if you have a cat, and secure the tree, its water and its cables.
- Keep ribbon, tinsel, wrapping and new batteries off the floor while presents are being opened.
- Give your pet a quiet room with water and a bed for the busiest hours, and check that the collar tag and microchip show your current number.
- Before the day, save your vet's number, the nearest out-of-hours clinic and your animal poison line in your phone. Many clinics change their hours over the holidays. The vet call card keeps your pet's details ready.
If your pet got into something
Phone first, read later. Your vet, an emergency vet or your national animal poison line can judge the risk from what was eaten, how much, and how big your pet is. You cannot judge it from how your pet looks right now, and several of these risks take hours or days to show. Keep the wrapper, packet or label. Before you call the vet lists what the clinic will ask, and my dog ate something and my cat ate something walk through the next few minutes. To find a clinic open now, use find an emergency vet. The animal poison line directory lists who takes animal calls in your country, including which national poison centres do not.
Bought a new bag of food or treats for the holidays? Check its barcode against the recall record.
Where these facts come from
Each fact above is taken from the organisation named beside it. Read on 4 November 2026.
- Vets Now, Christmas hub (archived copy; the page has since moved) (Christmas 2022 caseload, chocolate and mince pie cases).
- PDSA, Grapes, raisins and sultana poisoning in dogs; Dangerous Christmas decorations; Pancreatitis in dogs.
- ASPCA, People foods to avoid feeding your pets; Holiday safety tips; Ten holiday hazards (snow globes).
- Vet Times, Seasonal pet poisonings, by the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (November 2024).
- US FDA, Paws off xylitol; FDA consumer update on bones and bone treats (2022, archived copy).
- Pet Poison Helpline, Holiday pet poison myths debunked; Keep pets safe this holiday season.
- International Cat Care, Lily toxicity.
- VCA Animal Hospitals, Holiday safety tips for cat owners.
- MSD (Merck) Veterinary Manual, pet owner version, Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) poisoning.
Found something out of date? Tell us and we will check it against the source.
