Thanksgiving Pet Safety: The Dinner Table, Food by Food
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.
Thanksgiving puts a whole dinner at nose height for an afternoon: a carcass on the counter, gravy on the hob, pies cooling by the window and guests who do not know the house rules. The ASPCA’s advice for the day starts simply: keep pets on their normal diet, and if you want to share, give a small, plain treat of boneless, fully cooked turkey, sweet potato or green beans mixed into their usual dinner. This page takes the rest of the table one dish at a time, with a link to the full page for each. Source: ASPCA, Thanksgiving safety tips.
On this page (6 sections)
On the table
Turkey and the bones
The ASPCA says raw or undercooked turkey may carry salmonella, so only a small bite of boneless, fully cooked meat should be given, and that poultry bones are a major choking hazard. The carcass is the risk most often underestimated: it sits on a counter or in the bin for hours. Detail: can dogs eat turkey and can cats eat turkey.
Stuffing and gravy
PDSA says stuffing and gravy often contain onion, leeks and garlic, which can be deadly to both cats and dogs, and that the onion family stays toxic when cooked or dried. The ASPCA adds that the stock cubes used for gravy are high in sodium, which can cause gastrointestinal problems and even seizures. Detail: can dogs eat stuffing, can dogs eat gravy and onions.
Mashed potatoes
PetMD says plain mashed potato is fine for dogs, but not with garlic, onion, butter or salt, which is how most mash is made. Detail: can dogs eat mashed potatoes.
Sweet potatoes and green beans
These are the vegetables the ASPCA itself suggests as a small, plain treat, before butter, marshmallows or crispy onions go on top. See sweet potato and green beans.
Cranberries
The American Kennel Club says plain cranberries are not inherently toxic to dogs; the danger is what they are mixed with, from raisins in dried mixes to sweetened sauces. Detail: can dogs eat cranberries.
Bread rolls and raw dough
The ASPCA says raw yeast dough can expand in the stomach, and that as it ferments the alcohol it makes is absorbed, so dough rising on the counter is a bigger risk than a baked roll. Raw batter with raw eggs may also carry salmonella. Detail: can dogs eat bread.
Pies and desserts
The AKC says nutmeg contains myristicin, which can cause harmful reactions in dogs; the ASPCA names xylitol in some sugar-free desserts as able to cause low blood sugar, liver damage or death, and lists chocolate’s effects from vomiting to seizures. Detail: can dogs eat pumpkin pie, xylitol and chocolate.
Ham
Ham is not on the toxic lists, but it is heavily salted, fatty, often on a cooked bone and sometimes tied with string. Detail: can dogs eat ham.
Beyond the plate
The bin
The ASPCA points out that kitchen rubbish holds the bones, chocolate and onion scraps of the whole meal. It advises emptying it often or keeping pets out of the room.
Guests’ medicines
The ASPCA says pets eating medication is all too common and can be very dangerous, and asks guests to keep bags and coats out of reach.
Flowers and table decorations
The ASPCA suggests checking holiday plants and arrangements against its list of plants that are toxic to pets. Lilies in a bouquet matter most for cats: are lilies poisonous to cats.
A quiet room
The ASPCA suggests a quiet place, such as a bedroom or blankets on the floor away from the guests, for pets that find a busy house stressful.
A plan for the day
- Keep your pet’s normal food and times. If you share, keep it small and plain.
- Carcass, bones and leftovers go straight into a lidded bin or outside.
- Ask guests to keep bags, coats and medicines off the floor and off low chairs.
- Set up the quiet room before people arrive, with water and a bed.
- Before the day, save your vet’s out-of-hours number and your national poison line in your phone.
If your pet got into something
The ASPCA says to contact your veterinarian or a poison control service straight away if you think a pet has eaten something toxic; in the US that includes ASPCA Animal Poison Control on (888) 426-4435. Outside the US, use the poison control directory or find an emergency vet. My dog ate something and my cat ate something help you gather what the vet will ask.
Where these facts come from
- ASPCA, Thanksgiving safety tips, read 6 November 2026.
- ASPCA, People foods to avoid feeding your pets, read 6 November 2026.
- PDSA, Fatal foods for furry friends this Christmas, read 6 November 2026.
- PDSA, Onion and garlic poisoning in dogs, read 6 November 2026.
- American Kennel Club, Can dogs eat nutmeg? (updated 19 March 2025), read 6 November 2026.
- PetMD, Can dogs eat potatoes? (reviewed by Jennifer Coates, DVM, updated 6 October 2025), read 6 November 2026.
Keep reading
Christmas pet safety covers the next holiday, and the dog food colour chart and the cat food chart cover every food on this site.
