Pets face festive food dangers

RISK Christmas food HALF of pet owners will give their cats or dogs Christmas dinner leftovers that could cause deadly poisoning, a poll found.

The onion in the stuffing can damage cats and dogs’ red blood cells and lead to diarrhoea and vomiting, while alcohol in the Christmas pudding can trigger cardiac arrest and the dried fruit can cause kidney damage.

But in the Direct Line poll, 12% admitted giving pets alcohol and 17% gave them dried fruit.

One expert said: “Treats could have serious consequences.”