While there are some commercial pet foods, several pet owners love to feed home cooked meals to their furry friends. But remember that some food items that are perfectly safe for human beings can be poisonous to dogs and cats. When you are making decisions about foods for dogs and cats, you should avoid the following food items.

1. Alcohol
If you have a curious pet at home, you should not leave any alcohol spill unattended. Ignorantly licking spilled alcohol from the floor or countertops might end up being a fatal. Ethanol can lead to serious complications in animals and can even send some pets to coma.

2. Avocados
These are tricky plants to grow in a house with pets. The avocado pit is the most harmful part for dogs, and they can also cause choking. Persin in this fruit is what makes it one of the worst foods for dogs and cats. The fruit and leaves also have small amounts of this ingredient. It would be a better idea to ensure that your pet does not munch on avocado leaves lying beneath the tree.

3. Hops
If you have the habit of brewing fresh beer at home, you might perhaps have hops stocked up. You should be really careful to ensure that your pet does not ingest it. The problem starts almost immediately as the pet’s body temperature increases quickly.

4. Onions
It would be a great idea to keep your pet off the countertop while you are prepping your veggies for lunch. Onions can be bad for dogs both when consumed as a whole or even in the form of onion powder.

5. Coffee
Caffeine in general can be bad for dogs. Whether it is from your morning coffee or from a chocolate, you should never give your dog anything that contains caffeine.

6. Gum
Remember to dispose of gum properly. Most chewing gums contain xylitol, an ingredient that is lethal to dogs.

7. Macadamia nuts
These might be healthy and tasty snacking options for the young and old. But if your pet has the habit of taking a bite off your snack, make sure that you do not feed it macadamia nuts. Dogs consuming this might slowly show signs of exhaustion and then develop a fever and other symptoms. Even if the dog only took a small nibble, it can lead to some serious consequences in most cases.

8. Grapes
Even during the hottest summer months, curb your temptation to feed your dog some cold and refreshing grapes. Both fresh grapes and raisins are known to be dangerous to dogs. There could be a variety of symptoms including diarrhea.