From giving your dog a bone, to feeding a bowl of milk to your cat, we round up some of the surprising feeding habits that could have dangerous consequences for your pet

If you’re thinking about giving your pet some of that left over spaghetti bolognaise, make sure you don’t slip in any mushrooms. The fungi contain toxins, which can affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock and even result in death.

Raw meat contains bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to pets as well as humans. Put it this way, you wouldn’t want to eat a piece of raw or under-cooked chicken, so your pet probably doesn't either (it just doesn't know it yet).

Little pieces of fat leftover from your roast meat might seem harmless for your pet, but eaten in large portions they can cause diarrhoea or pancreatitis, which is caused by excessive fat. There is also a risk of salmonella or E. coli associated with these foods.

Your cats might love fish, but put the canned tuna away. When tuna is made into cat food, it’s perfectly fine for your feline friends, but the type of tuna sold for humans can cause a painful condition called steatitis, inflammation of body fat or digestive upset.

Don’t worry, you haven’t been feeding your dog the wrong food all of this time. We’re talking here about cats. The occasional bite here and there might not hurt your cat, but dog food really isn’t suitable for them as a long-term option. Although they have some of the same ingredients, cat food is specifically formulated for cats, so dog food is likely to cause them to be seriously malnourished.

Equally, the same applies for cat food. Don’t go feeding this to your dog. They might both be animals, but they certainly don’t have the same digestive systems and they both need different ingredients to feel fully nourished.

Before you pass over some leftover casserole to your pet, think about taking out the onions. Eating too many onions can cause some serious gastrointestinal irritation and could lead to red blood cell damage. Cats are more susceptible to this than dogs, but dogs are also at risk if a large amount is consumed.

Avocado is mainly a problem for birds, rabbits, donkeys, horses, sheep and goats, so try to keep it away from your farm, people. It can contain a toxic principle known as persin, which can cause cardiovascular damage, or even death among birds.

Everybody loves a biscuit, but you’ll be doing your pet no good by feeding them a human biscuit rather than a pet one. All sugary food should be off-limits as it can be incredibly toxic to animals.

It’s true. Your cat may love licking up a little bowl of the good stuff, but it’s actually doing more harm than good. Like most pets, cats don’t possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme which helps to breakdown lactose in milk) so milk and other dairy products are likely to cause them stomach upset.

In small doses, feeding your pets liver is just fine, but eating too much can cause vitamin A toxicity, which is a series condition that can affect your pets’ bones.

While the odd grape here and there won’t hurt your pet, there is an unknown toxic substance within the fruit that can cause kidney failure. Until there is better knowledge of the substance, try to avoid feeding it to your pets, especially dogs.

Macadamia nuts are a big no-no in the pet world, especially for dogs. They can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hypothermia. Signs usually appear within 12 hours and can last as long as 48 hours.

Other nuts, including almonds, pecans, and walnuts, are also a no-go for pets (unless you’ve got a pet squirrel, of course). They contain high amounts of oils and fats, which can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and potentially pancreatitis.

It might be tempting to throw those leftover pizza crusts on the floor for your dog to swipe up, but they come with a long list of things that are bad for our canine buddies, including corn, wheat, soy and white potato.

Like raw meat, raw fish can also contain bacteria that causes food poisoning. Fish such as salmon, can also have a parasite that causes “fish disease”, which has symptoms such as vomiting, fever and big lymph nodes. Make sure you fully cook the fish to avoid the nasty stuff!

Salty snacks have the same effect on pets as they do on humans. They are likely to produce excessive thirst and urination, and in some cases sodium ion poisoning. Other signs that your pet has eaten one too many salty snacks could be diarrhoea, depression and/or increased body temperature.

In the same way that pizza crusts aren’t good for your dogs, bread isn't either. Yeast dough can rise and cause gas to accumulate in your pet’s digestive system. This can cause their stomach to bloat, and in some extreme cases, twist and become a fatal emergency. Even birds shouldn’t really eat bread, but soaked bread is more easy to digest.

A lot of baby foods can contain onion powder, which, much like onions, can be toxic to animals, especially cats, if fed over a long period of time.

Give that doggy a bone… unless it’s cooked. Cooked bones can easily splinter when chewed by dogs and can cause even more serious injuries if the bone splinters and becomes lodged in your pet’s digestive tract. Raw bones are usually fine though; they are also great for your dog’s teeth and nutritional health.

Fruits such as plums, cherries, peaches and nectarines might seem like a nice treat for your pet, but they can be highly dangerous due to the stone. Make sure they don’t swallow the pit to prevent any choking or blockage in the digestive tract.

If you're a dog owner, you've probably witnessed your furry friend tucking into some chocolate at some point in its life. But as tasty as it is, chocolate contains substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds. This is likely to cause hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm and possibly even seizures among pets.