Scallop

A little thoroughly cooked scallop meat is usually fine for cats, but raw shellfish carries the same bacterial and biotoxin risks and self-harvested ones should never be fed; shellfish are a common allergen, and butter or garlic versions are too salty.

Vomiting, diarrhoea, reduced appetite, lethargy; drooling, an unsteady gait or muscle weakness suggests shellfish toxin poisoning and needs urgent care.

Contact a vet immediately for persistent vomiting, diarrhoea or lethargy, especially with drooling or an unsteady gait, and never induce vomiting at home.

At most a rare, nail-sized piece, always thoroughly cooked, shelled and trimmed of the tough adductor muscle; do not use scallop cooking liquid to flavour cat food, and never feed seasoned scallops.

Raw or undercooked scallops can carry Vibrio, norovirus and other pathogens and concentrate algal biotoxins, a risk for pets as for people, and self-harvested shellfish are even less predictable; garlic butter or noodle cooking adds salt, oil and Allium risks.

Vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, poor appetite, lethargy; shellfish toxin poisoning can bring drooling, an unsteady gait, muscle weakness and laboured breathing, which is an emergency.

Contact a vet immediately if persistent vomiting, diarrhoea or lethargy follows feeding, especially with drooling, an unsteady gait or weakness; never induce vomiting at home.

Feed only a small piece of thoroughly cooked, shelled meat (one piece for a small dog); shellfish are a common allergen, so start smaller and watch for 24 hours, and never feed scallops cooked with garlic butter, noodles or any seasoning.