Healthy pet treats can be found in local stores or in your own kitchen

Holiday treats are a great way to celebrate the season, and there's nothing like giving your furry friends a taste of holiday cheer.

Stacy Busch-Heisserer of Busch Pet Products in Cape Girardeau has some recommendations for making sure your pets are kept healthy and safe this season.

"With the holidays coming up, I think a lot of people are looking for ways to keep their pets occupied and happy," she says. "If you keep a few basics in mind, this is pretty easy to pull off."

Busch-Heisserer says her store offers a wide variety of treats for cats and dogs.

"A lot of people are looking for ways to keep their pets from begging at the table," she says. "Having company over, lots of activity the pet might not be used to, that can be stressful. So I suggest getting a chew for your dog -- I recommend antlers. Deer, moose or elk are durable, they won't splinter or injure your pet, and as long as you have a size-appropriate one, you shouldn't have any problems."

Santa holding a puppy

She says an important thing to keep in mind, too, is that pet treats don't necessarily need to be elaborate.

"Absolutely, picking up a store-bought treat is a great idea," she says, "but really, animals can have a lot of the same foods we do. Just be sure you aren't giving them any fat or bones from dishes you're cooking. Bread isn't a good idea, either. Chocolate is a definite no-no. But I am really in favor of jerky or freeze-dried meat, or making your own treats at home."

There are many recipes online, and she recommends "the simpler the better." She tries to stay grain-free to ease digestion, but even recipes that use wheat flour can substitute coconut flour, for example.

"A really great treat for a cat or dog, either one, is to take small amounts of pumpkin -- real pumpkin, not the pie filling -- and freeze them on a cookie sheet. That way, they can be unfrozen later, and the pumpkin used in another recipe if you need it. The pumpkin is good for animals' digestion."

She also says banana slices freeze well.

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"Sweet potato is really popular in treats, and I know if you just freeze thin slices of it, that works out well for dogs," she adds. "Smaller slices go great for cats."

It's best to stay away from processed foods like jellied cranberry sauce, but actual cranberries are fine.

"Sugar isn't great for pets. Cats can't really taste sweets anyway, and it's just a better idea to stick with fresh foods that haven't had a lot of stuff added," Busch-Heisserer says.

Barb Frolker of Mississippi Mutts in Cape Girardeau offers a wide variety of holiday treats for dogs.

"We have homemade biscuits, and hundreds of decorated cookies," she says. "Our more popular designs have been snowflakes, Christmas trees, snowmen and our snow globes. We use yogurt chips for decorations instead of icing. We don't add sugar or fats to any of our treats. We use unsweetened applesauce as the binding agent. And we don't use wheat, corn, or soy, either."

Frolker says they also offer specially made doggie pies and parfaits, so while the people are feasting, the dogs can, too.

"Just keep them away from chocolate," she says. "Raisins and onions are very toxic to dogs, too. Even onion powder is bad news."

Aside from those concerns, she says, it's fine to give dogs frozen banana slices or fresh blueberries.

"Just keep people food on the table where it belongs," she says, "and it'll be better all around."