For much of the country, the temps are dangerously low – and that’s true for our pets as well as for ourselves. Just as we take extra precautions to keep ourselves safe and warm, it’s important to do so for our pets as well. Here are a few tips on winter safety for dogs and cats…
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| Paw in the snow, courtesy of Purr Photography |
Put your coat on, Lady!
Yes they wear a fur coat. But pets who live indoors have not grown a coat that will sufficiently keep them warm in those suddenly-frigid temps on the other side of the door. The smaller the dog, the more urgent the need for protection. Dress your dog in a coat or sweater, choosing function over form. Now is not the time to be concerned about how cute your dog looks – they’re relying on you to ensure they’ll keep warm and healthy, just as children count on their parents.
Boots
Some pet guardians find booties to be of great use for their dogs. Others find their dogs will have nothing of the sort on their paws. This is optional, and can help protect your pet’s paws from ice, snow-encrusted paws, and the dangerous snow-melting salt that may be found on some sidewalks and most streets this time of year.
Ease up the routine
When it’s excessively cold out, limit the time outdoors. A short walk, a few minutes in the yard – just enough to get a breath of fresh air, the satisfaction of getting out of the house, and enough time to take care of business is all that is needed. Limit exercise outdoors as well; just as our lungs find it more difficult to operate at maximum efficiency in cold, dry air – so, too, do dogs find it more difficult to breathe well.
Check and Clean Paws
After a walk outside, it’s important to check their paws. Often, snow will ball up between their toes, and you’ll want to remove that. Also, it helps to clean their paws, since chances are great they walked on surfaces that had remnants of the standard ice-melting salt, which is harmful to their skin.
Pet-Safe Ice Melt
Most ice melt products contain salt, a corrosive and harmful substance to dogs’ paws. If you wish to use it on your property, be sure to purchase one that is pet-safe/salt-free. You’ll be doing a great favor to both the pets walking across your walk or drive as well as the environment.
Danger: Antifreeze and Coolant Spills
The ethylene glycol in antifreeze and engine coolant is a highly toxic substance that, when ingested even in small amounts, can kill. Antifreeze is attractive to animals, thanks to its sweet smell and taste. It is estimated that anywhere from 10,000 to 90,000 animals die each year because of this. This fatal attraction has been a concern for a long time, with some states having passed laws mandating antifreeze and coolant include a bittering agent, to make it less attractive. Our own state of Illinois is one that has such a law.
As of December, 2012, the Humane Society Legislative fund and the Consumer Specialty Products Association announced an agreement to add a bittering agent to all antifreeze and coolant sold in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Although this is great news, and should save many lives, it’s still important to clean up any spills, and lead your dog away from any puddles that may contain antifreeze. And the best way to clean up spills? Using an old rag or paper towel may work, but so does pouring cat litter over the spill to absorb the liquid. You can then sweep the litter up and into an appropriate trash receptacle.
Cats
If you have an indoor/outdoor cat, you may think your cat really wants to go out, but that certainly doesn’t mean you have to let him. In dangerously cold weather, cats that are not fully accustomed to such temperatures can freeze too quickly. Frostbite injuries are not uncommon in cats exposed to extreme elements. Snow or even moisture from their eyes can freeze on their fur or lashes, limiting their field of vision, further endangering them. Keep them in if you can.
For both household and feral cats, any bowls of water or wet food placed outdoors will freeze extremely quickly in low temperatures. Replacing the bowls frequently, or using a water bowl heater, will ensure the cats continue to get the liquids they vitally require. Petfinder provides some additional ideas to keep water from freezing.
If you have feral cats that live in your neighborhood, you can provide shelter for them from the extreme elements – you’ll find some great ideas on how to set up a safe haven for them here at Alley Cat Allies Shelter Options.
Knock and honk before driving.
Cats (and other outdoor animals) might have found shelter from the wind and cold (and a warm engine) under the hood of your car. Before you start your car, knock on the hood and/or honk your horn. Give them a chance to be alerted, and to escape, before they are possibly injured.
Finally, If you notice a residence where the dog has been chained outdoors for hours, don’t hesitate to contact the local animal control. It’s important to speak up for the dogs, since they can’t. Follow the tips above for winter safety. Take good care of your own pets, help the ferals survive these extremes of Mother Nature, and we’ll all get through the winter a little safer, warmer, and healthier.
Great and important tips!
Great info! Pay attention humans!!!
All of these are great suggestions for everyone’s animals. Personally, I’m glad my animals are strictly indoor. Between the warmth of our place, the attention, the toys, the food and their blankets- they got it pretty well made. Now when I see a cat, in these frigid single digit temps, it usually runs away before I can catch it. There was one time when I was able to lure a cat inside the bottom of a stairwell of our apartment complex. At least it was a lot warmer than it was. I was about to get it some food but a neighbor, down below, let the cat back out into the cold while he was obviously, in a hurry, to get somewhere. I went downstairs again and the cat was gone. It’s sad to see these neighborhood cats that may or may not have homes with families that love them enough to keep them safe and warm. I think even if you find a cat or dog , freezing outside, you should do something to help it stay alive. Seeing a dead, frozen dog or cat, in the lethal outside cold is disturbing and unreasonable.
So far, our guys never got cold, other than for their feet when the weather is REALLY cold, particularly with extreme windchill (-30 windchill type of thing). We got “Invisible Boots” for their feet.
The only time we put a coat on Jasmine was after her surgeries, when she had just about a whole half of her body shaved off for surgeries.
Our guys thrive in cold weather, and actually, while it doesn’t look it, have enormously thick undercoats. The only time you can really tell how thick it really is, is when a part is shaved off for surgery or treatment. That is some thick undercoat!