Winterizing Your Pet

 

When the temperature begins to fall, pets will need a little extra care. The Oregon Humane Society offers these tips to keep pets safe and healthy during the cold snap. If the weather becomes too severe, please bring all pets indoors. OHS also urges you to remember the wildlife by putting out easy to reach food and keeping fresh, thawed water available for them.

 

Pets are Best Kept Inside

• Bring pets indoors when temperature reaches 30 degrees with or without the wind-chill.
• Dogs and cats can get frost bitten ears, nose, and feet if left outside.
• Chemicals used to melt snow on sidewalks can irritate pets' paws.
• Indoor pets get less exercise in the cold months, so feed them less.

 

If Your Pet Must be Kept Outside

• An outdoor dog needs a dry, elevated house with clean, dry bedding and a flap over the opening to keep drafts out.
• Consider adding a dog door to the garage with a soft cushion in the warmest corner.
• Make sure water bowls are not frozen. Check periodically throughout the day.
• Use plastic food and water bowls rather than metal; when the temperature is low, your pet's tongue can stick and freeze to metal.
• Give outdoor pets more food. Outdoor dogs and cats need more calories in the winter to produce body heat, so increase the amount fed to these pets.

For Both Indoor and Outdoor Pets

• Make sure a cat hasn't crawled under a car seeking shelter and warmth near the engine. Open the car hood or slap it noisily before starting the engine to startle any animal sleeping there.
• Wipe pets' paws when they come back into the house because he can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.
• Keep your dog on a leash and under your control during walks in the winter weather especially during a snowstorm - dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.
• Try using "pet friendly" antifreeze products and thoroughly cleaning up any spills.
• Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, causing the animal to freeze to death.
• Keep the local emergency veterinarian's or family veterinarian's telephone number handy.