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Brrrrr!
When winter strikes, your pets feel the same harsh winds, snow, and freezing temperatures
as you do. So, like you, they need extra protection.
While cats should be kept indoors all year round, those cats still encouraged to go
outside in winter can easily get frost-bitten ears or freeze altogether. Left on
their own to find warmth, many cats crawl into car engines, where they get hurt or
killed when it starts.
Dogs should be kept inside too. However, if your dog enjoys spending some time
outdoors, be sure she has access to a dry, draft-free shelter with enough room to
stand up and turn around in, yet small enough to retain her body heat. Raise the
floor a few inches off the damp ground, and put in a layer of cedar chips or straw
for the added warmth your dog needs.
If you put your pets in the garage or basement, move all toxic substances well out
of their reach. Also, clean up any antifreeze from the floor. Dogs and cats love
the sweet taste, but just one little lick can be lethal.
During severe weather, only let your pet out to relieve himself.
And whenever you bring your pets in from being on snowy or icy roads or walkways,
check their paws for salt or other deicing chemicals. You can protect their paws
by putting vaseline on them before they go out, then wiping their paws off when they
come back into the house.
Remember, your pet is part of the family and the best way to make her feel that way and
protect her from the cold too is to keep her inside with you.
Winterizing Your Pet
When the temperature (and the snow) begins to fall, you'll find that your pet needs a
little extra care from you. Here are some points to remember this winter.
Cats and dogs need protection from wet and cold, whether they get it inside your house
or inside their own. Cats are best kept inside when it gets cold, as are most small
and short-haired dogs. An outdoor dog needs a dry, elevated dog house with clean,
dry bedding and a flap over the opening to keep drafts out. Or consider adding a
dog door to the garage with a soft cushion in the warmest corner.
A bowl of frozen water can't help a thirsty pet. Check outdoor water bowls often when
it's below freezing, and break the ice or refill with water as necessary.
Outdoor dogs need more calories in the winter to produce body heat, so increase the
amount you feed your pet. On the other hand, indoor dogs and cats may get less exercise
in the cold months, and will need fewer calories to avoid weight gain.
Chemicals used to melt snow on sidewalks can irritate pets' paws, so you may need to wipe
them with a wet cloth after an outing. Dogs outside in the snow may need the ice between
their paw pads removed.
Antifreeze tastes good to pets, but it is a deadly poison. The most likely source of the
poison is radiator drainage spots in your garage, which should be flushed with water immediately.
A cat may crawl up under your car seeking shelter and warmth near the engine. It may get caught
in the fan and seriously injured when the engine starts. Open the hood of your car or slap it
noisily with your hand before starting the engine on cold days to startle any animal sleeping
there.
Thanksgiving Threats
Your fabulous feast lay before you on that most food-oriented holiday of all—Thanksgiving! And
those beseeching, soulful eyes of your pet look at you with adoration and hunger. Can you refuse?
Yes! Sometimes generosity can lead to injury.
Here's some things to be careful of during the Thanksgiving holidays.
- Too much fatty, rich, or even just new types of foods can give your pet
pancreatitis or gastroenteritis. Both can be very painful or become quite
serious, so go easy on the tidbits.
- Bones can tear up or obstruct your pets' innards.
- And that tasty string often used to tie up the turkey during roasting can tie
up your pets' insides too (as can the bag your turkey came in or the little red "popper").
- Onions, often abundantly found in stuffing, destroy a dog's red blood cells, leading to anemia.
- Too much chocolate, especially baking chocolate, can actually kill your dog, so keep
it all well out of reach.
To show your pet how thankful you are to have them as a part of your family, give
them a feast of their own--perhaps a treat of canned pet food, a catnip treat, a special
chewy, or a few tablespoons of peanut butter stuffed in a favorite 'tube' toy (at least a
half hour of entertainment). And when those eager eyes look at the loaded dining-room table,
remember that your feast is not fit for your pet... and then give thanks for your pets'
healthy appetite!
Witches, Bats, and Scaredy Cats
Halloween is one of the best holidays for kids, but it can be hard on pets if you don't
take some precautions.
The best way to keep your pet safe is to keep it at home. Wandering pets can be spooked
by noisy groups of small ghouls and goblins, and might end up running too far from home
to find their way back.
Keep pets confined away from the door. You may open the door many times during Halloween
evening, providing tempting opportunities for Fido or Fluffy to slip through your legs
and outside, unescorted. Pets are calmer, too, if kept away from the door. Dogs, in
particular, may resent the endless intrusions of strangers into their territory and become
very anxious, which could lead to growling at the children, or worse.
If you have a black cat, you have a special problem. The mythology about black cats
being related to witches can lead strange people to do strange things to them. Even
kids who mean no harm may yell when they see a black cat, scaring the cat much more
than the cat is scaring them.
If you find yourself with a house full of candy on Halloween, don't feel you must
share it with your pet. Be particularly careful about letting dogs chow down on
chocolate. Chocolate contains a stimulant called theobromine which can make dogs
very ill, and could even cause death if consumed in enough quantity. If you want
to treat the pets, stock up on dog biscuits or catnip toys-treats with no tricks
attached.
'Tis the Season
It's a wonderful time of year for people. The visits from friends and family, decorating the
tree, the last minute shopping, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays in general combine to
get everyone in the holiday spirit. It is, after all, the season to be merry!
But to a small puppy or kitten arriving in a household during the holidays, the
excitement and cheer will be strange and frightening. Away from its litter mates for
the first time, surrounded by strangers, noise and constant activity, a young animal
could become quite confused and scared.
The holidays are simply not a good time to give an animal as a gift. In the midst of all
the excitement, the many needs of a puppy or kitten could be neglected. It is best to give a
gift certificate for a pet, promising that an animal will become a new member of the family
when things quiet down and the animal has the best chance of adapting to its new surroundings
in an atmosphere of calm, loving attention.
No Table Scraps Please!
Resist the urge to clear the dinner plate into your pet's food dish. The meal you cooked may be
nutritionally sound for you and your family, but not for your family pet. They don't need a
variety of foods to maintain good health. In fact, feeding pets different foods usually leads
to a stomachache. In fact, some foods, like chocolate, can actually be fatal. Or foods that
we think pets need—like cats needing milk—can cause upset stomachs. Bones, too, are very
dangerous as they can lodge in passageways or cut the intestines.
So provide your pets with a consistent diet of name-brand pet food, and keep some
dog biscuits or cat treats on hand for when you want to reward the with a special morsel.
Growing a Kitty Garden
Do your houseplants look as if someone took a lawn mower to one side? Or do they have
little puncture wounds on their leaves? Then chances are you have a cat.
Cats may chew on plants as a form of entertainment, but chewing on plants can be dangerous.
There are hundreds of plants that can produce toxic reactions in your feline.
A safe alternative is to grow an indoor mini-lawn for your cats to nibble on. While outside
grass can be loaded with deadly fertilizers and pesticides, and indoor mini-lawn provides
your cat with a safe, edible source of greenery. Special feline gardens are available
commercially or you can start your own kitty garden using a bowl, soil, and some grass seed.
You can grow catnip, too, but monitor how much your cat chews. While catnip isn't generally
toxic to cats, too much of the fresh plant can overstimulate the central nervous system and
may cause a cat to actually injure herself.
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