Prepare Your Pet for Winter

Make sure you get your dog or cat used to the cold, and make sure you spend as much time outside. For your dog, the cold will trigger the change of hair. It will grow a row of short hair, while the longer one becomes thicker. Even so, both a dog or a cat can easily get hypothermia.

In mild cases, your pet will only shiver. Next stage is that its muscles are affected (blood not being pumped to the heart as good), his breath drops, and the animal does not respond to stimuli. If you notice these symptoms, your dog or cat must be heated and rushed to the vet.

Before winter, the first and most important step is to conduct a check up. Your veterinarian can determine if it has problems that would make it more vulnerable to cold. Heart disease, lung, hormonal disorders and diabetes in general compromise adaptation to cold.

Also, animals suffering from arthritis will suffer in the winter. The cold affects their joints, making them extremely sensitive and fragile. Therefore, the dog will seem awkward and more unstable than usual. These pets need a warmer “bed” at night.

While walking, avoid icy areas. Regardless of health, when you walk with your pet, if you ever feel the need to enter the house impetuous, your pet probably feels the same. Especially if you own a kitten.

Long-haired breeds are better adapted to low temperatures than those with short hair. Cats and dogs of small stature, which would have (almost) their entire body in the snow, will feel the cold much more quickly and more severely than other animals. Help them out instead of leaving them alone.