How to protect your pets from cold weather

The extremely cold weather predicted for Gauteng has everyone grabbing for their onesies and blankets to keep warm, but what about your pets?

According to Mandy Cattanch, the manager at the Roodepoort SPCA, if you are cold, your pets most probably are too.

She gives the following tips to ensure your pets are protected from the cold:

• Ensure your dogs have a suitable sized kennel that provides protection from wind and rain – a kennel for each dog. The kennel should not be directly on the ground, but lifted a few inches.

Place a piece of carpet as well as a warm blanket inside, and for small/medium dogs you should add a plastic dog bed, with a blanket, inside the kennel.

Picture: iStock

• The best blankets to use are storm blankets – they are stronger and the dogs cannot pull them to pieces and eat them.

If your dog has a tendency to pull its bedding out of the kennel, secure the blanket by tying a corner to the inside of the kennel with a piece of rope or string. Make sure there is another loose blanket available to them to lie in the sun, and ensure these blankets are always kept dry and clean.

• Small breed and short-haired dogs tend to feel the cold a lot sooner than bigger dogs, and a dog jersey will keep the chills away.

You must always check that the jersey is the right size and that it doesn’t chaff on the dog’s fur, as this could cause injury. You should also not leave the jersey on permanently throughout winter.

Picture: iStock

• If the weather deteriorates drastically, bring your pets indoors immediately. It is advisable to keep your dogs inside with you at night as it enables them to protect you and your family. It will also help to prevent them from being poisoned or stolen.

• Cats feel the cold just as much as dogs do, and that is why they should always have access to the house or a warm room with blankets. The ideal bed for cats, is a cardboard box with a fluffy blanket inside.

Mandy adds that it is not only our dogs and cats that need shelter and protection from the cold; it applies to all animals, including livestock, exotic pets and birds.

Picture: iStock

“Livestock require shelter and exotic animals must have the correct lighting and heating pads with enough room to enable to move away from the heat. Any creature which is kept outside must have access to dry warm shelter 24 hours a day,” she said.

And, if you have birds as pets, you can do the following to keep them sheltered and protected from the elements:

• If they are in an aviary, there should be nesting boxes and during winter, it is preferable to have three sides of the aviary closed securely, with a front curtain that can be opened and closed daily.

• If your birds are kept in a cage indoors, they should not be placed in direct sunlight.

Read the original article on Roodepoort Record

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