How To Keep Your Pets Warm This Winter
Perth winter has finally arrived with us layering our clothes, snuggling with blankets and using our heaters… But how do our furry family members keep warm? Our pets also feel the cold, regardless of their fur volume.
Dogs and cats need warmth for many reasons apart from the cosiness of feeling warm. Coldness burns up kilojoules, can flare up arthritic joint pain and make pets more prone to illness - especially our short haired dogs and cats.
Do your pets live indoors or outside?
Outside beds need to be raised off the floor. Trampoline beds are a great solution, which also makes it easier for dogs to get onto than lying on the floor. Consider soft bedding, no draughts or wind and rain protection.
Kennels also need to be elevated off the cold ground. Pet heat pads can stay warm for up to 10 hours and make all the difference to your furry family member. Heat pads can be purchased from most pet/online pet stores. For those using a hot water bottle, do as you would with humans, remove it before climbing onto bed.
Inside pets can find snug places near heaters or on soft bedding, but consider draughts under internal doors and places next to cold windows. Cats tend to find nice warm spots regardless of their environment, but do feel their ears; cool ears indicate a cold animal. If you find them on the colder side, your puss might like an extra rug and a cuddle!
How about staying warm when out and about?
Early morning pooch walkers may consider a dog coat for warmth, especially if short haired. Sometimes though, they may get quite warm with a vigorous walk, so you may need to take their coat off as the walk goes on.
Our beloved dog, Maisy, has a thick retriever coat and loves to walk in the rain. She is quite the fashion diva with her water repellent coat! Maisy is a bit of a chancer though and will sneak a swim in the local pond, so she enjoys a good towel rub and hair dryer to dry the volumes of water in her coat.
We hope this article has given you some nice little pointers to keep your four legged family members cosy this winter.
We’d love to know, how do you keep your fur baby warm? Use your paw or claw to comment below!
