Our recent hot weather, however lovely it may be, does come with some warning for our furry friends. Animals can suffer the same as us humans and its important that we take our animals into consideration.
Small Animals – As you can see in the picture we have taken steps to get our boarding rabbits out of the hutches as these can get rather hot inside and to place them in runs outside.
To keep them COOL – Always a good idea to keep them in the shade with a blanket or towel over the top. At least keeping direct sunlight off them. Cool pads are available for them to sit on or even frozen peas, as I was advised by a customer once, for them to nibble on.
Cats – they don’t tend to pant as much as dogs even with all that fur on but when they do
you must keep a check on them. Make sure the water is nearer to them and even perhaps cool them down by spraying water on them. Ensure windowns are open and use fans to blow air around will always help
Dogs – that get taken out regularly for their walks is great for their exercise but not so good in the heat. They can develop heat stroke so not ideal to take for a walk when the temperature is above 25 degrees. Dogs will of course pant heavily, that’s normal as part of their cooling down system. Ensure you take or the dog has access to plenty of water. So ideally, take your dog out either very early morning or late at night.
To keep them COOL – why not have a low level paddling pool so thast they can jump in, roll and spalsh about.
White Fur Animals – Warning!! I love white coloured animals but due to their skin pigment they are prone to skin cancers. We have seen this a lot over the years where cats particularly with white fur on their head and ears have had to have their ears cut off. You can apply an oinment on their ears but not always successful. Therefore, be vigilant and keep an eye on their skin for anything developing over the years.
