5 Ways to Keep Your Pets Safe in Cold Weather

Pet Care

With winter just beginning and many forecasted incidents of snow and ice on the horizon, it’s important to revisit some tips on keeping your pets safe in the frigid temperatures. While the ASPCA website recommends keeping your pets inside, sometimes letting them out is unavoidable.

Here are tips on how to keep your pets safe in cold weather!

  1. One of the simplest solutions to keep your pets warm is to provide a sweater or coat for them (especially short haired pets) to keep their body heat in. Long haired animals have more protection built up against the elements, so sweaters might not be as necessary (unless of course you are dealing with freezing temperatures).
  2. 5 Ways to Keep Your Pets Safe in Cold WeatherMake sure that your animals have a properly insulated shelter to stay warm if they are outside pets. The shelter should be dry and the floor should be raised a few inches off of the ground so the heat doesn’t get absorbed from the shelter. For indoor pets, make sure that their beds are warm and off the floor if possible. This is especially important for older animals that could suffer from stiff joints when the weather turns off cold.
  3. All pets need easy access to food and water. Keeping warm takes up a lot of energy which means that your outdoor animals need more food to keep their energy up. In addition, it is important to ensure that their water and food aren’t frozen. Using thick plastic bowls can help deter the water from freezing as well as keep your pet’s tongue from sticking and freezing to the bowl as it could with a metal dish.
  4. 5 Ways to Keep Your Pets Safe in Cold WeatherOne of the most dangerous things that your pet could get into outside is a melting chemical (i.e. salt, antifreeze, deicer, etc). When they come back inside, make sure to take a towel and wipe their paws off to remove the salt and any other chemicals they could have tracked through. Antifreeze has a sweet taste to animals, so it’s imperative to keep your furbabies away from spills until they are cleaned up.
  5. It’s important to note that feral cats and strays tend to get inside the hood of cars when they are off in the driveway and the engines are still warm. Before starting your car and driving off, remember to bang on the hood of the car first to allow the cat to get free and to safety.

Winter can be beautiful, but for many animals it can be deadly when they are left to the elements. Taking precautions when letting your animals outside as well as checking them out thoroughly to keep them clean, happy, and cared for can be the difference between chapped paws and a healthy pet.