Winter precautions for your pet
Your pet’s routine is likely to change as the temperature drops, with the routine changes come some precautions to look out for to keep your pet happy and healthy.
Watch for arthritis symptoms in your cats
Often in the winter, when the colder weather comes, this is a time, particularly in older pets we start to see signs of arthritis.
Arthritis can be really difficult to detect in cats. You may notice that your cat doesn’t want to walk upstairs so much, doesn’t want to jump up on the sofa to be on your lap, and maybe more reluctant to go outside. These are all signs that may suggest that your cat could be developing arthritis.
Fortunately, there is some good treatments available, to keep your cat comfortable over the winter months.
Antinol is an effective supplement that you can consider. It is a green-lipped mussel extract which has good results in managing arthritis in cats. There are also senior and mobility diets that you can use. Your vet may give your cat a prescription diet to help manage their arthritis.
If none of these options work, your vet may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.
Less exercise means watching and managing weight gain
It can be hard to keep up an exercise routine during the winter months. Cold temperatures, wetter weather, and shorter days can make walking your dog in the winter season difficult.
Less exercise for your dog means they are burning less calories. When this is the case, your dog may need their diet slightly adjusted to prevent winter weight gain.
There are several options available to manage weight for an overweight pet. Premium brands offer a lower energy, lower carb diet, so that your dog can eat the same amount of food without putting on the weight. It will also help them to lose the weight if they need to lose weight too.
Talk to us if you are concerned your dog is gaining too much weight over the winter months, we can help you put together a weight management plan for your dog.
Cats’ toileting inside
Winter temperatures getting colder create an environment change for cats, this can be a trigger for toileting inside.
Cats are by nature, very fastidious about their toilet habits. If your cat starts toileting or spraying indoors and around the house, it is a cause for concern. The occasional one-off accident may happen if a cat is unwell or suddenly frightened or stressed by a particular event. However, if toileting around the house persists or becomes a habit, the cause should be investigated, both for the health and welfare of the cat and for your own convenience.
Punishment won’t work! Any form of punishment is not the answer, scolding, shouting, smacking, etc. will only make the cat fearful, stressed, and frightened, and will likely make the problem worse – something has gone wrong in the cat’s environment or with its health for this behaviour to persist.
If your cat starts to strain while trying to pass urine, always have it examined by a vet as soon as possible. At best your cat requires just some pain-relief, but the worst-case scenario of urinary tract blockage by inflammatory debris and/or crystals is not unusual. The blockage if left untreated can rapidly cause the cat to go into renal failure. This is an emergency requiring urgent veterinary care. Do not delay!
Lock your rubbish bins
During winter pets spend more time indoors keeping warm, you need to be wary of keeping your rubbish bins locked and inaccessible to your pets.
Exploratory laparotomies are not something vets perform every week, however sadly at this time of year there is an increase. Among the offending objects removed during exploratory laparotomies are corn cob and walnuts.
Please be careful about what your pet has access to and what it can swallow!
Be very careful with antifreeze
During winter antifreeze for vehicles are required. Unfortunately, both the smell and taste of anti-freeze is generally appealing to pets. Even in small doses the results can be fatal if ingested.
Many cars have some component of anti-freeze in their radiators and unbeknown to pet owners their pet may stop to lick or drink this sweet tasting liquid from a leak or puddle of inadequately disposed of fluid. The harmful ingredient in antifreeze is ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic chemical. Even the smallest amount can be fatal to a dog or cat.
Symptoms of antifreeze poisoning include a drunken appearance including staggering, lack of co-ordination, and apparent disorientation, vomiting and even seizures.
Take your poisoned animal to the vet as fast as possible. The faster the treatment the better the chances of recovery.
Rat bait is very poisonous!
During the winter months with the cooler temperatures, rats and mice are more attracted to our sheds and heated homes. During the times, as Veterinarians, we annually see an increase in poisoning of pets by the baits laid to manage the unwanted visitors.
The modern rat poisons are much more toxic to dogs (and rats and mice of course) than the old warfarin-based chemical poisons. They still work as an anti-coagulant (they stop blood from clotting so that the animal dies of internal bleeding) but the modern baits are much more potent. The amount of bait required to poison your dog is small and the amount of antidote required to treat it is much higher.
Cats can be poisoned too if they eat any bait, and second-hand toxicity from eating poisoned vermin is rare but does occur.
What do I do with rat bait?
Consider using traps instead. Alternatively, good pet-proof bait stations are now available from hardware stores. These can be fixed to your rafters and contain the baits inside so that the rats do not remove the entire ball of bait and then drop it where your pet can access it.
Keep the packet of bait in a high, secure cupboard. Many poisonings result from dogs getting into the packet when it has been left within reach or has fallen off a shelf.
If you know your dog has eaten rat bait, get to the vet immediately! If it has been recently ingested; drugs can be given to make your dog vomit it up. Your vet will decide, based on the likelihood that some of the bait will have been absorbed into the bloodstream, whether a blood test 72 hours later (to confirm normal clotting times) or a 3-4 week course of antidote is the best choice.
If the bait was ingested too long ago to prevent absorption, or your dog is already bleeding because of the poison, treatment with Vitamin K1 (by injection and then orally) will be started right away and continued for 3-4 weeks. A blood test after the last dose confirms if your pet has been treated for long-enough.
Severely affected dogs and cats sometimes require life-saving blood transfusions and hospital care.