How to keep your pet healthy during a heatwave

🐾 Have you ever wondered why stray animals in hot countries are so skinny? It's not just that they're starving. One of the reasons: animals with a thin layer of fat can more easily tolerate high temperatures. Therefore, stray dogs and cats consciously switch to a low-calorie diet in hot weather. Veterinarians advise using this life hack on pets when the thermometer exceeds +30. In this guide, we have collected advice from experienced pet owners and veterinarians on how else you can help your pet cope with the heat.

! If your pet has rapid breathing with an open mouth, sticks out his tongue and has dilated pupils; If the animal is lethargic and appears weak or loses consciousness, it may be suffering from heat stroke. Animals may also develop a shuffling gait, trembling and involuntary muscle contractions, and vomiting. All this is a signal to take urgent action.

If you notice signs of heat stroke, the first step is to move the animal to the coolest room and place a bowl of fresh water nearby. If you notice signs of heat stroke, the first step is to move the animal to the coolest room and place a bowl of fresh water nearby. Immediately wet the animal's paws. The water should not be too cold or icy. Short-haired dogs and ferrets can be sprayed a little with a spray bottle. This should not be done with long-haired dogs and cats. If it is difficult for your pet to drink on its own, you can give it water from a syringe or pipette. If a fan is available, direct the air flow towards your patient. If there is no air conditioner or fan, take or make a hand fan from available materials. In no case should you bathe or generously pouring water over your pets with cold water when heat stroke has already occurred, as this will place a large burden on the cardiovascular system and pose a risk of pulmonary edema due to a sharp temperature change. If the pet does not come to its senses for a long time (an hour or more), immediately contact the veterinary clinic. To prevent heat stroke from happening, you can use the tips below.

🏡 How to help at home

• Go for a walk early in the morning and late in the evening.

• Always take water for your pet when going on even a short trip around the yard.

• Choose less active games. A basin of cool (not ice-cold) water and your pet's favorite toys, as well as a wet towel on the floor, can serve as entertainment.

• Fresh water should always be freely available. Since water spoils quickly in hot weather, you can install special drinking fountains.

• If your pet is healthy and not on a special diet, remove food after each meal to prevent it from spoiling. Don't leave food out in the sun.

• Buy a cooling mattress or blanket, or make one yourself: you can put several bottles of water, previously frozen, under the pet's mat. It is important to wrap them securely in a towel before doing this to prevent your pet from getting hypothermic. The bottles can be replaced with cold accumulator, but care must be taken to ensure that the animal does not chew it.

• If the dog lives outdoors, make sure that its kennel is not exposed to the sun 24/7. Provide shade in the yard for the animal to hide.

• Do not leave windows wide open, especially if there are cats in the house.

• If the apartment has a tiled floor, provide your pet with access so that the animal can lie on the cool tiles, but make sure that hypothermia does not occur.

• If there is air conditioning, make sure that the animal does not lie in a draft.

• The air from the fan can be cooled by placing cold water bottles on the sides.

• If you have aquarium fish, it is also important to monitor the temperature of the water in the aquarium. It may be worth turning off the heater inside when the temperatures outside are high, or even adding bags of ice to the aquarium.

• If your pet lives in a cage (like a hamster), there are several ways to cool the area around your fur friend: place a frozen bottle of water on the side of the outside of the crate while also regularly refreshing your pet’s water supply. You could even place a ceramic tile within the cage as a means of lowering the temperature of the interior even more. If you normally keep your pet in a glass or plastic crate, you should be aware that the interior may be hotter than the average room temperature. This is important to keep in mind when considering where their crate is placed, as putting it on a window sill where it’s exposed to the sun could put your pet at risk of overheating.

• Birds may be very susceptible to sudden changes in their environment, which is why knowing how to keep them cool during a heatwave is important. Many birds enjoy spending time outdoors. If this is the case, you should make sure that the outdoor space that your bird frequents is equipped with shaded areas. On top of that, you should make sure to replace the bathing dish of water at the bottom of your bird’s cage at least once a day, while also ensuring that it has a decent supply of clean water to drink.

• Reptiles and amphibians are ectothermic or cold-blooded, which means that their body temperature relies on external sources. With that in mind, if the temperature of your home is higher than normal, then your pet snake or lizard could suffer in the hot conditions. If the temperature exceeds its ideal range, then you can cool them down by providing them with clean water and keeping a small fan close by.

! Ferrets and flat-faced pets (pugs or Scottish cats) tolerate heat the worst. Ferrets do not have very well developed thermoregulatory mechanisms, which can lead to overheating and heat stroke, and brachycephals have a harder time getting oxygen, so when their temperature rises, they begin to breathe through their mouths, which can lead to swelling. If you have such a pet, treat it with special attention.

🚗 How to help during the trip

• If you are planning a trip with your pet by car, first cool the salon using air conditioning, and only then put a small passenger in the car. If there is no a/c and travel is unavoidable, in the case of some animals (for example, ferrets or brachycephalics), it is better to order a taxi with air conditioning.

• Find out in advance what the temperature will be in the vehicle you plan to travel with (on a train or on a bus) and whether the salon is equipped with air conditioning.

• Take drinking water and a comfortable bowl for your pet on the road.

• Make sure that the carrier is well ventilated, but the animal is not in a draft.

• Cold accumulator can be used as an additional method of cooling. Accumulator can be wrapped in a towel in several layers and placed under the mattress in the carrier. It is important to ensure that the animal does not become hypothermic and does not chew on the cold accumulator.

• Take care of your pet's paws: you can use special shoes or wax as protection. Also try to regularly moisturize your pet's paw pads.

• Protect your dog's skin: dogs get skin cancer too, and there are special protective sprays with SPF for them. Monitor the condition of the paw pads and nose - if they are cracked, the situation will be corrected by a medicinal balm, which can be bought at a veterinary pharmacy.

• If your pet has a heat stroke, wet its paws, face and armpits with non-ice water. If possible, move the animal to a cool room/shade, provide a flow of fresh air (you can use a hand fan).

• Do not allow animals to swim in outdoor ponds. Especially with standing water, as it may contain toxins and pesticides (very dangerous if there are a lot of ducks in the pond). Ponds with running water are also not safe: your pet can become infected with giardiasis or leptospirosis.

• Make sure that your pet's food doesn't spoil due to the heat, or plan your route so that you can buy food on the road trip.

🚫 What not to do

• Bathing in cold water – the water should be at a comfortable temperature. Do not forget that animals have a higher body temperature than humans, and this must be taken into account.

• Dousing animals with water from a garden hose or a bucket - pets can catch a cold. It is better to spray the air above the animals with a spray bottle.

• Putting ice in a bowl of water can cause the animal to choke or even get sick.

• Keeping your pet's haircut or shaving short - instead, it is better to brush your pet and prevent the fur from becoming matted.

• Cooling cats and some ferrets in the bathtub - for animals that are afraid of water, this can serve as additional stress, causing their body temperature to rise even higher. Bathe a cat or ferret if you are sure that the animal will not be afraid.

• Placing animals in a draft - the pet can easily catch a cold, especially if the wool or fur is wet.

• Do not leave animals locked in a car under any circumstances, or under the sun for long periods of time. Some animals, such as ferrets, should not be taken outside at all in hot weather.

We hope this guide was useful to you. Surely some of our advice will seem obvious to you, but in extreme situations you can easily get confused, so having a list on hand that includes even well-known recommendations will not be superfluous. Share your tips and ideas in the comments below the post and be careful.

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