Looking after your furry friends in extremes of weather

Many households in the UK have at least one pet and will be thankful that we are moving into some warmer weather. It can be difficult to help keep your animals warm during the winter months, although having a fully functioning and modern heating system that you can have inctalled by a Boiler Installation Gloucester company such as https://redbridgeandsons.co.uk/heating-systems-gloucestershire/boiler-installation-gloucester/ is a great way. Although we are moving out of the really cold months we have some hot summer months heading our way and these create a headache of a different kind for pet owners.

Here are few tips you can use to help keep your furry friends cool this summer.

Cats

Cats are natural heat seekers and they will often spend a lot of their time curled up underneath a radiator during the colder months and on a sunny windowsill in the summer. This can cause a number of issues as it means that can easily overheat, although cats are very intelligent and will move to a cooler place in the house if they feel they are too warm. It is important that in very hot weather you should ensure that your cat is in the house during the hottest parts of the day between the hours of 10am and 3pm. If you cat is of a light colour it is worth investing in a pet sunscreen that you can apply to their delicate nose and ear areas. Make sure that you give your cat access to water in a variety of different locations in the house. Cats will groom themselves as a way in which to cool down as when the saliva on the cat starts to evaporate it naturally begins to cool the cat down.

Dogs

Dogs often struggle in the heat and will need help from you in order to cool down. You should never leave your dog in a car, even for just a minute or two and sadly there are still a number of dogs each year that die as a result of the heat inside a car, this also goes for glass conservatories and caravans. In extremely hot weather you should not take your dog out for a walk until well into the evening or early in the morning as the hot pavements will cause burns to their delicate paw pads. Again is your dog is light in colour you should apply pet friendly sunscreen to their skin. Make sure your dog has access to lots of water and carry a travel bottle with your if you are going out for the day to ensure that your pet stays hydrated.