Keeping Pets Cool during the Balmy Summer Months

My husband and I live in the beautiful southern United States. While we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, we sometimes get excruciatingly hot during the summer months. We aren’t the only ones that get hot at our home though. Our beautiful dog Lucy also gets hot. I’m constantly searching for effective ways to keep her cool while she’s outside. And during the winter, it can get oddly cold at times. Do you have loving pets at home? Consider purchasing a small plastic pool for your pets to splash around in. And when it's cold, make sure to monitor them very carefully while outside. On this blog, I hope you will discover ingenious tips to help you care for your pets during any extreme weather.

Don't Make These Mistakes With Your Cat's Health

Pets & Animals Blog

As a cat lover, you want your kitties to live a long, full, healthy life, and you would never intentionally do anything to shorten their lifespan or jeopardize their health. Nevertheless, there are several common mistakes that many cat owners make that put the health of their feline friends at risk. Take a look at some of these mistakes so that you can make sure you're making your cat's health a priority.

Not Taking Care of Your Cat's Teeth

Cats are great self-groomers, but their teeth aren't self-cleaning any more than yours are. Neglecting your cat's dental health can lead to some of the same problems that you might experience if you ignored your own dental health, like gingivitis, periodontal disease, and tooth loss. When the teeth become loose, bacteria can enter the root socket and cause infection. If the bacteria enters the blood stream, it can lead to even more serious infections that can damage major organs like the heart, kidneys, or liver.

The most effective way to protect your cat's teeth from the plaque and tartar buildup that can lead to infection is by brushing them daily. Your veterinarian can give you a demonstration if you have trouble doing it at first. Your vet will also let you know when your cat needs a professional cleaning and whether your cat might benefit from a special diet designed to promote good dental health.

Skipping Your Cat's Vaccinations

It's becoming less and less common to let cats free outdoors. There are a number of reasons why staying indoors is actually better for your cat's health – for example, indoor cats are protected from encounters with both cars and other animals that might attack them. However, many pet owners believe that they can skip regular vaccines if they have indoor cats, and that's not a good health decision at all.

Indoor cats need vaccines for several reasons. As any cat lover knows, cats can be pretty stealthy when they want to be – there's always the chance that your cat could sneak out somehow. If your cat gets out, they could have an encounter with a sick animal or be picked up and brought to a shelter where they could be housed with sick cats. There's also the possibility that at some point in the future, you'll move to an area where you will want to let the cat out, or you'll have to give the cat away due to some change in circumstance. You want their health to be protected if something changes in your cat's living situation.

What's more, even if your cat never does make it outdoors, they could have a latent disease contracted in utero or in the shelter before you adopted them. Vaccines can help prevent of flare-up of a previously undiagnosed latent disease.

Smoking Around Your Cat

While most people today would think twice before lighting up a cigarette around a small child, many pet owners don't give it a second thought. But the truth is that your cat is at just as much risk from secondhand smoke as a child. Because their lungs are smaller than yours, they're more likely to be affected by secondhand smoke.

Cats who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at risk for asthma, malignant lymphoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. And if you have an indoor-only cat, they can't even leave the house to get some fresh air. Curious cats who play with or try to eat a forgotten cigarette or the cigarette butts in the ashtray can also be at risk for nicotine poisoning. If you can't quit smoking, at least designate some smoke-free areas for your cat and keep your cigarettes where they can't be reached.

Don't risk your cat's health by making these easy-to-avoid mistakes. Your cat deserves a long and healthy life, and you have the power to make sure that they are protected from these dangers. 

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18 July 2016