Pets get the chills too by Dr Anne Fawcett

Discover essential tips for keeping your pets warm and comfortable during the cold season. Don't let the cold weather affect your pets' well-being.

Now that the cold weather is well and truly upon us, we need to take a moment to consider our pets and what we can do to make their lives a little more comfortable. Our pets can’t throw on a jumper when they get cold and many species originated in warmer climates possessing shorter hair, meaning they are less equipped to deal with cold weather.

Some things to think about are:

• Ensure your pet has somewhere warm to sleep.
• Make sure your pet has decent bedding to help retain heat.
• Smaller pets have less mass and larger surface areas meaning that they lose heat easily.
• Wet weather can be especially dangerous to pets that cannot stay warm and dry.
• Cold weather can enhance the effects of arthritis in pets, making simple actions like sitting or climbing stairs painful.