(Estherville)-Experts are reminding Pet Owners to take extra care during the extremely cold weather. KUOO’s Becky Thoreson has details:
Pet Owners are urged to take extra precautions with bitterly cold weather in the forecast.
Kristy Henning, Director of the Emmet County Animal Shelter, offers this advice. “If your dog goes outside to go to the bathroom right now, stay with them Don’t leave them unattended. If you have a very short-coated dog, you might have to go with boots and a coat for them to go outside. Obviously, house cats shouldn’t go outside. Everything’s dangerous for them outside. If you have a colony of cats, make sure you’ve got shelter for them. Remember, straw is for strays, hay is for horses. Make sure you fill your colony cat houses with straw, not hay, and certainly not blankets or towels. Those can gather moisture and then they freeze, and then the cat can actually freeze when they’re laying on them. We have straw at the shelter to share. If anybody wants some, we’re happy to disperse that to everybody.”
She adds that the shelter has electric water bowls available. “If anyone needs an electric water bowl for a colony cat or an outdoor dog, we have a stash of them that we purchased on sale. Another thing is, in this cold weather, if they’re outside they need extra food. Don’t use metal bowls outside.”
She notes that it’s important to check in and under cars at this time. “Knock on your car, honk your horn if you’ve been stopped some place. Any place that you think you may have gathered somebody in your engine. Make sure you give them a chance before you turn the key.”
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