Severe Weather Tips

Weather in the Seattle area can be unpredictable. The Seattle Animal Shelter provides the following tips to keep your pets safe when temperatures change with different weather patterns.

Winter Weather 

In cold weather, drop in drops in temperature mean more than just turning up the heat in your home. Follow these tips for protecting pets from the cold:

  • Bring pets indoors and take them out only when necessary. Even on a sunny day, dogs and cats can get frostbitten ears, noses and feet if left outside. Breeds with short fur, little to no undercoat, and lean body fat, as well as older dogs and puppies, are especially vulnerable to cold.
  • Help elderly or arthritic pets when they need to go outside.
  • Prepare a go-kit for your pet that includes food and medication for a week.
  • Monitor your pet's health. Like people, dogs and cats are more susceptible to illnesses in the winter. Take your pet to your veterinarian if symptoms occur.
  • Dry pets thoroughly if they get wet from rain or snow, gently towel or blow-dry them off, including their paws. This helps avoid tiny cuts and cracked pads. Chemicals used to melt snow and ice on driveways and sidewalks can burn your pet, so check their paws, mouths, and bellies after walking.
  • Outdoor shelters should have additional bedding, such as straw, which helps pets retain body heat. If straw gets wet, it dries quickly and maintains insulation. Consider a thick plastic wind barrier across the entrance to minimize heat loss.
  • Check water bowls to ensure a continual supply of fresh, unfrozen water. Heated water bowls with chew-resistant cords or changing water multiple times a day can prevent freezing. Avoid metal bowls as a pet's tongue can stick.
  • Increase food intake during cold months, as outdoor pets burn more calories to stay warm.
  • Never leave your pet alone in a car. Cold vehicles can quickly become a freezer, causing hypothermia or death.
  • If you use antifreeze, handle it carefully. Clean up spills immediately, watch for any left on the ground or in open containers. Pets love the smell and taste of antifreeze and even a small amount can kill them.
  • Be cautious with fireplaces and portable heaters. Keep fireplaces screened and portable heaters out of reach, as pets may chew cords or knock them over and cause a fire.

Dogs

  • If you have to leave your dog outside for a period of time, provide an elevated dog house with clean, dry bedding and a flap over the opening to keep drafts out. Face the doors away from the west or north to avoid cold winds. Better yet, if you have a garage, consider installing a doggie door.
  • Dogs can get lost in snowy conditions because they lose scent. A current Seattle pet license is the best insurance that your pet will be returned.
  • Consider a sweater for short-coated breeds. Choose wool or synthetic fibers that insulate even when wet.

Cats

Outdoor cats and kittens often nap on warm car engines and hoods. If your car was recently used, knock on the hood or honk the car horn before starting the engine to prevent accidents.


Summer Weather

Protect your pets from the effects of high heat. Use the following tips to keep your pet safe when temperatures climb.

  • Never leave pets unattended in direct sunlight. Provide a shady area and access to cool water at all times. Remember that shaded areas move with the sun.
  • When indoors keep ventilation and water flowing. Open secured screened windows, keep fans running, provide plenty of water, and place pets in the coolest part of your home.
  • Never leave animals in vehicles unattended. Temperatures rise quickly, even if windows are cracked. Under Washington state law, animal control officers or law enforcement officers may remove an animal from vehicles by any means necessary if they are suffering or likely to suffer from exposure to excessive heat and the owner may be charged with animal cruelty.
  • Avoid overexertion. Exercise is fine in moderation, but extreme heat, obesity, old age, breed, or underlying disease can increase the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Hot pavement can quickly burn paws. If you can’t hold the bare palm of your hand on the pavement for more than 10 seconds, then your pet shouldn't walk on it.
  • Protect birds by keeping their cages out of direct sunlight. Provide water and and high-moisture fruits and vegetables.
  • Small pets overheat easily. Cucumber, melon or any watery vegetable snack helps them hydrate. Frozen water bottles give them a cool surface to lie next to or nearby.

Requirements for Shelter and Space

When caring for pets, Washington state law requires pets to have:

  • Neccessary shelter. A structure that protects a pet from wind, rain, snow, cold, heat, or sun with bedding so the pet remains dry, reasonably clean, and maintains a normal body temperature.
  • Necessary space. An area where a pet has continuous access to:
    1. space to exercise for their physical health and well-being based on the pet's species, age, or physical condition;
    2. temperature and ventilation suitable for their health and well-being based on the pet's species, age, or physical condition; and
    3. regular cycles of light and darkness that are either natural or made of artifical light.

Pet owners can use this guidance to ensure both comfort and compliance in providing shelter and space.