The cold winter months can be a painful time for animals and in particular older pets. In the same way that it affects humans, the cold can make joint pain worse. Iain Booth of VetUK explains that as a dog ages, for example, the levels of glucosamines and chondroitin in the joints are thought to drop.
As a preventative measure, increasing the amount of glucosamines and chondroitin in the dog's diet is therefore beneficial to animals even before the onset of arthritis. It is also more effective when given in the early stages of the disease as more advanced joint changes are non-reversible. Feeding a specialist joint care diet or a joint supplement can help minimise the effects of aging on the joints and make a big difference to an animal's quality of life in the winter.
Older pets often also lose body condition, which can mean they feel the cold more and are not as comfortable when lying down. Special heatpads are a simple way to provide additional warmth for pets, particularly at night when the central heating may be turned down or off.
Suitable for cats, dogs and even rabbits, the microwavable pads heat up in 6 minutes to provide warmth for up to 12 hours and are specially designed to maintain a constant, stable temperature of 52 degrees Celsius for 5-6 hours.
Of course it is not only domestic pets that suffer in the cold weather, with snow covering the ground this time of year can be very hard for wild birds in particular. Providing special bird feed suitable for the digestive systems of wild birds is the best way of helping them and the use of a bird feeder protects the food from squirrels and other rodents as well as helping to keep it dry.
More veterinary information about caring for animals and birds in cold weather is available at www.vetuk.co.uk.
