With the recent fine weather set to stay, our vet surgeon Gemma Kilby has put together some top tips on keeping your pets cool when the weather heats up…
The weather is too good to be true at present. While you are diligently applying your own sunscreen, please remember that dogs and cats are just as prone to the harmful effects of the sun’s UV rays as we are.
Sunburn on your pet can be very painful for them and can lead to secondary bacterial infections. There is a link between UV rays and skin cancer in pets just like there is in humans. The most vulnerable pets are those with white fur (non-pigmented) and those with no fur, such as Dobby, pictured here.
At Calder Vets we highly recommend the use of pet-friendly sunscreen to help safeguard your pet against the sun’s harmful UV rays, especially on the nose and ears. Remember to apply it whenever they go outside and don’t forget that UV rays can still penetrate glass windows at home and in the car.
We also recommend avoiding sun exposure during the brightest times of the day, from 10am to 4pm.
We stock sunscreen which is safe to use on both cats and dogs. Please come and see us at any of our branches or our Dewsbury hospital to ensure your pet is sun protected, or contact us for an urgent appointment if you think they may have suffered sun burn and/or heat stroke.
What cases have we seen recently?
The cases Gemma has recently treated came to see us with acute itchy redness (just like human sunburn) on the bridge of their noses, face and their ear tips, following spending long periods of time exposed to the sun. They were dogs taken out walking during the sunniest times of the day, spending time in the garden and sitting on a window ledge.
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