It doesn’t take too much work to get your pets ready for winter. For your indoor pets, you have less to worry about, but if you have a small short-haired dog, it might be worth getting them a sweater. For the rainy season, consider boots for any size dog or old towels to wipe their feet with when they come in from outside.
For your outside pets, this is more important. Make sure you have a safe place to keep them out of the weather for those few days out of the year when the temperatures dip to freezing and below. Now is the time to ensure they have fresh insulation in their dog house. This could be a new, insulated dog house or clean, fresh straw. Is the door facing away from the prevailing winds?
Is their water bowl protected from freezing? Is it easy to break the ice out and refill with fresh water after it freezes? If your dog lives outside, you may need to adjust his or her diet — either change the type of food or increase the quantity. If they are using more energy to stay warm, they may be hungrier than they are in the summer.
Some people like to help migratory and year-round birds with bird feeders. Now is a good time to prepare those and stock up on seed and suet.
For your porch kitties, if you haven’t gotten them spayed or neutered, look for our next barn cat day in early January. Winter is no time to be worrying about kittens. Also, make sure your porch kitties have a place to get out of the weather. It would be better if that place wasn’t your engine compartment! You can find all kinds of low-cost materials for making outdoor cat shelters on the internet. See if you have the materials to make one on hand.
And while you’re thinking about it, make sure you get your outdoor faucets protected from freezing as well.
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