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6 Tips To Making A Disaster Plan For Your Pets
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6 Tips To Making A Disaster Plan For Your Pets

6 Tips To Making A Disaster Plan For Your Pets

Pets should never have to look out for themselves during a disaster. Animals left behind during a disaster can get hurt or become sick, starve, drown from flooding or die. In fact, it’s estimated that 100,000 pets separated from their owners during and after Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, nearly 70,000 of those animals perished.

To prepare for a disaster it’s vital to have a plan. Our pet care professionals recommend the following six tips when planning for a disaster with your pet:

Get your pets microchipped

Microchipping your pets ensures you and your animal get reconnected. Be certain to keep the microchip registration current, and include, at a minimum, one emergency number of a friend or relative who lives outside of your nearby area.

Make sure your cats and dogs have collars

Keep all existing phone numbers on your animal’s identification tag. Identification on cats who remain solely indoors is critical. Odds are high your pets will flee a damaged home in the event of a disaster.

Plan a pet-friendly place to stay

Search ahead of time for out-of-town animal-friendly hotels or boarding centers, or come up with a housing exchange agreement with an out-of-town friend or relative. Do not leave your pets by themselves if you evacuate!

Use the buddy system

Trade pet information, exit routes and house keys with a select number of dependable neighbors, family members or nearby friends. If you’re trapped outside evacuation lines when an evacuation order comes, your friends or neighbors can evacuate your pets for you.

Set up an emergency kit for each pet

Load up on the items you may need during a disaster now so you do not get caught off-guard. Below are the essential items you should include in your pet’s disaster kits. Store your disaster kit supplies in a container that’s simple to grab.

* Food and water for a minimum of five days
* Medications and medical records
* Leashes, harnesses and carriers
* Up-to-date photos of you with your pets and descriptions of your pets
* Written information about your pets’ eating schedules, medical needs and behavior quirks, in addition to the name and number of your veterinarian

Arrange for temporary confinement

Frequently, physical structures, such as fences, walls and barns, don’t hold up during a crisis. Create a plan for keeping your pet safely confined. You may need a crate, kennel or tie-out.

Disaster plans aren’t important only for the well-being of cats and dogs. If you’re responsible for other types of animals, disaster plans for outdoor or feral cats, horses and farm animals are lifesavers. For more pet-related disaster preparedness tips, visit PetWow online or call us at 513-738-9691. Our team of experienced pet care professionals would love to assist you! For more pet care tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or LinkedIn!

6 Tips To Making A Disaster Plan For Your Petsadmin2020-05-11T13:10:18+00:00

4 Dangers Of Matted Pet Hair
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4 Dangers Of Matted Pet Hair

Matted pet hair not only forms unsightly clumps in your pets’ coat but may also become dangerous to the point of putting your pet’s health – or life – at stake. By knowing about some of the dangers of matted pet hair, as well as doing some simple do-it-yourself grooming and pet maintenance, you can help avoid four major dangers of matted pet hair.

Matting Can Cause Pain

Pet hair that is severely tangled and becomes matted pulls tightly against your pet’s skin. This condition, in turn, causes pain similar to someone pulling your hair. Attempting to brush or comb out matted hair can cause severe pain for your pet because tugging on the hair pulls on nerve endings in the hair follicles where the hair grows.

Matting Affects Circulation

The twisting and pulling of the hair caused by matting also negatively affects your pet’s blood circulation and may cause bruising. By trapping blood near the surface of the skin, matting may keep blood from flowing to the feet, ears and tail, which can cause severe wounds (like bed sores) or allow your pet to overheat in the summer or contract frostbite in the winter.

Parasites Hide In Matted Hair

Tangled and matted pet hair give parasites such as fleas and ticks a place to hide and breed on your dog or cat. When fleas and ticks are hidden in your pet’s coat, they can breed and continually bite your pet, causing anemia (low red blood cell count). Flea and tick bites left untreated can become infected and cause your pet to become ill. Additionally, if feces or urine become trapped in matted hair, it can attract flies, which then may breed and irritate the skin.

Movement May Be Limited By Matting

Severe matting may limit your pet’s ability to move freely, especially if the hair on their feet or legs becomes matted to adjacent areas. Matting of facial hair may restrict the movement of your pet’s mouth and keep them from adequately eating, drinking or breathing.

What You Can Do

Bathing your pets one a month not only helps de-tangle their hair, but it also diminishes the possibility of matting. Blow-dry your pet if possible. Dampness can weigh down pet hair and cause matting. Daily brushing will deter matting of your dogs’ and cats’ coats, naturally keeping them looking good between trips to the groomer. Combing after brushing not only removes additional trapped hair, but also helps to smooth wavy coats and fluff up tightly curled coats. Pets with wiry or curly coats should have professional grooming about once every month to six weeks to decrease the likelihood of matting and skin problems.

Have a question about matted hair or about grooming? Call 513-738-9691 or email Info@PetWow.com to schedule an appointment today. Our fully mobile Home Veterinary Care has provided top-notch animal care for more than 20 years in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati! For more pet care tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or LinkedIn!

4 Dangers Of Matted Pet Hairadmin2020-01-18T19:29:34+00:00

How To Prepare For Your Pet’s First Groom
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How To Prepare For Your Pet’s First Groom

Most dogs and cats can safely be groomed for the first time when they are about 12 to 16 weeks old and after they have received all necessary shots. But in order to fully prepare your pet for his or her first grooming, there are four things you can practice for making the first – and future – grooming sessions safe and happy experiences for everyone involved.

Handling

Because most first grooming experiences consist of the basics such as a bath, a nail trim, and trimming of the hair on your pet’s footpads, around their eyes, and in their bottom/genital areas, you will need to prepare your pet for being handled for grooming. You can do this by gently stroking them in the places they will be groomed, especially their face, mouth and feet. Repeating this process daily for a week or more will accustom your dog or cat to being handled for grooming. Reward good behaviors by giving a small treat.

Heights

Because most dogs and cats are groomed on a raised surface that’s three feet or more off the floor, you will need to prepare your pet for being on this type of surface. To encourage quiet and calm behavior while standing on a raised surface, cover a tabletop with a towel, blanket or pad that won’t be slippery. Then, lift your pet onto the covered surface and gently but firmly hold her under the belly and under the chin at the same time to help her feel safe. Having a second person nearby to steady and calm your dog or cat is helpful. Reward your pet with a small treat for calm and quiet behavior while on the table.

Tools

To prepare your pet for the use of grooming tools, begin by using a brush or comb gently on their hair in the areas you would naturally pet them. As well, gently tap both front and back toenails using a metal spoon or closed nail clippers. Try using the groom-stop-reward process to encourage positive behaviors. Briefly stop grooming, allow your pet to smell and see the comb, brush, spoon or clippers, and reward them with a small treat each time they show positive interest in the tools. Additionally, allow your pets to see and inspect a hairdryer, first in the off position, then turned on low, with the air blowing down (never in their face).

Behaviors

If your pet shows any biting, nipping, barking, whining or other negative behaviors during the grooming practice, immediately but briefly stop. Then, resume when your pet is calm and reward good behavior with a small treat.

If you still have questions about preparing your pet for their first grooming, PetWow can help! Call 513-738-9691 or email Info@PetWow.com. We now serve more than 20,000 pet owners throughout the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. For more pet care tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or LinkedIn!

How To Prepare For Your Pet’s First Groomadmin2019-09-23T17:23:17+00:00