FESTUS' COLD WEATHER TIPS FOR YOU AND YOUR PETS

1. Keep your cats inside! Cats can easily freeze, get hurt, or become lost outside.
2. Take your dog outside only long enough to relieve himself.
3. Thoroughly wipe off your dog's feet when he comes in. Snow can get encrusted between the pads. He can also pick up salt and other chemicals on his feet.
4. Consider getting your dog a warm sweater. While this may seem a luxurious frill, a sweater makes sense if your dog shivers from the cold.
5. Keep your dog on a leash, especially during a snowstorm. Dogs can lose their scent in the snow, panic and run away.
6. Never leave your pet alone in a car.
7. Increase your outdoor pets' daily food supply.
8. Make sure your pet has a warm place to sleep, away from drafts and off the floor.A basket or cardboard box with a warm blanket in it works well.
9. Bathe your dog only when absolutely necessary. A wet dog can catch a cold very easily.
10. Don't clip your dog's hair in winter(unless matted). He may look funny, but he'll be warmer.
11. Brush your dog daily. Daily brushing keeps your pet's coat healthy, shiny, clean, and mat-free.
12. If your dog must stay outside for several hours a day, make sure he's got a good, weatherproof doghouse with the floor raised a few inches off the ground.
    13. Use straw, cedar chips, or shredded newspaper for bedding in a doghouse. Blankets can get wet and freeze.
13. Make sure your dog has water available at all times. Check it several times a day to see that the water doesn't freeze over. A heated waterbowl is essential for outdoor pets.
14. Antifreeze tastes good to dogs and cats and can make them sick or kill them. Be sure antifreeze is put away carefully and all spills wiped up thoroughly.
15. Before starting your car, honk the horn or bang on the hood. Cats, let outside by irresponsible pet owners, like to crawl up under the car hood and can get tangled in the fan belt.