Post by gailoh on Sept 30, 2018 13:40:14 GMT
Well it is me and the furkids putting out tidbits to keep them safe and warm....those igloo plastic houses I do not think are insulated and do not make a good house for winter or those pet carriers,pet carriers are just that to carry your pet to and from vet or etc. You need a good insulated house where the door is not put in the center but moved over to the corner of the front....think about the wind...the door to the side , it gives them a bit more protection that way...hubby made it that way and we also put our pups food bowl in the more protected inside so it didn't get wet..he made the roof longer like it was a porch and to the side were the door isn't on the outside made a little box shelter with a hole at the bottom so the water bowl drops in and set inside it, it will not tip over...the roof is made with shingles not just wood on top...we over hung the roof like the house all around...don't make the house real tall...now this is just a suggestion...we made the house and painted it...turn the house where the wind is to the back of the house in winter so it does not blow directly into the door...
*******so you know this pup, DOG, was thrown out of a car at the end of our driveway and I saw the jerk who did it...years ago, over 30 years...she was not an indoor pup...I like my pups to be indoors if all possible...we vetted her but later she had a problem with bathroom issues and had to be out but we made her as comfortable as possible...she did not live long because of the problem she had but we loved her and she knew it, she was our lucky " Penny "...*******
If... you have an outside kennel remove pets, water/feeding bowls and bedding and spray around the pup house and the area for begs/fleas....let the mixture dry well before putting any animal back in...if the nights are cool now you can use a blanket for them to lay on for now but winter they need better bedding.
If...the weather is warm enough good time for pups to have a good bath, please keep water out of ears and check their nails as well, may need trimmed....look them over and feel with you hand for any bumps and problem...
We at one time used ceramic bowls and they are NOT the best choice...they "craze" , get little cracks in them that harbor bacteria....so please use metal bowls...what we did was have 2 water bowls...in winter, feeding in the morning we exchanged the night water bowl for the new one with water and took the one from the night and thawed it out, cleaned it with a paper towel til later that day and took it out with clean water and toward evening we exchanged it again so she had again fresh thawed water, of course you can do it an easier way...heated water bowl...we also fed her in late afternoon, not night when other critters are about...so that last water bowl check we made certain her food bowl was empty...She was also on a cable run not a chain, that way she had room to roam a bit...the cable was from tree to tree and we put her house at the end of one of the trees...
As for stray kitties ....hubby made kitty houses only smaller for their sizes...we live in the woods so we have some out there set into the woods..we at one time had 24 here...we are a dead end road in the country...we had a problem so this "cat lady" had them fixed and now we are down to 5...by having them fixed and no one seems to be dropping them off like they were we have stopped the population growth out here if I had not become that " Cat Lady"...we also have shelter for the food station and water and watch in winter the water freezing up... we still had drop offs but a couple more neighbors have stepped in to vet and find homes because they knew people who wanted them...thank goodness...I am at that point in my life ( OLD ) where I have to stop being the cat lady...not that I would not help in some way but I had so many at one time and now I am slowing down...
IF any of you have suggestions that may help others please post them here ...thank you from me and from the Critters...
just thought of another tip, when it is cold out , ice/snow remember salt can hurt their feet but so can the cold...they can get frostbite ears/nose/feet maybe their tail...thank you for reading...please add any tips and suggestions...