Jacksonville Humane Society offers cold weather pet safety tips

Brrrr! Temperatures have dropped quickly in Jacksonville. With the chilly weather, don’t forget to make sure your animals are staying warm, too.

Extended exposure to the cold can be harmful to dogs and cats.

Below are some tips on how to keep your pets warm during the cold weather.

• Bring your pets indoors.
• Limit walk times to 30 minutes for large dogs and 15 minutes for small dogs if the temperatures are in the 20s – if it’s too cold for you, it’s probably too cold for your pet!
• Community cats get cold too! You can help them by setting up shelters so that they can stay warm. Check out Best Friends’ guide to protecting community cats in the winter.
• Knock on car hoods before starting cars -- in cold weather cats may climb under cars for protection.
• Of course, snuggles!

Additional resources:

Cold Weather Safety Tips (ASPCA)

Keeping Dogs and Cats Warm and Safe in Winter (Best Friends)