Jill Bowen

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas and has taught at Texas A&M. She lives with her veterinarian husband and two cats in Blacksburg. If you have a question, please write to her in care of The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg, VA 24068, or send an e-mail to mjbowen@radford.edu

Recent columns

• Invisible fences aren’t best option for every dog
• Wrap pets in protection this holiday season
• Take treats so horse associates you with something good
• Illness or change in environment may cause cat to stop using litter box
• Column archive

You have written several times about keeping pets cool in the summer. How about something on how to look after them in the winter?

The easiest and safest way to keep dogs and cats warm in cold weather is to keep them indoors. This is particularly important if the pet is old, young or sick.

Some dogs, such as Huskies and Malamutes, can tolerate cold weather better than others. However shorthaired dogs and toy breeds may have a very hard time in the cold.

If a dog has to be outside during the day, it is vital to provide proper shelter. The kennel should be large enough for the dog to stand and turn round; large sheds are too drafty.

The best bedding is clean straw or hay so that the dogs can burrow into it. Blankets have a tendency to get wet and then freeze. Newspaper, several layers thick, makes a good insulating layer on the floor of the kennel and disposal is easy. The kennel should be in a sheltered spot out of the prevailing wind and usually facing south or east. Having the kennel up on low blocks also helps.

Make sure the water in the bowl is not frozen. Plastic is better than metal because metal causes water to freeze more quickly, and deeper, darker-colored bowls slow the time it takes for water to freeze.

Walking dogs in snowy and icy conditions can be a problem because snow and ice tend to ball up in the fur between the toes and are painful. If the dog is walked on roads that have been salted, wash its paws after exercise. Salt is drying as well as irritating. Keeping the toe nails short gives the dog more traction in slippery conditions.

Outdoor cats are good at finding warm and cozy spots to curl up in. Some cats have learned that cars and trucks offer nice warm nooks. They will crawl up into the wheel-wells or engine compartments. Banging on the hood before driving away is a good idea.

Indoors, pets will often curl up next to heaters or under wood stoves and have been known to singe their fur by getting too close.

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I have a diabetic cat and we are having difficulty getting it under control. Do you have any recommendations on the type of food we should be feeding? I am feeding a high quality dry food that was recommended.

Cats are strict carnivores and as such most cats do not handle the highly processed, high carbohydrate content of dry foods well. This has led to an increase in adult onset diabetes and obesity.

When I started in veterinary practice many years ago, diabetes in cats was virtually unheard of, because processed dry cat foods were not universally available. Most cats were fed fresh meat and fish, this was either fed raw or cooked. Nowadays canned cat food is readily available and nutritionally balanced and should be the food of choice for the majority of cats, especially those cats that are obese or diabetic.

It is estimated that there are 250,000 diabetic cats in the United States. There is a special canned food for diabetic cats produced by Purina called DM. This food is low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Changing from your regular food to the new canned food may take a little time. Cats are creatures of habit and do not take to sudden changes, but it is important to persevere. They will eat when sufficiently hungry.

Many people give their pets new toys over the holidays. It is important to know where the toy is made, particularly since the recent recalls of children's toys imported from China with a high lead content. The same caveats apply to your pet's toys.