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Cats too need water

How will you know that your cat is dehydrated?

Cool cat Always keep a bowl of water ready for your pet

Healthy cats require a great deal of water. Cats can become dehydrated for many reasons, including illness, fever, infection, vomiting, diarrhoea, diabetes and kidney problems.

You can tell if your cat is dehydrated by doing the ‘pinch’ test. Pinch a bit of skin on the cat’s back, let go and see how long it takes for the skin to retract. The skin should be extremely elastic and immediately bounce back. If it takes more than a second or two, your cat is probably dehydrated.

Symptoms to look for are dry nose, dry mouth or eyes, ‘pinch’ test, severe thirst and lethargy.

Treatment: If your cat is dehydrated, take it to the vet to determine the cause.

If the condition is not serious, it may be treated by simply giving the cat more water.

If it is caused by a pre-existing condition or illness, your vet can determine this and direct you how to take care of the condition.

Always make sure your cat drinks plenty of fluids.

Keep a bowl of clean, fresh water always available for your cat.

A little care means a lot for these squirrels. Every year, the Blue Cross shelter gets badly injured adult squirrels and several orphaned babies whose mothers have been killed by the fan inside the air conditioners. Some of these adults are handicapped for life and forced to live in cages as they can’t survive in the wild.

This often happens in winter when we don’t use air conditioners. The mother squirrels get into the AC units to build nests as they think it is a safe, cosy place. This little family is destroyed for good when we switch on the unit in February/March. The solution simply is to tightly wrap a 1 cm square wire mesh around the AC unit, making sure all gaps are firmly closed.

A coat of rust proof paint on the mesh will make sure it won’t rust and fall off as it is open to the elements. Before fixing the mesh, though, make sure there is no nest inside!

The gap between the air conditioner unit and the sunshade to which it is often fixed should be closed as the nests here could get crushed when the unit is removed for servicing.

Pet’s Choice Winner of the Month is: Bernadette who works tirelessly for the welfare of street dogs. She takes in and cares for sick dogs, has vaccinated and sterilised countless mongrels and has adopted five pups from the street .

They will now travel with her to Kenya where she will be based.

She is truly a dog’s best friend as her compassion for them is unwavering.

If you wish to share with us your experiences with your pet or you know someone who deserves to be Pet’s choice winner, email us at bluecrossofindia@gmail.com.

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