WADENA — Just because they have a fur coat doesn’t mean pets can’t get dangerously cold from winter weather.
Ally Frost of Paws & Prairie Animal Clinic in Wadena offered tips for keeping fur-kiddos and four-legged family members safe in below-freezing temperatures.
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“We have seen cases where maybe ears, like on cats specifically, might be a little bit more frostbitten … but we haven't seen anything this year yet, luckily, and I don't think we had very many last year, which is great,” said Frost, a certified veterinarian technician.
Temperatures in Minnesota can get well below freezing in the winter, and the Wadena area has already seen bitter-cold daytime highs this season.
“We primarily see dogs and cats here,” Frost said of the clinic. “But any type of animal can get hypothermia, technically, especially mammals, dogs, cats, livestock. Other small animals can definitely get hypothermia given the right circumstances.”
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, almost 46% of households in the United States own a dog and 32% of them own a cat.
“I usually say if it's too cold for you, it's too cold for them,” Frost said. “They have a little bit of fur, but their paws, their ears, their limbs, can get really cold. It's just like when it's too hot for us, it's definitely or usually too hot for them, too.”
The total number of U.S. households that owned a dog and a cat in 2024 was 59.8 million and 42.2 million, respectively, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association about companion animals.
“If pets don't have adequate shelter — if they're maybe standing outside on just their paws. if they're standing out in the wind — if they're out there for a little extra time, despite having a winter hair coat, they can still get frostbite and hypothermia,” Frost cautioned.
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According to the 2024 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook , the average spending on veterinary care per household per year was $580 for dogs and $433 for cats.
“I usually tell people when it starts to drop below freezing I try to minimize walks and time outside,” Frost said.
Paws & Prairie Animal Clinic has been serving Wadena and the surrounding area since 2012. The clinic treats dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, exotics and other pocket pets.
“Some pets with thicker hair coats and access to shelter can be outside for a few hours,” Frost said. “But cats and dogs with shorter hair coats … sometimes even 15 to 20 minutes can be detrimental, depending on the weather, temperature and wind chill.”
Age can also be a factor in cold tolerance, according to the pet resource website Daily Paws , and puppies and geriatric patients will have a more difficult time regulating their body temperature, both in hot and cold weather.
Frost said of hypothermia signs, “They can be really lethargic. They might be shivering really bad, not eating or drinking … kind of seem really dull or depressed, or they're hiding. Those are the most common signs we see. We can also see their ears or their skin start to change color.”
Pet jackets or coats and boots are winter clothing accessories for companion animals intended to help keep them warm.
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I usually say if it's too cold for you, it's too cold for them.
“They can't put on jackets or coats, like we can, or mittens or boots,” said Frost, lead technician at Paws & Prairie Animal Clinic . “We have to help them with that part.”
And post-exposure care and treatment of frostbite and hypothermia is just as important as precautionary measures against exposure to the bitter cold.
“Don't try to warm them up too much, because that can shock their system, too,” Frost said. “The best thing you can do is try to get them into a warmer location and maybe put a warm blanket or towel on them, and get a veterinarian on the phone right away.”
Frost also said a lot of people don’t often think about ice melts and antifreeze from vehicles during winter which can be harmful to pets.
“If they maybe get ice melt on their paws, stuck in between their paw pads, sometimes you can see contact irritation or even burns occasionally from ice melt, so we usually recommend using a pet-safe one,” Frost said.
“I've seen a few in my career of antifreeze toxicity … and I’ve seen a couple of kitties come in that have gone through some pretty sad trauma after somebody starts their car because the kitty likes to sit in the motor or the vehicle … animals hiding in warm car engines.”
FRANK LEE is the features writer for the Wadena Pioneer Journal. He may be reached at 218-631-6470 or at [email protected] .
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