A car is never a safe place
A closed car heats up very fast on a sunny day, even parked in the shade with a window open. A dog cools itself by panting, and in a hot car that does not help.
Do not leave a dog or a cat in the car even briefly, not even for a quick trip into a shop. If you cannot take your pet with you, leave it at home.
Walks, water and shade
On hot days, walk your dog early in the morning and late in the evening, and keep time outdoors short around midday. Hot asphalt, paving and sand can burn paw pads: touch the ground with your palm before you go, and if it is too hot for you, it is too hot for paws.
Always leave your pet fresh water and shade, in the garden too. Do not make your dog run beside a bike or play energetic games in the heat.
Who is at greater risk in the heat
Flat-faced dogs and cats, such as bulldogs, pugs or Persian cats, cope worse with heat, as do old, overweight and young animals and those with heart or breathing problems. Watch them especially closely.
Overheating is an emergency. Signs can include heavy panting, laboured breathing, heavy drooling, bright red gums, vomiting, staggering and collapse. Take such an animal to a vet straight away.
Cats, windows and the garden
On a hot day, open windows tempt a cat, and without a secure screen it can fall. Do not shut a cat in a hot attic, a greenhouse or a sunny room without a cooler spot and water.
Slug pellets used in gardens are very dangerous to dogs and cats, and animals can find them tempting. Do not scatter them where your pet goes. Oleander, grown in pots on terraces, is poisonous too.
What to do
- Never leave your pet in a car, not even briefly.
- On hot days, walk your dog early in the morning and late in the evening.
- Touch the pavement with your palm before you go out.
- Always leave fresh water and shade.
- Fit secure screens to windows you open, for your cat.
- Do not scatter slug pellets where your pet goes.
- Watch flat-faced, old and overweight animals especially closely in the heat.
When to contact a vet urgently
Take your pet to a vet straight away if it is panting heavily even at rest, struggling to breathe, if your cat is breathing with its mouth open, or if your pet is drooling heavily, has bright red or bluish gums, is vomiting, staggering or collapses. Call the clinic on the way so they can prepare. Contact a vet straight away too if your pet may have eaten slug pellets or chewed oleander.