Pet Safety Information
SUMMER SAFETY FOR PETS
✓ Never leave pets in parked cars on hot or sunny days. Temperatures inside cars can rise dangerously high in minutes. Pets will suffer needlessly and could die when left in a car on even a warm day.
✓ Always bring cool, fresh water when traveling with your pet.
✓ A day at the beach is a bad idea unless you can guarantee a shaded spot and plenty of fresh water for your pet. Always supervise a pet in the water.
✓ Be especially sensitive to older and overweight pets in hot weather. Snub-nosed dogs, as well as those with heart or lung disease, should be kept cool in air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
✓ It is very dangerous, and illegal in Provincetown, to drive with a dog in the back of a pick-up truck unless the sides of the bed are 48” or more. Ideally, dogs should ride either in the cab (in a crate or wearing a seat belt harness designed for dogs) or in a secured crate in the bed of the truck.
✓ Plant food, fertilizer, and insecticides can be fatal if your pet ingests them. In addition, many plants produce toxic substances in sufficient amounts to cause harmful effects in animals.
✓ People and dogs spend more time outside in the summer, so dog bites are likely to increase. Spaying or neutering your dog reduces the likelihood that he will bite and provides many other health benefits.
✓ Make sure your pet is always wearing a collar and identification tag. You might also consider micro-chipping your pet.
✓ Don’t take your pets to crowded summer events. The loud noises and crowds combined with the heat, can be stressful and dangerous for pets.
✓ Check with your veterinarian to see if your pets should be taking heartworm prevention medication. Heartworm disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, can be fatal in both dogs and cats.
✓ Pets need exercise even when it is hot, but extra care needs to be taken with older dogs, short-nosed dogs, and those with thick coats. On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours. Keep in mind that asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet’s paws.
✓ Another summertime threat is fleas and ticks. Use only flea and tick treatments recommended by your veterinarian. Some over-the-counter flea and tick products can be toxic, even when used according to instructions.
✓ Pets can get sunburned too, and your pet may require sunscreen on her nose and ear tips. Pets with light-colored noses or light-colored fur on their ears are particularly vulnerable to sunburn and skin cancer.
✓ Your pet can suffer from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These conditions are very serious. Signs include heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse, a staggering gait, vomiting, or a deep red or purple tongue. If your pet does become overheated, you need to immediately lower his body temperature. Move your pet into the shade and apply cool (not cold) water over his head, neck and chest. Let your pet drink small amounts of water or lick ice cubes and get him to a veterinarian immediately.
✓ Causing an animal to be subjected to unnecessary cruelty or suffering is illegal in Massachusetts and is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to $1000.
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
✓ Provincetown Police: 911 or 508.487.1212
✓ Veterinary Wellness Center of Provincetown, 43 Race Point Road Unit E , 508.909.4800
✓ Wellfleet Veterinary Hospital: 508.214.0902 2700 State Highway (Route 6)
✓ Cape Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) Center: 508.398.7575 – a veterinary emergency care and referral center – 79 Theophilus Smith Road in South Dennis (Exit 9A) – 55 minutes away (40 miles)
Why you should keep your cat inside…
✓ Car strikes – Thousands of cats get hit by cars every year. If they are lucky, they die instantly.
✓ Car engines – Cats seek warmth. In the winter they tend to climb up inside car engines where they can be subsequently maimed when the car is started.
✓ Anti-freeze – Cats like the sweet taste of anti-freeze, and they will lick it if able. Anti-freeze is extremely toxic and your cat will die a painful death within hours of ingesting it. It can take less than a teaspoon to kill a full-size cat or dog!
✓ Poisoning – There are people who don’t like cats and will set out poison on their property. Others may put poison out to get rid of other wildlife that wanders onto their property and your cat may accidentally ingest it. Your cat could also be unintentionally poisoned by pesticides, lawn products, etc.
✓ Fighting – Your cat could be killed by dogs, raccoons, or other wildlife. Some people train their dogs to attack and kill cats.
✓ FELV, FIV and FIP – Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunosuppressive Virus destroy a cat’s immune system. They are transmitted through body fluids. The vaccine for FELV is only 70 to 75% effective. Cats infected usually die within two years. There is no vaccination for FIV. FIP is always 100% fatal. Tests and vaccines for FIP are not reliable.
✓ Animal Abuse – Your cat might encounter an adult or a child with cruel intentions. Cats are often shot with BB guns, burned with firecrackers, thrown and otherwise tortured, causing loss of limbs, eyes, etc.
✓ Getting Trapped – Your cat could get trapped in someone else’s rental unit, garage or utility shed. He could suffer brain damage if trapped in extreme heat or could suffer frostbite if trapped in extreme cold. Many cats starve to death this way.
✓ Research Labs – Your cat could get stolen and sold to a research lab.
✓ Parasitic Infections – Your cat could eat something (rat, mouse, bird) and die of a parasitic infection.
✓ Fleas, ticks, worms, ringworm – Once your cat has been out and about, he could transmit these to other pets and people in the household.
✓ Drowning – Your cat could accidentally fall in a swimming pool or sewer drain and drown.
✓ And then there’s wildlife – Domestic cats, even when fed regularly, retain their innate desire to hunt. Millions of native birds and other small animals are killed annually by domestic cats. These creatures often suffer for hours or days with infection before perishing. They may also carry diseases which will subsequently harm or kill your cat.
✓ Remember that there are plenty of toys, videos and methods for keeping your cat amused. Please do the right thing for everyone and keep your cat inside the house all the time.
✓ Never leave pets in parked cars on hot or sunny days. Temperatures inside cars can rise dangerously high in minutes. Pets will suffer needlessly and could die when left in a car on even a warm day.
✓ Always bring cool, fresh water when traveling with your pet.
✓ A day at the beach is a bad idea unless you can guarantee a shaded spot and plenty of fresh water for your pet. Always supervise a pet in the water.
✓ Be especially sensitive to older and overweight pets in hot weather. Snub-nosed dogs, as well as those with heart or lung disease, should be kept cool in air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
✓ It is very dangerous, and illegal in Provincetown, to drive with a dog in the back of a pick-up truck unless the sides of the bed are 48” or more. Ideally, dogs should ride either in the cab (in a crate or wearing a seat belt harness designed for dogs) or in a secured crate in the bed of the truck.
✓ Plant food, fertilizer, and insecticides can be fatal if your pet ingests them. In addition, many plants produce toxic substances in sufficient amounts to cause harmful effects in animals.
✓ People and dogs spend more time outside in the summer, so dog bites are likely to increase. Spaying or neutering your dog reduces the likelihood that he will bite and provides many other health benefits.
✓ Make sure your pet is always wearing a collar and identification tag. You might also consider micro-chipping your pet.
✓ Don’t take your pets to crowded summer events. The loud noises and crowds combined with the heat, can be stressful and dangerous for pets.
✓ Check with your veterinarian to see if your pets should be taking heartworm prevention medication. Heartworm disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, can be fatal in both dogs and cats.
✓ Pets need exercise even when it is hot, but extra care needs to be taken with older dogs, short-nosed dogs, and those with thick coats. On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours. Keep in mind that asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet’s paws.
✓ Another summertime threat is fleas and ticks. Use only flea and tick treatments recommended by your veterinarian. Some over-the-counter flea and tick products can be toxic, even when used according to instructions.
✓ Pets can get sunburned too, and your pet may require sunscreen on her nose and ear tips. Pets with light-colored noses or light-colored fur on their ears are particularly vulnerable to sunburn and skin cancer.
✓ Your pet can suffer from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These conditions are very serious. Signs include heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse, a staggering gait, vomiting, or a deep red or purple tongue. If your pet does become overheated, you need to immediately lower his body temperature. Move your pet into the shade and apply cool (not cold) water over his head, neck and chest. Let your pet drink small amounts of water or lick ice cubes and get him to a veterinarian immediately.
✓ Causing an animal to be subjected to unnecessary cruelty or suffering is illegal in Massachusetts and is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to $1000.
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
✓ Provincetown Police: 911 or 508.487.1212
✓ Veterinary Wellness Center of Provincetown, 43 Race Point Road Unit E , 508.909.4800
✓ Wellfleet Veterinary Hospital: 508.214.0902 2700 State Highway (Route 6)
✓ Cape Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) Center: 508.398.7575 – a veterinary emergency care and referral center – 79 Theophilus Smith Road in South Dennis (Exit 9A) – 55 minutes away (40 miles)
Why you should keep your cat inside…
✓ Car strikes – Thousands of cats get hit by cars every year. If they are lucky, they die instantly.
✓ Car engines – Cats seek warmth. In the winter they tend to climb up inside car engines where they can be subsequently maimed when the car is started.
✓ Anti-freeze – Cats like the sweet taste of anti-freeze, and they will lick it if able. Anti-freeze is extremely toxic and your cat will die a painful death within hours of ingesting it. It can take less than a teaspoon to kill a full-size cat or dog!
✓ Poisoning – There are people who don’t like cats and will set out poison on their property. Others may put poison out to get rid of other wildlife that wanders onto their property and your cat may accidentally ingest it. Your cat could also be unintentionally poisoned by pesticides, lawn products, etc.
✓ Fighting – Your cat could be killed by dogs, raccoons, or other wildlife. Some people train their dogs to attack and kill cats.
✓ FELV, FIV and FIP – Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunosuppressive Virus destroy a cat’s immune system. They are transmitted through body fluids. The vaccine for FELV is only 70 to 75% effective. Cats infected usually die within two years. There is no vaccination for FIV. FIP is always 100% fatal. Tests and vaccines for FIP are not reliable.
✓ Animal Abuse – Your cat might encounter an adult or a child with cruel intentions. Cats are often shot with BB guns, burned with firecrackers, thrown and otherwise tortured, causing loss of limbs, eyes, etc.
✓ Getting Trapped – Your cat could get trapped in someone else’s rental unit, garage or utility shed. He could suffer brain damage if trapped in extreme heat or could suffer frostbite if trapped in extreme cold. Many cats starve to death this way.
✓ Research Labs – Your cat could get stolen and sold to a research lab.
✓ Parasitic Infections – Your cat could eat something (rat, mouse, bird) and die of a parasitic infection.
✓ Fleas, ticks, worms, ringworm – Once your cat has been out and about, he could transmit these to other pets and people in the household.
✓ Drowning – Your cat could accidentally fall in a swimming pool or sewer drain and drown.
✓ And then there’s wildlife – Domestic cats, even when fed regularly, retain their innate desire to hunt. Millions of native birds and other small animals are killed annually by domestic cats. These creatures often suffer for hours or days with infection before perishing. They may also carry diseases which will subsequently harm or kill your cat.
✓ Remember that there are plenty of toys, videos and methods for keeping your cat amused. Please do the right thing for everyone and keep your cat inside the house all the time.