Beating the heat: Pets and street animals struggle as mercury rises

Bengaluru pets struggle in summer heat, requiring special care and hydration to prevent heat stroke and dehydration

The summer blaze has been hard on Sridevi Nayak’s dog, Coco, all of four months. “He is hyperactive and irritated,” says the Bengaluru-based communication professional, who adopted the puppy this March.

Though she has been trying to keep him cool by ensuring that her home is well-ventilated, sprinkling water on him to cool him down after his morning and evening walk, feeding him hydrating meals, and leaving ice cubes out for him, she constantly worries about her pet. “He doesn’t drink water, and I can see how concentrated his urine is,” she says. “This summer has been very hard on him.”

Like Coco, pets across Bengaluru are struggling with the intense heat. “Dogs and cats do not have sweat glands all over the body like us,” says Shrikanth B.V., a city-based veterinary physician and surgeon. Their relatively few sweat glands are located in their paw pads, making them vulnerable to extreme heat, he adds. 

“Pets can succumb to a heat stroke,” he says, adding that dogs in particular regulate their body temperature by open-mouth breathing. “This makes the tongue very dry,” says Dr. Shrikanth, who advises dog parents to avoid long walks in this season, as far as possible. “Let them just go for their ablutions and bring them back,” he cautions, suggesting that exercise, if absolutely essential, should be restricted to the early morning or late evenings. And avoid shaving dogs completely, especially breeds like golden retrievers, newfoundlands and huskies, since they often struggle with post-clipping alopecia. “They can do maintenance cuts but not zero trimming as the hair does not grow back,” he says. 

In the case of cats, it is best that they are kept indoors and fed a diet of primarily wet food. “At least 70% should be wet,” says Dr. Shrikanth, pointing out that felines have notoriously weak kidneys and do not drink enough water. And never leave any pet alone in a car even for a short period of time.

Far worse is the vulnerability of community animals and urban wildlife to intense heat. “I think putting out a bowl of water for them should be the common practice. But that should not be only for the summers,” believes Sanjeev Pednekar, the founder of Prani-The Pet Sanctuary, home to over 700 rescued animals and birds across 40 species. It takes some time before birds and animals are aware of this water source and start drinking from it so “it needs to be a permanent thing.”

“If you are a community feeder who usually feeds kibble, it is best to avoid this, opting for more hydrating food, if possible. If not, at least soak kibble in water before giving,” says Mr. Pednekar. According to him, this is also the season when many birds, especially kites, tend to get dehydrated and fall from the sky.