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or stop moving, or start to look for warm places
to burrow, they’re saying they want to get back
someplace warm.
You can also keep an eye out for two
serious conditions caused by cold weather. The
first and less common of the two is frostbite.
Frostbite happens when an animal’s (or a
person’s) body gets cold and pulls all the blood
from the extremities to the center of the body to
stay warm. The animal’s ears, paws, or tail can
get cold enough that ice crystals can form in
the tissue and damage it. The tricky thing about
frostbite is that it’s not immediately obvious.
The tissue doesn’t show signs of the damage to it
for several days.
If you suspect your pet may have frostbite,
bring her into a warm environment right away.
You can soak her extremities in warm water
for about 20 minutes to melt the ice crystals
and restore circulation. It’s important that you
don’t rub the frostbitten tissue, however--the
ice crystals can do a lot of damage to the tissue.
Once your pet is warm, wrap her up in some
blankets and take her to the veterinarian. Your
veterinarian can assess the damage and treat your
pet for pain or infection if necessary.
Hypothermia, or a body temperature
that is below normal, is a condition that occurs
when an animal is not able to keep her body
temperature from falling below normal. It
happens when animals spend too much time in
cold temperatures, or when animals with poor
health or circulation are exposed to cold. In
mild cases, animals will shiver and show signs
of depression, lethargy, and weakness. As the
condition progresses, an animal’s muscles will
stiffen, her heart and breathing rates will slow
down, and she will stop responding to stimuli.
If you notice these symptoms, you
need to get your pet warm and take her to your
veterinarian. You can wrap her in blankets,
possibly with a hot water bottle or an electric
blanket. As always, remember to wrap hot items
in fabric to prevent against burning the skin. In
severe cases, your veterinarian can monitor her
heart rate and blood pressure and give warm
fluids through an IV.
Winter can be a beautiful time of year. It
can be a dangerous time as well, but it certainly
doesn’t have to be. If you take some precautions,
you and your pet can have a fabulous time.
33 Edgemont Drive l Presque Isle, ME 04769
(207) 768-2785 l www.nmcc.edu
WINTER 2011 County Critters 63