As Mother Nature continues to blanket the region with ice and snow, make sure your pets are protected from a lurking danger the cold presents — frostbite.


"In the recent weather we have experienced, these dangers have been, and will continue to be, real and urgent matters for pets and their owners," warns Dr. Philip Gaudet, owner of Capeway Veterinary Hospital of Fairhaven.

Frostbite attacks a pet's extremities, including the ears, toes, tail and genitals, when the animal is exposed to freezing temperatures for more than a few minutes.

"This is the worst and most rapid way to interrupt the blood supply to those body parts," Gaudet says.

Frostbite can occur at and just below the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. While shorthaired or smooth-coated animals, such as pugs and whippets, are more prone to freezing than longhaired pets, all animals can be affected.

"Of course, husky-like pets will fare better than Chihuahuas and their short-coated relations," Gaudet notes.

Although the time it takes for frostbite to develop depends on the ambient temperature, if it's below freezing, a few minutes can make a difference. So when you let your pet outside to relieve itself, make sure it gets back inside when it's freezing.

"Better yet, if possible, set up a small, easily cleaned, papered area in the house for your pet to soil," Gaudet says.

When a pet's frostbitten extremities begin to thaw, the area will first become warm and painful, then swollen and tender when touched. If not properly treated, the tissue gradually hardens to a texture similar to old leather or cardboard, and eventually begins to flake and peel away from the skin like a scab.

"Underneath may be more dead tissue or an open wound," Gaudet warns. "Ear tips and tails will rot off and may expose the cartilage or tailbone. Toes and sometimes lower legs are similarly affected. The prepuce (penis sheath) can also freeze."

Gaudet says that treatment of frostbite is initially a matter of returning the tissues to normal body temperature, 100.5 degree to 102.5 degrees for both cats and dogs.

"A soft massage with your bare hands or cool moist cloths will slowly return any tissue to body temperature. Sometimes a simple antibiotic and good nursing care is all that is necessary. In some cases, surgical intervention (amputation) is required."

Author and columnist Amy Shojai says that cats are actually "a bit more savvy than dogs when it comes to cold weather" and generally seek shelter more quickly.

"Cats tuck their feet under the belly so toes may not be affected as often," Shojai says, but she warns that ear tips and tails are at risk because these extremities are exposed even when a feline is curled into a ball.

Shojai, author of 23 pet care books including the "The First-Aid Companion for Dogs and Cats," says that frostbite can be difficult to detect when the pale white, gray or blue color of frozen skin is hidden by fur. She adds that even the Nordic breeds, such as huskies and Finnish spitz, can suffer from frostbite.

"Pets may limp from frozen toes, frozen ear tops tend to droop and the skin will be very cold, hard and non-pliable," she says.

Shojai says it's imperative that outdoor pets have proper shelter from the wind and cold, or the animal could die. The size of the shelter should only be slightly larger than the pet's body so the animal can be warmed by its own body heat.

"Even better," she says, "keep your cats and dogs inside and avoid the risk all together."

Swansea resident Brian J. Lowney has been writing about pets for more than a decade. He is a past president of the Wampanoag Kennel Club, an active dog show judge and shares his home with two shelter-adopted cats. His column also appears regularly in The Standard-Times and on the website that newspaper shares with The Fall River Spirit,