#TG Life
It’s a joy to have a pet in the house, be it cat or dog. They say, dogs are loyal and man’s best friends. Who would not want to share his or her love with such a loyal friend? But it’s a great responsibility, to take care of the house pets, in the same manner as we care for our near and dear ones. Monsoon is approaching and pets too get sick with the rains. The change of weather affects them the same way as it affects us, human beings.
“Animals are most likely to get ill due to moisture and lack of extracurricular activities during the monsoon,” admits a vet from North Goa who also offers some tips to take care of the home pets.
But some don’t agree that change of season affects pets or they should be taken extra care during monsoons. Xavier Coelho is one of them. Sharing his experience Coelho states, “I don’t need to take any special care of my cats and dogs during the monsoon. The only difference is, they are inside the house most of the time and even if they go out, they return home as soon as it starts raining. I just help them to get dry and provide extra blankets as the ground is cold during these days.”
Coelho who has one stray dog and seven stray cats never had such cases where his pets got sick.
“I just allow them to walk in the garden. I have seen them eating grass sometimes. I honestly don’t know how but they know the use of grass for medicinal purposes to help them vomit,” shares Coelho.
Siddhant Damania, who owns eight dogs admits, “I keep them inside the house mostly and take them to a vet if they fall sick during the monsoon. I normally just give my dogs boiled chicken.”
Enrica Fernandes owns two cats, and is worried about the thunder, which makes her cats uneasy. “Firstly, their toilet trips are a must so sand boxes are really important, since it isn’t always possible to take them for a walk. Secondly, my only problem is that the cats get crazy when they hear thunder. I normally get a basket put a lot of fluffy sheets and let them sit there under the bed that’s when they fall asleep. Also you can’t give cats a bath, they clean themselves.”
It’s not so with the dogs, who can be given baths as and when they get dirty. “I bathe them regularly during the monsoon and wipe them dry as soon as possible so that they don’t catch a cold or fall sick. Mostly I let them stay put if it rains heavily,” said Preston Coelho, an owner of two dogs.
Iola Lawrence who has five dogs takes extra care to see that her dogs don’t get wet in the pouring rain. “I try to make sure they don’t get wet in the rain. Also I see that mosquitoes don’t bite them. And whenever the dogs get scared of noise, especially loud thunder, we pet them and stay with them till they fall asleep. We give them some vitamin tablets and in case they fall sick due to the weather or we let them eat grass.”
“My cats stay in the apartment so they don’t really get wet or dirty but they do get scared of the thunder so I would hold them it helps them calm down. They do like staring at the rain though. We have a tub with paper and sand so they can do their ‘business’ we clean it out often. They don’t get sick but when they get a cold we monitor their diet until it clears out,” said Jayden Monserrate, who has two pet cats.
“I treat my dog Benji almost like a human. During the monsoon I keep him away from too much water. I normally give him only boiled chicken. I keep him warm. Take care of his hygiene and try to keep him away from mosquitoes. I take him to the vet once just for a check-up, said Saujas Shetye who loves his Benji very much.
Pets too get sick and need care. They have emotions too, and feel scared of loud noises and fire crackers. They know if their masters love them and respond positively. It’s our moral duty to nurture the pets we own and not take their health for granted.
