Because we want to keep everyone around us safe, including our beloved pets, we are offering you some useful advices on how to keep your pets safe during quarantine. We are going through some though times, but it is important to stay positive and take care of ourselves and the ones we love, including our pets.
First of all, your pet’s routine is likely to be interrupted simply because family members are now home all day, which may cause them to become stressed. In addition, since dogs, cats and other companion animals rely on humans to meet most of their needs, humans need to brainstorm ways to ensure continued care during these days of restricted outdoor movement.
These tips, which include ways to care for your pets’ needs in case you become sick, include:
#1 Ensure adequate pet-care supply – Pet owners should have enough food, supplements, medications, and any other pet-care products needed to last pets at least two weeks and, ideally, four weeks.
#2 Have a contingency plan – Identify someone who can take care of the pets in the event you no longer can. Be sure to inform them of any special care your pet requires. When it comes to medication, provide specific and detailed directions about dosing and administration.
#3 Develop a schedule – Many pets, like people, are comforted by routines. As many of pet owners find their daily routines disrupted, it’s important to develop new rituals and routines to help give pets, and their humans, much needed structure.
#4 Find indoor games to help pets exercise – It’s important to engage pets physically and mentally while indoors. Consider playing “keep away,” get pets to chase laser pointers, call dogs back and forth through the house with treats, blow bubbles for them to chase, play hide and seek or purchase puzzle toys for them.
#5 Plan for medical emergencies – If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or suspect that you may be positive, and your pet becomes sick or experiences an emergency that requires veterinary attention and no one else can take them to a vet or animal hospital, pet owners should call ahead to inform the vet of the situation.
#6 Stay calm – Since pets pick up on our nervous energy, the last thing you want to do is stress them out in a way that causes them to act out, further perpetuating your own anxiety. Do some deep breathing, pet them calmly, and make sure to give them your full, undivided attention at least 15 minutes per day, to soothe both them and yourself.
It is extremely important to stay positive in these times, make the time spent together with your family and pets as pleasant as you can so we can all get out of the quarantine period being happy and healthy!
