As Bouts Of Poor Air Quality Become Increasingly Common Due To Climate Change, Here’s How To Keep All Kinds Of Household Pets Protected

In 2023, the smoke that blew into the East Coast from the tragic wildfires burning in Canada shocked residents. As New York City became one of the top cities with the worst air quality in the entire world on Wednesday, June 7th, people were panicking and desperate to learn what to do in such conditions.

While East Coasters started getting informed on how to protect themselves during bouts of poor air quality that are becoming more common, there wasn’t much information circulating on keeping all kinds of pets safe.

Although the smoke from the Canadian wildfires has since cleared from the East Coast, data shows that wildfires can continue to occur more frequently as time goes on due to weather conditions brought on by climate change.

Therefore, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for the possibility of poor air quality affecting your area again. One of the best ways to be prepared is to know how to care for your pets during these times.

For popular household pets like dogs, it’s crucial to keep them indoors as much as possible when the air quality in your area has been deemed unhealthy or hazardous. If you can put down potty pads, that’s great. If you must take them outside to go to the bathroom, keep those walks and trips as short as possible, heading back inside once they’ve done their business.

If you have a pet that stays in a cage or habitat near a window, like a bird, be sure to move their home further away from any drafty places.

In order to keep yourself and your pets safe, you certainly want to make sure all of your windows are shut tight. If you have an air purifier, use it. If you use an air conditioning window unit, clean your filter before using it.

If there are any pets you usually keep outside, bring them inside for as long as you can. For farm animals that need to stay out, like horses or other livestock, be sure to limit their exercise, keep dust out of their holding areas, and give them a few weeks to recover.

All pets need to constantly have access to fresh water in times of poor air quality, even if they’ve been kept inside most of the day. Be sure to change and refill their water bowl every couple of hours. Additionally, if they want to play with any toys that were left outside, be sure to wash them first.

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