Ahmedabad: The scorching heat has begun taking a toll on humans, animals and birds alike. And summer has only begun. With temperatures hovering around 40 degrees celsius, veterinary clinics and hospitals in the city are reporting an increase in gastrointestinal disturbances, dehydration and fever among dogs and cats. Veterinary clinics are reporting at least five cases a day of pets with gastrointestinal disturbance, fever and reduced or no food intake. This is commonly seen in both cats and dogs.Dr Dhaval Patel, an Ahmedabad-based veterinary doctor, said, “Since temperatures are not consistently very high, the inflow of cases is less. But the sudden spike in daytime temperatures is having an adverse impact on pets’ health. We are attending to five pets every day with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and weakness among others. These are signs of drastic temperature changes which pets find difficult to adapt to.”Loss of appetite, unconsciousness, increased salivation and inactivity are also common signs of dehydration and other heat-related ailments. Similarly, Ahmedabad-based Jivdaya Charitable Trust (JCT)’s hospital also records at least 40 animal OPDs a day with cases of dehydration and heat-related illnesses. Over and above this, animal ambulances operated by JCT report 20 cases of dehydration in animals and birds.Explaining the concept, Dr Parth Pandya, a veterinary surgeon at JCT Hospital said, “The most common cases we come across include tick fever and diarrhoea in dogs and dehydration and tick-borne disease in cats. These are common ailments during summer and we expect the cases to increase in the wake of heatwave predictions.”“At present, about 5% of the animals brought to us come in critical condition because in the absence of timely treatment, many tend to collapse due to high temperatures,” Dr Pandya further explained.

We also published the following articles recently

Panaji sweats as maximum temperature increases a bit

IMD reported a temperature rise in Panaji, reaching 34.2 C from 32.7 C. Dry conditions are forecasted from April 11 to 16, with prevailing humidity and warm temperatures.

Soaring temperature: Jaundice cases cause concern in Ernakulam

Ernakulam health workers alarmed by 19 hepatitis A cases in 4 days due to uncooked food, roadside drinks from hotels, restaurants, eateries. Contaminated water blamed. Preventive measures: fully cooked food, drinking water, seasonal fruits. Communicable diseases can have fatal consequences.

Kolkatas animal lovers choose strays as pets over pedigree pups

In Kolkata, citizens and animal activists collaborate to rescue and adopt stray dogs, providing them with loving homes and necessary care. The city witnesses a rising trend of nurturing strays into pets, promoting compassion and responsible pet ownership.