How to help street animals in winter

With the temperature dropping below 10 degrees, the hardest time of the year has begun for animals on the street. They have to spend more energy than ever to keep warm and find food, and they also have to deal with people who treat them badly.

What can you do to help street animals and save their lives on harsh winter days?

Put a water bowl on your street

Cats, dogs and birds use small puddles as a water source in good weather, but in winter these freeze and water becomes hard to find. You can make a water bowl by cutting a large plastic bottle in half. If you fill it with warm water, it stays drinkable for longer. By teaming up with a few animal lovers on your street, you can keep the bowl clean and full.

Feed them

In cold winter months, animals need to be fed 3 times a day. Be careful not to give them spoiled food. For animals whose resistance drops in the cold, even a case of diarrhoea can be fatal.

Neuter them

Under Turkey’s Animal Protection Law No. 5199, neutering street animals is one of the core duties of municipalities. Call your municipality and follow up on the neutering of the animals on your street. Many vets also run neutering campaigns for street animals. Talk to your neighbourhood vet and work together to get street animals neutered. Make sure the animal is not released back onto the street until it has woken up from the procedure and is back to normal.

Give them shelter

If you cannot promise to keep a street animal with you for the rest of its life, do not take it into your home. If you live on the ground floor, you can offer homes and kennels on your balcony, or in your garden if you have one.