Heat Stroke in Dogs and Cats in Dubai: What To Do Straight Away

The first sign is panting that has changed character — louder, faster and more frantic than the panting you know, and it does not settle when the animal lies down somewhere cool. Alongside it you may see thick ropey drool, gums that have gone brick red, restlessness, and a dog who wants to stop when he normally would not. Those are the early signs, and they are the ones worth acting on, because the later ones — stumbling, vomiting, collapse — mean damage is already being done. If you are looking at the early list and wondering whether it counts, get him into the cool and call us. We would far rather answer a call about a dog who turns out to be fine.

Improvised cooling is where most of the harm happens. Ice and ice-cold water close the blood vessels at the skin surface and slow the heat leaving the body, which is the opposite of what you want. Other home cooling attempts either delay the drive or trap heat. Get him out of the heat and call us — we will tell you what suits his state. The last mistake is not a physical one: waiting to see whether he improves. Looking better comes long before being better.

We examine him, then decide what his case needs. That may include bloodwork in our in-house laboratory to see what the heat has done to the kidneys, the liver and the clotting system, intravenous fluids, oxygen support or a period of monitoring — heat stroke has complications that appear hours after the animal appears to have recovered, which is not something anyone can judge from a description on the phone. Everything beyond the <strong>AED 120</strong> consultation is quoted to you before it starts.

Cats hide it better, which is exactly the problem. A cat that is panting at all deserves attention — open-mouthed breathing is normal for a dog and abnormal for a cat, and many owners have never seen their cat do it. Look also for restlessness followed by unusual stillness, drooling, very red gums, grooming frantically, wobbliness, or a cat lying stretched out flat on a cool floor and unwilling to move. Flat-faced breeds such as Persians are at higher risk, and so are cats shut in a room where the air conditioning has failed. If your cat is panting, treat it the way you would treat a collapsing dog and call us.

Many do. Early cooling and a quick arrival are the part owners control, and they matter. Recovery depends on how high the temperature went, how long it stayed there, and what it damaged along the way, which is why we run bloodwork rather than judging by appearance. Some dogs go home the same day with follow-up checks; others need fluids and monitoring because kidney or clotting problems show up a day later. What we will not do is promise an outcome from a description over the phone. Bring him in, and we will tell you honestly what we are looking at.