Protecting pets from winter’s wrath: And looking out for other creatures as well

With bitter cold weather descending on Shelter Island, most folks are taking care of themselves and their families by being sure everyone is bundled up before heading out.  It’s also important to remember other members of the family that are often overlooked — pets — as well as those other creatures near us, farm animals and feral/barn cats. 

The latter are described as cats that live in barns, sheds or outbuildings and are fed by humans. They are sometimes employed where they reside to keep the rodent populations down (more on these critters later).

Shelter Island Animal Control Officer Jenny Zahler has advice for keeping pet dogs healthy in frigid weather. She noted that after trotting around in the snow, dogs’ paws can get ice between the toes. This can lead to real discomfort, with pads often cracking from dryness. Ice melt and salt on walkways, driveways and roads can produce chemical burns. And, like humans, frostbite is a threat when the temperatures drop. 

Officer Zahler suggests booties, and after a walk some palm balm that will help remove the chemicals the pet might have picked up. She also recommends pet-friendly ice melts that are on the market that use safer ingredients, instead of harsh rock salt, to reduce irritation and toxicity for dogs’ paws and when ingested. 

Farm animals, notably chickens, goats, sheep or horses, need to be fed more often in colder weather to maintain their body heat, Officer Zahler said. It’s also important to have shelter for them and to use straw, but never blankets. Straw stays dry, she said, and traps body heat for insulation, while blankets absorb water and can freeze, risking hypothermia. Other advantages of straw is it creates air pockets for warmth and is easily replaceable.

Tips on helping wildlife (“My favorites!” Officer Zahler said) in below freezing weather include putting out bowls or buckets To keep a bird bath from freezing, there are water heaters that will do the trick; keep it in a sunny spot and refill regularly with warm water. She noted that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation advises against feeding any wildlife, and feeding deer is illegal. 

Now for those feral/barn felines. Officer Zahler said that straw should be used for these animals as well, and they also need more food in frigid weather. She suggested dry food because it won’t freeze, and to keep a cat’s water bowl from freezing, use the same method as that for birds, or place the bowl on a towel atop a heating pad on the lowest setting.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Clinic had 148 feral cats in for spaying or neutering in 2025, which is just about the same as the year before. “They’re seeing more out-of -town ferals coming in for spay/neuter from places like Islip and Brookhaven, which is not very far from the Island,” Officer Zahler said. “It’s very, very important to get ferals sterilized ASAP.”

On the subject, she added, “Here on the Island, Debbie Spotteck is the hero of feral cats, for sure.”

Ms. Spotteck is one of several people who helped to almost completely eliminate the feral cat population on Shelter Island over the years by trapping them, spaying or neutering them, and then releasing them or putting them up for adoption. She was a member of the Webster W. Schott Foundation, which was started by Mr. Schott, an Island resident and philanthropist, who passed away in 2016.

“We spayed and neutered over 500 cats in 20 years,” Ms. Spotteck said about the program that ceased about eight years ago. She credits Mr. Schott for his vision and generosity, but also May Walker and Elana Royer, who recruited and mentored her.

She described entire so-called “colonies” in “Silver Beach, Ram Island, the Center and at the dump,” she said. “People remember those dump cats.”  

Ms. Spotteck also worked with cats that were breeding and proliferating in some residences.  “A place on Midway Road had 50 cats,” she remembered. 

Her work reducing the feral cat population ensured that the suffering of the wild creatures from hunger and exposure was put to an end.