TIME TO WINTERIZE

As the days grow shorter, take advantage of the brisk autumn air to get your home ready for frosty weather and all that comes with it. Tick these items off your winter to-do list now — so you can relax when the temperature really drops. Stock up on winter supplies like snow shovels, batteries, ice melt, and a first aid kit. Don’t foget your firewood! Swap out summer screens for storm windows. Change furnace filters. Seal air leaks around windows and doors. Schedule a heating system tune-up with a local HVAC technician. Hire a chimney sweep to inspect and clean your fireplace. Drain and disconnect garden hoses from outside spigots. Replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Fire up the snow blower and generator to ensure they are in working order.

ASK THE VET Hair Apparent

Question: I sometimes find my cat’s whiskers on the carpet, as though they’ve fallen out. Should I be concerned?

Cats naturally shed their whiskers, just as they shed their fur. Like fur, the whiskers grow back according to their own shed/regrowth cycle. So, as long as your cat still has whiskers and isn’t