Have you ever seen your pet lying under the sun? Dogs and cats, for instance, they really love to look for a place in the sunshine and lie down there, even they take a nap there.

You may start wondering why your pets really love sunbathing. Just like humans, many animals simply love the soothing feel of the sun on their skin and fur. There are some other physiology reasons and they are just their instincts for self-preservation.

Some of you may have ever heard about heat stroke. Yes, heat stroke is also caused by sun light and its impacts are dangerous for the pets. Read more about heat stroke in dogs too.

As long as the temperature is not extreme, then there is almost not any possibility your pets getting heat stroke. Later at the end, there will be some tips to prevent your pets from getting heat stroke. Now, it is time to see the 5 unknown benefits of sunbathing for pet.

Sun is the Natural Source of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a vital vitamin for all living things, including your pets. Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that dissolve in fat and oils. These vitamins are mostly stored in the body’s adipose tissues and retained in the body for longer.

As a result, you don’t have to give vitamin D supplement every day or even food containing high level of it. Amazingly, their body is able to hold it for a period of time.

Make sure you also prepare some vegetables your pet can eat for some other vitamins supply for your pet.

Besides, vitamin D is also beneficial for developing their muscles, boosting their nervous system and stimulating their muscle contractions.

However, unlike us humans, pets, such as dogs, absorb the vitamin D by the fur covering their body. It means that the vitamin does not reach the dermis and the oil transformed into vitamin D will remain in the coat. As such, after a long time lying in the sun, dogs will lick their paws and the rest of the body to absorb it.

Sleep Aid

Sunlight can produce the melatonin hormone both in humans and animals. This hormone reacts with their retinas and pineal glands to regulate their sleep cycles.

It will also boost the quality of their sleep. That’s why some scientists suggest pet owners to let their pets to access unfiltered sunlight throughout the daylight hours so that their pets can maintain their optimal circadian rhythms.

Read more about the reasons of why sleeping cats should not be disturbed to know more about sleeping pets.

Improve the Pet’s Mood

How can sunlight improve your pet’s mood? It happens when the sun shines on your pet’s body, then it produces a type of neurotransmitter called serotonin.

Serotonin is basically a chemical substance the body produces. This substance is very beneficial to stabilize your pet’s mood, and even it is arguably one of the most effective antidepressants.

That’s why you may see your dog or cat feel happy while lying in the sun.

Consider these 6 fun games to play with your beloved cat and tips on how to make your cat mood happy.

Provide Warmth During Cold Weather

It is a common reason that your pets sunbathe because they want to get warm, especially during the cold weather. So, besides exposing themselves to sunlight to obtain vitamin D and improve their mood, they also do that for combating the low temperatures during the winter months.

As a Pain Relief

For senior cats and dogs, the warmth from the sun is able to offer temporary relief from certain afflictions, such as arthritis and rheumatism. Sun light can also kill germs.

Sun shine is believed to be able to kill the extraneous yeast and bacteria that may grow in wounds. Bacteria really love to stay in a damp and dark area, while sunlight will help to dry out the wounds and kill the microscopic fungi as well.

Generally, veterinarians suggest that your pets should get a minimum of 20 to 40 minutes of direct sunlight outdoors. However, you also need to be aware that some sun-related issues may also happen to your pets.

Despite the fact that their body is protected by fur, they still can get problems if they are over exposed to sunlight. Be aware of some problems, such as dehydration, heatstroke, and sunburn.

To prevent these problems to happen, you can do some precautions, such as making sure that they always have cool water around them, putting sunscreen for pets who have short hair, and paying attention to the duration of sunbathing. Though they are happy to sunbathe, as their owners, you still have to pay attention to them .