Friday, July 25, 2014

Keeping Your Cat Cool in Summer

It's been incredibly hot here lately; it's been in the 90s for at least the past week.  The heat really gets to me, so I can't even imagine how my kitties feel with their fur coats!  If you're experiencing a heat wave, here are some tips on keeping your cat cool.

Photo Credit: Beatrice Murch

Ice Water: If you know it's going to be a hot day, put a few ice cubes in your kitty's water dish.  I've tried this with my kitties, and they seem to like it.

Provide a Fan: Place a box fan near your air conditioner or an open window.  If your cat gets hot, he or she can sit near the fan for a nice breeze.  I nearly always have a fan on in the summer since the apartment's central air conditioning doesn't work well.  Jewel seems to enjoy the fan's breeze when she's hot.

Cooling Bottles: Fill a small, plastic soda bottle with water, and put it in the freezer overnight  Remember that water expands when it freezes, so don't fill the soda bottle completely.  Take it out in the morning, and wrap it in a towel.  Place it in your cat's favorite bed or sleeping spot.

Haircut: Cats with medium or long hair might benefit from a summer haircut.  Be aware, though, that white or light-colored cats can get sunburned.  It's best to talk with your vet about whether a haircut would be beneficial for your kitty before you schedule him or her at the groomer's.

Photo Credit: Alisha Vargas

Allow Access to Tiled Spaces: Allow your kitty access to cool, tiled spaces, such as your bathroom floor, sink, bathtub, or basement.  If you typically have rugs covering your tiled floors, pick them up on hot days so your cat can enjoy the cool floor.  Many cats also enjoy curling up in the bathtub or sink on particularly hot days as well.

Limit Activity: Exercise is important for cats, but it's best to limit your furry friend's activity on hot days.  Hold play sessions in the early morning or nighttime hours when the temperature is cooler, and your cat isn't as likely to overheat.

Photo Credit: hotzeplotz

Give Your Cat a Cool "Bath:" Take a damp cloth and gently rub it over your kitty's fur to help him or her cool down.  I've done this with Milita before, and while she didn't enjoy the actual wetting of her fur, she did appear cooler afterwards.

How do you keep your cat cool during the summer?

16 comments:

  1. what a great and important list!

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  2. They are just mooching round - inside mostly and as the front of our home faces due north it is relatively cool in my bedroom and very popular with Hannah due to the thickness of her fur. They both tend to go out more during the evening when it's cooler although I can't sleep until I hear the cat flap and see they are both safely inside.

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  3. Those are some great tips. Actually, it's been cooler here. We had one 90+ degree day, but that's it. When it is hot, we usually lay in front of the cold air blowing thingy.

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  4. Those were all good...except for that bath thing!

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  5. Great advice. We hate the heat too. Tara always had such thick fur that she really suffered, but Truffles' fur is so thin and short I didn't think she would mind. Wrong. She looooooves the AC!

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  6. Great tips and very needed this summer.

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  7. Tiled places? Tee hee! Our entire partment is tile! Love it when it is hot outside, or it's too hot inside!
    The shower stall is a favorite cool place. In our old partment brandi loved the tub for cooling. Empty, of course!

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  8. These are great tips, and my human has used several of those with kitties she's had before! We have central air here (something the other kitties didn't get to enjoy), so it's not as bad for us when the temperatures rise.

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  9. awesum post two day guys...thanx for de tipz.....sum times if itz knot two ...stuffy...we R allowed in de garage coz de concrete iz kewl...then other times itz like whoa....go bak in....TWO hot !!

    heerz two a raccoon butterflyfish kinda week oh end… ♥

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  10. our temperatures are supposed to be over a hundred for the next couple of days :O we still like to lay in the afternoon sunpuddles tho! the cooling bottle is a good idea. Thanks for this post!

    Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie

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  11. Excellent suggestions. Thanks. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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  12. Great tips for staying cool!!! We stay inside, so luckily we don't have to worry too much about getting hot. The ice cubes in the water dish is fun though - we love playing with ice cubes!

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  13. Those are some great tips! We sure hope things cool off for you soon.

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  14. This is a great post! It's funny, the head peep had had written a similar post and scheduled it for this Thursday, then pushed its publication date back a week when the recall rumors started to stir. Now she's really glad that they will publish further apart!

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  15. Gweat posty. Hav a gweat week and stay cool.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi

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