Content
- How heat affects cats
- 1. Leave the room at an ideal temperature
- 2. Make sure your hydration
- 3. Prevent him from going abroad
- 4. Can you water the cat to refresh it?
- 5. Take care of the cat's fur
- 6. Maintain the cat's ideal weight
Domestic cats can also suffer the consequences of heat during the hottest months of the year. Licking themselves also allows them to cool off, but this is not enough to end the consequences of intense heat, which can raise their body temperature to the point of hyperthermia even causing heat stroke. In these cases, the cat's life may be in danger.
For this reason, it is very important to keep our feline companions comfortable during this time of year to avoid the unwanted effects of heat. Continue reading this PeritoAnimal article to know how to cool the cat in the heat.
How heat affects cats
You cats tolerate temperatures from 17 to 30°C on average, depending on the breed. Nordic long-haired breeds tolerate cooler temperatures than short-haired or hairless cats, who will prefer slightly higher temperatures.
In addition, cats have their sweat glands in their foot pads, so they do not sweat through the body surface as with other animals, and so are more affected by heat. If you want to know where cats sweat, we explain it in this article.
Cat caretakers know that when our feline starts to hide, lie down and stretch out on the floor, especially if it's a marble or tile floor, it's because the heat is increasing and he's already starting to get annoyed with the temperature. Also, there are other warning signs, such as weakness or hypersalivation.
The main risk of high temperatures is the dehydration and heat stroke, which can occur when there is an increase in body temperature beyond the highest range for the species, which, in cats, is 39.2°C. When this occurs, vital functions begin to change, causing consequences that can be fatal.
A cat already begins to suffer from high temperatures when they are in an environment with over 30°C , but it can also occur when it is below that if the heat is humid, so a number of measures must be taken to avoid heat stroke. And it's about how to cool the cat in the heat that we'll talk about next.
1. Leave the room at an ideal temperature
If you want to know how to cool your cat in the heat, the ideal is to leave the house or room where your cat is most comfortable at a temperature that is good for him, which should be between 15 and 23 ºC. For this, we can use air conditioning or fans common or ceiling.
In addition, if there is an incidence of the sun on the site, we must lower the blinds or close the curtains during the brightest hours and allow air to enter through a small space in the window, but without opening it completely to prevent the cat from escaping or leaving the house through there. We must not forget the parachute cat syndrome.
2. Make sure your hydration
Domestic cats have their origins in the desert cat, a feline that does not usually drink water due to the high humidity of the prey it hunts daily. Cats carry in their genes a tendency to drink little water, even when we feed them exclusively on dry food. This is why many cats suffer from a degree of dehydration, which can lead, for example, to urinary problems. When temperatures are too high, the risk of dehydration increases, making the cat's condition worse.
So how to cool the cat in the heat? To avoid dehydration, we must try to make our cat drink more liquids daily, either by adding wet rations such as cans or sachets, complementary foods such as milk or cat broth, as well as encouraging water consumption, using fountains for cats that keep the water moving.
If only one bowl is available for the cat, make sure it is always clean and filled with fresh water. We recommend changing the water a few times a day. Normally, in times of heat we humans chill our drinks with ice, but is giving ice to cats a good idea? yes you can add ice cubes to the cat's water bowl to keep the water cool as long as it doesn't get too cold.
3. Prevent him from going abroad
During the hottest hours of the hottest months of the year, it is important that our cats do not leave the house. If at any time of year it is dangerous due to the threats and risks that outdoor cats are exposed to, when temperatures are high, there is a extreme heat stroke. For this reason, even if we have a cat used to going outside, or even on the porch or backyard, the best thing for its health is to keep it indoors in the shade and, therefore, this is a simple way to cool the cat in the heat.
4. Can you water the cat to refresh it?
You must have already asked yourself that. And the answer is yes and no. We explain: it is good to wet them if it is to bathe them when they really need it, whether it is to apply a shampoo to treat a dermatological problem, to facilitate the expulsion of the hair during the change or because they are extremely dirty.
When temperatures are too high, we can moisten the cat's body by area, but it is not good to completely wet them or dip them in a sink, pool or bathtub, as this would stress them a lot and increase their body temperature even more. Therefore, we should limit ourselves to wetting the face, neck, back and area between the fingers to improve their temperature and relieve heat.
5. Take care of the cat's fur
Long-haired cats or short-haired cats with a good coat may suffer more from the heat. Therefore, they must be brushed often to help remove the dead hair that has not yet fallen off. Regular brushing will help regulate the temperature and is therefore a great way to cool your cat in the heat.
If you have any questions about how to care for your cat's fur, read our article with all the tips on how to brush it.
6. Maintain the cat's ideal weight
O overweight and obesity they are triggers and risk factors for various endocrine and feline organic pathologies, in addition to increasing the predisposition to heat stroke and hyperthermia. That's because overweight cats have a thicker layer of fat that acts as an insulator, maintaining body heat. That's why overweight cats will suffer most from the consequences of high temperatures.
To keep your cat in shape, you must offer a quality diet and encourage you to be physically active. In this article we show some exercises for obese cats.
Now that you've checked out some tips for how to cool the cat in the heat, don't miss the following video where we show you how to identify if the cat is hot:
If you want to read more articles similar to How to cool the cat in the heat, we recommend that you enter our Basic Care section.