Summer has come early over here, and my short haired cat is starting to look overheated - he’s spending most of his time lying around on the rug telling me he’s too hot.
However, he’s still eating, drinking, and will follow me around the apartment.
Can cats get heatstroke? How hot does it need to be before a cat starts to seriously overheat? And if the temperature goes up any further - it’s around 32 - 35 during the day - how can I cool said cat down without an airconditioner?
(I debated posting this in GQ, but I’m sure there are going to be Dopers with kitty anecdotes coming along…)
I can’t say for sure about heatstroke, but my cats tone down the activity in summer. Last summer, we had something like 13 consecutive days of 105 degree heat. They pulled through just fine.
If you think they need cooling, put water in some 1 or 2 litre bottles and freeze them. Put 1 or 2 at a time where the cats can lie by them. You can wrap a towel around them if they don’t like the cold plastic.
They might not get heatstroke but they do get very lethargic and you’ll notice a change in their level of activity.
Mine spend the hottest parts of summer out in the garden under some bushes in the shade but where’s there’s still a breeze. I used to find that one of my cats preferred to spend the hottest part of the day in the bathroom, sleeping on top of the toilet cistern because it was so much cooler there.
They also abandon sleeping on the bed and go downstairs to sleep in the hallway or the kitchen where the ceramic tiles are cooler.
As long as they’ve got plenty of access to fresh water and they can get to shady spots, they’ll be fine. I do like the idea of giving them frozen water bottles to lie on too!
Cats will pant if they get too hot. And then they will be very pissed at you once you get them cooled down. And there’s my personal(and very foolish) experience.
-Lil
They go from sleeping 20 hours a day to sleeping 22 hours a day?
I’ve never really thought about cats and heatstroke in the house. My two kitties are both stretched out in the sun patches on my floor right now - they don’t look too worried about getting too hot. We do have a basement that they have access to, though, and I’m sure they boogie on down there if they do get too hot.
I’ve noticed if I take my cat out on her leash on really hot days, she doesn’t last too long in the sun before she’s flopping in the shade (I always make sure she can get to shade on the leash).
IME-
I see dogs every spring/summer with heatstroke. A few are DOA, many more are “treated and released”. I see a rabbit or two every summer with heat related problems, typically they are found dead. I cannot remember ever seeing a cat with heatstroke. Sun related problems like skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma), but no heatstroke.
Yes, cats can get heatstroke but actual heatstroke is a life-threatening situation where the body temperature rises above 106 degrees F. The most common causes are being locked in a car on a hot day or getting tumbled in the dryer or being locked in a closed up house all day when the a/c failed or the power went off. An animal left outside with no access to shelter from the direct sun or that might otherwise be debilitated and unable to get out of the sun could get heatstroke, too. Once the body temperature rises above 106 and if it stays there for a prolonged period animals can suffer from organ damage that may not be apparent right away. If you think your pet is suffering from heatstroke cool it down with water baths but do not use cold or ice water you can shock them too much. Stop cooling methods once the temperature reaches 103, it’s not unusual for it to drop below normal if cooled too much because their temperature regulation system is now all out of whack. Even if they seem fine, take them to a vet to get checked out. Other symptoms can develop later. Heat exhaustion is less serious but could lead to heatstroke.
If your cats are indoors, and there’s either air conditioning or some sort of air circulation and you aren’t also suffering from heatstroke or heat exhaustion they are probably just laying around to expend less energy because they are just plain hot. After all their body temperature is higher than yours and they have to walk around in fur coats all day. You can try to make them more comfortable by making sure you have fans going to keep air circulating if you don’t have air conditioning, putting ice or cold water in their water dishes and making sure they have access to your bathrooms so they can lay down in the tub or shower where it’s cooler. You can also put some ice packs under their beds or favorite places to lay or buy special cooling beds. As a general rule, if you can tolerate the heat they can too. If it’s making you feel ill then it’s too much for them as well.
Exactly what I was thinking. For a cat to get heatstroke, wouldn’t they have to, you know, um…move? Hell, I’m tempted at times to take a pulse or hold a mirror at their nose.
The wild cats our domestic cats are descended from are desert animals, aren’t they? Not that they can’t get heatstroke, but I’d imagine it’s unlikely. Even during the heat of the day when my air conditioning is off because I’m at work, my cats sleep in sunbeams.
I’m one of those evil outdoor-cat moms and I’ve never had a problem with cats as long as they can get to a shady place, have plenty of air circulation and lots of fresh water to drink.
I’ve posted these bobcat/housecat
interaction pics before, but many have not seen them. This is the same juvinile bobcat interacting with one of our Bengal cats through the window. Obviously ol’ Bob wanted our cat Mehta to come out and play, but we though not.
I guess “Bob’s” mom never taught him cats are for eating, nor for playing with.
Our guys are really adept at tearing full speed through the house, on the tables and around the ceramics without ever breaking anything. Rather amazing.
No, that odd piece is something my wife, a potter, made. Actually she calls it a sculpture, not a vase. :eek:
