Cat Won't Eat in the Hot Weather

[Meekie]

About a month ago, we had a couple of unseasonably hot days here in the northeast, and Maple did not eat much until it got cooler. Not even dry food. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, so I wondered if maybe she didn't feel good that day or had stomach issues. She was also very lethargic.

As soon as the weather went back to normal she began eating well again.

Now it's hot again, and she's behaving the same. Just a few nibbles. Her dish is usually licked clean by this time of day. She's also being lethargic. She's been napping since early this morning. I'm pretty sure it's the heat. She smiles at me and rolls on her back whenever I say hi so I don't think she's ill.

I got her last April, and it took a good six months to find a diet she would actually eat, so last summer was kind of rocky where eating is concerned. I mention this because only 5 months short of 2 years old, so I have no frame of reference for her eating habits when the weather gets warm.

The rest of the week is supposed to be significantly cooler, so I'm confident she'll get back to eating, but what am I going to do all summer? Does anybody else have this problem?

I should mention that our apartment gets very hot in the summer. We have a southwestern exposure with windows also facing east, so there's sun all day. (Yes I close the blinds and the drapes). It's also got a very open layout so it's hard to keep cool.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have heard this happening with other cats, although I have never personally experienced it. My cats have all just avoided going outside and being in overly sunny spots when the weather is warmer.

Have you considered seeing if Maple might be interested in spending time on some sort of cooling mat?
9 Best - A Cooling Mat for Cats That Actually Works (barkingbungalow.com)

 

[Meekie]

[QUOTE="FeebysOwner, post: 5667067, member: 10021650"

Have you considered seeing if Maple might be interested in spending time on some sort of cooling mat?
9 Best - A Cooling Mat for Cats That Actually Works (barkingbungalow.com)
[/QUOTE]

I might get one of those for both of us!

 

[tyleete]

You know I'm wondering about that myself. Most of my cats have been acting like this for a while now! Top the point I took the one eating the least to the vet! $457 on tests later and she's perfectly healthy. I've even begun looking for new food, thinking it's the food.
I've heard not only heat but sunlight can affect their hunger and behavior. For my house it makes no sense though.:/ Due to a medical condition I have to leave the house dark most of the time. And due to asthma I keep the temperature low. All year round it stays between 66°-72°. And they don't go out.
It's got me real worried too.

 

[lisahe]

I've noticed this in our cats, too. I think part of their reduction in appetite is simply the temperature. Another part of it is that the cat who eats more likes to eat on the veranda, where she gets distracted by birds and chipmunks. (I'm sure she'd rather be eating them for lunch than, say, my homemade food!)

Your post served as a timely reminder, Meekie , since our cat who tends to eat less hasn't been very hungry this week, when the temperature suddenly rose. I hope your cat has gotten back to her usual appetite since you posted last month! If not, you could try more toppers for her meals: crumbling a freeze-dried chicken treat over the meal often works. I also feed some meals with a few drops of fish oil (I make a pinhole in a capsule...).

 

[Astragal14]

I should mention that our apartment gets very hot in the summer. We have a southwestern exposure with windows also facing east, so there's sun all day. (Yes I close the blinds and the drapes). It's also got a very open layout so it's hard to keep cool.

I'm in the same situation as you! We live in a high rise building in an urban heat island, with a huge bay window and an open floor plan. We don't have experience with our cats appetites being affected by weather, but here are some things we use that may help you.

One of our water bowls is this stainless steel cooling bowl (like a Yeti bowl but cheaper, ours is the smallest 21 oz size). We fill it half with ice cubes and half water and it stays noticeably cooler than our other water bowls for a good portion of the day (and we can add more ice cubes as needed). One of our cats loves cold water and this is her favorite bowl in the summer.
Coldest Water Bowl

We use heat control window film every summer and it really helps. (It's too expensive to cover our entire window so we cover about 60% of the window). The film plus keeping our blinds closed keeps things much cooler than only closing the blinds. There are various types of heat control films available; we use the self-adhesive/removable type. Some are affixed permanently, so be sure of the type you need. This is the exact film we use.
Gila 36 in. x 180 in. Titanium Heat Control Window Film HRT361 - The Home Depot

Lastly, and this one may seem to come out of left field, but you may want to consider food energetics. This is the traditional Chinese medicine idea that foods are either warming, cooling or neutral and can affect our bodies in different ways. I only bring this up because one of our cats responds so well this (our other cat isn't affected at all) - I actually noticed this when he was young and started feeding (or eliminating) certain proteins because of his reactions to them, but I didn't realize we were unknowingly following this until several years later when I met with a veterinary nutritionist who told me that's exactly what I was doing. Chicken and chicken liver are both warming foods that are commonly used in cat foods. Maybe you could try cooling foods like duck and rabbit, or neutral foods like beef and pork.

I know how weird this sounds and I probably wouldn't believe it myself if my own cat didn't have a problem with proteins that are considered hot. He definitely feels best when his diet is comprised of neutral foods, and with a small amount of warming and cooling foods added for more variety.
Food Charts – Herbsmith

 

[Meekie]

You know I'm wondering about that myself. Most of my cats have been acting like this for a while now! Top the point I took the one eating the least to the vet! $457 on tests later and she's perfectly healthy. I've even begun looking for new food, thinking it's the food.
I've heard not only heat but sunlight can affect their hunger and behavior. For my house it makes no sense though.:/ Due to a medical condition I have to leave the house dark most of the time. And due to asthma I keep the temperature low. All year round it stays between 66°-72°. And they don't go out.
It's got me real worried too.

Have you tried toppers? I use Fancy Feast Broths in some meals and freeze dried chicken in others. I crush most of the freeze dried meat into a powder and mix it in, and some I leave whole. I do this all the time, not just in the hot weather, because my cat has been a fussy eater since I got her. Unfortunately, at least for me, she still won't eat when it's very hot. I hope you have better luck.

 

[Meekie]

I've noticed this in our cats, too. I think part of their reduction in appetite is simply the temperature. Another part of it is that the cat who eats more likes to eat on the veranda, where she gets distracted by birds and chipmunks. (I'm sure she'd rather be eating them for lunch than, say, my homemade food!)

Your post served as a timely reminder, Meekie , since our cat who tends to eat less hasn't been very hungry this week, when the temperature suddenly rose. I hope your cat has gotten back to her usual appetite since you posted last month! If not, you could try more toppers for her meals: crumbling a freeze-dried chicken treat over the meal often works. I also feed some meals with a few drops of fish oil (I make a pinhole in a capsule...).

She did get back to her regular eating habits since then. The problem is summer is coming. And I already am using toppers in most of her meals. I don't put them in the fish meals she gets once or twice a week.

I will wait and see what happens when the temperature rises but considering the research I've been doing on this topic, I may have to take her to the doc and ask for an appetite stimulant. I see no other option.

I'm in the same situation as you! We live in a high rise building in an urban heat island, with a huge bay window and an open floor plan. We don't have experience with our cats appetites being affected by weather, but here are some things we use that may help you.

One of our water bowls is this stainless steel cooling bowl (like a Yeti bowl but cheaper, ours is the smallest 21 oz size). We fill it half with ice cubes and half water and it stays noticeably cooler than our other water bowls for a good portion of the day (and we can add more ice cubes as needed). One of our cats loves cold water and this is her favorite bowl in the summer.
Coldest Water Bowl

We use heat control window film every summer and it really helps. (It's too expensive to cover our entire window so we cover about 60% of the window). The film plus keeping our blinds closed keeps things much cooler than only closing the blinds. There are various types of heat control films available; we use the self-adhesive/removable type. Some are affixed permanently, so be sure of the type you need. This is the exact film we use.
Gila 36 in. x 180 in. Titanium Heat Control Window Film HRT361 - The Home Depot

Lastly, and this one may seem to come out of left field, but you may want to consider food energetics. This is the traditional Chinese medicine idea that foods are either warming, cooling or neutral and can affect our bodies in different ways. I only bring this up because one of our cats responds so well this (our other cat isn't affected at all) - I actually noticed this when he was young and started feeding (or eliminating) certain proteins because of his reactions to them, but I didn't realize we were unknowingly following this until several years later when I met with a veterinary nutritionist who told me that's exactly what I was doing. Chicken and chicken liver are both warming foods that are commonly used in cat foods. Maybe you could try cooling foods like duck and rabbit, or neutral foods like beef and pork.

I know how weird this sounds and I probably wouldn't believe it myself if my own cat didn't have a problem with proteins that are considered hot. He definitely feels best when his diet is comprised of neutral foods, and with a small amount of warming and cooling foods added for more variety.
Food Charts – Herbsmith

I keep the blinds closed and even got curtains a few years back. Not much else I can do except maybe get a better air conditioner.

The Food Energetics idea is interesting. Her favorite meal is duck . . but I can't feed the same thing too often. Unfortunately, she likes chicken a lot and is not too crazy about beef, at least so far. I will have to see if I can find any rabbit in the 2 brands she will eat. Rabbit without fish. It seems these cat food companies put fish in too many of their flavors. Especially tuna, which I try to avoid for her.

I get the same way in the hot weather. In fact I always lose 5-10 pounds in the summer and gain it back in the winter. They say that when it's hot, your body tries to conserve energy, and since digesting food takes up a lot of energy, you don't get hungry.

I'll just be thankful for the cool weather while it's still here.

 

[tyleete]

If you're looking for dry rabbit for without fish I have one 2 out my ibd babies eat.
Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit.
It has to be the LI version though, else it had other crap such as fish. Unfortunately it's costly asst $70/10lb bag. It actually just went up from $60 this month. Sucks. But I've 4 cats with ibd that's be brought on by fish and poultry. My other 2 (luckily for me) don't like rabbit. They're on
Essence Ranch & Meadow. It had neither fish or poultry either.

 

[Meekie]

If you're looking for dry rabbit for without fish I have one 2 out my ibd babies eat.
Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit.
It has to be the LI version though, else it had other crap such as fish. Unfortunately it's costly asst $70/10lb bag. It actually just went up from $60 this month. Sucks. But I've 4 cats with ibd that's be brought on by fish and poultry. My other 2 (luckily for me) don't like rabbit. They're on
Essence Ranch & Meadow. It had neither fish or poultry either.

That's a bit expensive for me, and I'm trying to limit her dry food intake. But it's good to know anyway, thanks.

 

[tyleete]

Me I get that, the price. I've 10 rescues and 4 are ibd. Suddenly some that eat the other ibd aren't eating as much. I thought it was the food, but now starting to wonder if it's the weather from another thread.
Have you looked at Essence brand? Is a lot less expensive and also has no fish or poultry. Mine can't eat the wet food due to being allergic to the gums used in them, so I don't know how expensive the wet is. But the one I get for the others:
Essence Ranch & Meadow, is only $46/10lb bag through auto ship at chewy. That's $25 less a bag than the Instinct. Just thought I'd toss that out for consideration. It's just not 1 novel protein like Instinct is. But no fish or poultry if any kind.

 

[Alldara]

I've had this issue with my cats.
I don't eat as much on hot days and I'm not as active. I think if that's the same, then it's okay to a small extent.

Is she loosing a lot of weight during this time?

You can try cooling her food, feeding her smaller portions or making it into a soup.