For Brutal Summers - Self-cooling Pads Worth It Or A Waste?

[kittychick]

Brutally hot summer isn't too far off - - and I always worry about how hot our poor feral guys get when temps rise. I'd been searching for options. We already do ice cubes in the water bowls, etc. Long ago we'd even tried fans on low near where they sleep in the summer, but between the sound, the movement, and the breeze - the fans just scared the bejeesus out of them). Just yesterday I came across something I'd never seen (and I feel like I try to stay up on anything and everything to help make our ferals as comfortable as possible!!!!!). I put a link below of just one I'd seen --- it seems like there are tons out there now! Has anyone ever actually used one? (well, not you, wonderful member - - - the cats ). If so - - any specific one anyone would recommend?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have used them on our dog in the house when it was so hot. They are ok, but once you lay on them for awhile the pad also gets hot. Also with cat you have to watch their nails. There is usually some kind of gel in them. If the pad got punctured I am not sure the gel is safe. So yes, they do work, but if the cats lay there for long, the pad too will get hot. They need to move off the pad for it to rejuvenate and get cool again.

 

[kunoichi9280]

Brutally hot summer isn't too far off - - and I always worry about how hot our poor feral guys get when temps rise. I'd been searching for options. We already do ice cubes in the water bowls, etc. Long ago we'd even tried fans on low near where they sleep in the summer, but between the sound, the movement, and the breeze - the fans just scared the bejeesus out of them). Just yesterday I came across something I'd never seen (and I feel like I try to stay up on anything and everything to help make our ferals as comfortable as possible!!!!!). I put a link below of just one I'd seen --- it seems like there are tons out there now! Has anyone ever actually used one? (well, not you, wonderful member - - - the cats ). If so - - any specific one anyone would recommend?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

You could probably contact the AKC if you had questions about the product. They're a decent organization.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I saw this one, it doesn't contain gel, but couldn't find a lot of details on how exactly it is supposed to work.

 

[Kflowers]

We bought ARF Pets cooling mat for ours. It is supposed to cool for 3 hours - the pet must lie on it to feel the cool, it isn't that cool to touch without pressure. Once the three hours are over, if no one lies on it, it is supposed to re-charge. So far neither cat nor dog has spent any time on it. They were willing to sniff it and walk on it, but that's it.

 

[kittychick]

We bought ARF Pets cooling mat for ours. It is supposed to cool for 3 hours - the pet must lie on it to feel the cool, it isn't that cool to touch without pressure. Once the three hours are over, if no one lies on it, it is supposed to re-charge. So far neither cat nor dog has spent any time on it. They were willing to sniff it and walk on it, but that's it.

I laughed out loud on that one!!!!!!! Two years ago Hubby surprised me (and the ferals who now call our garage home) with these two kitty houses that already had heated floor mats, etc - -- as he said "they'll feel like they're livin' large!" Well, they've lived large in them only about 6 days total in two years. However two cardboard boxes he set out there with a blanket over them - - - they LOVED those. Hubby looked like a dejected 5-year-old.

I think I'll still do some research into them - maybe try a small inexpensive one. And shadowsrescue - SO glad you brought it up since I (dopily) hadn't thought about the nails and the gel not being a great combo (isn't there ANYTHING that's easy when it comes to keeping our ferals comfy? ). And FeebysOwner owner - thanks for the digging re: the gel -- I'll "dig in that direction"! And kunoichi9280 - AKC is an interesting suggestion worth following up on - esp since most of the ones I saw (on my VERY brief dig into this) were advertised for dogs.

Thanks guys! I'm still open to anyone who's used one and likes it!! I'd SO love to find something so they can cool off in the summer!

(chuckle for the day at our house - - - hubby - - - who IS a cat guy, but from this statement you wouldn't know it - - actually said last year "Can't we just set up a sprinkler and see if we can get them to run through it???" )

 

[FeebysOwner]

(chuckle for the day at our house - - - hubby - - - who IS a cat guy, but from this statement you wouldn't know it - - actually said last year "Can't we just set up a sprinkler and see if we can get them to run through it???" )