How do cats cope in hot weather?

mxphs

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Hi everyone

We're about to head into summer here in Australia and there are some really really hot days that are ahead for us. We can easily get to 41 degrees here in January and i'm just thinking about my humphrey and how cats react and deal with hot weather like this.

Any tips for keeping him cool and how have your cats coped in summer? Do they usually just really mellow out and lie somewhere hard and cold for a lot of the day? thanks!
 

daftcat75

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We didn't get nearly that hot here this summer. My Betty didn't seem all that interested in the extra fans, ceiling fan, or extra water bowls. Cats are or were desert creatures. 🤷‍♂️ But one thing she did enjoy during the worst of our heat was having an ice cube rubdown. It's not as uncomfortable as it may sound because they have fur between the ice and their skin. Whenever I touched an ice cube to her, she would collapse where she was, roll to a side, and just start purring her head off, and occasionally looking back at me with that "yes please" look she gives me whenever she wants some fuss and loving. 😻
 

Alldara

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Mine liked playing with ice cubes.

I also bought a couple cooling mats. Usually our cats stick to the hard floors and basement.

Nobel hates fans so the cooling mat really helped him.
 

Mini-mimi

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One of my older cats finds dark places to hide (usually in the garden or shed) and basically sleep all day. He doesn’t usually come inside unless it’s really boiling. My new kitten hasn’t experienced a real Australian summer yet And these days it’s starting to get hot so he usually comes inside and sleeps on his bed or lies on the tiles


Mine liked playing with ice cubes.

I also bought a couple cooling mats. Usually our cats stick to the hard floors and basement.

Nobel hates fans so the cooling mat really helped him.
How do those cooling mats work? Are they like those lunch box ice gels that you put in the fridge/freezer?
 

Alldara

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M Mini-mimi Yea the gel but you don't put it in the cold. They are self cooling? Ours came from the dollar store.

You could put something like a magic bag (brand name thing?) In the fridge or freezer and leave it out. They'll approach as wanted.
 

neely

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When it's hot and humid here in summer our cat sits by the vent to feel the air conditioning. In the winter he does the same thing to feel the heat. Animals seem to instinctively know the cooler spots in the house especially tile floors. We had one cat who slept in the bathtub. :biggrin: Keeping your blinds or shades down helps keep the sun out too.
 
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