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Summer is here and with it has come quite a bit of heat. All over the country, cat owners and probably just assuming that their furry little friends are finding ways to deal with the heat on their own. And much of the time they are, but you can do a lot to help them stay cool and reduce the chance of a heatstroke by trying one or more of these tips.
As should be obvious, heat will affect cats with thicker coats than cats with short hair or no hair at all. Therefore, the longer the fur of your cat, the more aware you should be of their needs and the more attentive to cooling them down. Much of this is done with cool water constantly replenished as that's one of a cat's primary sources of air conditioning, as with most animals. The importance of water can't be stressed enough, so the more the better. Feeding them wet cat food is also good right now as it will help with that water need and won't dry them out like dry cat food will.
Next, try to provide somewhere shady for your cat to lay down out of the heat, such as under a bed or inside one of their cat trees. Give them an option to investigate rather than having nowhere to go and nowhere to get out of the heat. Even pressed against something relatively cool, like the toilet or on floor tiles, is a better option than sitting in the sun or somewhere that's too hot.
Periodically throughout the day, something you may want to consider is misting your cat with a spray bottle (assuming you don't typically use this as a punishment tactic of course), or simply running some cold water in the sick and petting your cat after dipping you hand under the stream. This will let you cool them down quickly and helps moisture to soak down into the fur and onto their skin. If your cat can tolerate it, even a cold bath would help.
If you have a fan, set that up in a place where your cat can sit and relax. This is especially important if you plan on leaving your cat alone in the house for a while. If your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, let them roam around outside looking for a cool spot on their own. At night, open windows to get ventilation going and blow in (hopefully) cooler evening air.
Keeping your pet from having a heatstroke doesn't take much, but it's important to be aware of the risks anyway. Be smart and help keep your cat healthy!
For more cat information or tips about cat health, head to SimplyCatBreeds.org!
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