Keeping cats cool in summer, tips?

Not sure where to stick this so hope this is right place.

Basically we're entering summer temperatures where I live. So far its already been quite hot and I'm quite concerned about our youngest cat. Shes a long haired and I really dont want to do anything too extreme like shave her but I wondered if anyone had any hints and should it get very hot would it do her any harm to just have a trim?
She's an outdoor cat except we keep her in at night and rush hours (morning and mid afternoon).

During the heat of last year, one of our UK members bought marble cutting boards, stuck them in the fridge/freezer then brought them out for the cats. Hers would lay near them. Others report freezing bottles of water and doing the same.

Links - http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...hlight=cutting

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...light=chopping

Thanks for those links, I'll have to give that a try next time, luckily at the moment we're having a few cool days

Don't shave them. Hair not only works as an insulator against the cold but it works as an insulator against the heat and protects them from the sun.


You can use blue ice packs wrapped in towels to helo keep them cool but my cats love the heat. I have large windows in the house and in the summer they find the sunniest ones to lay in. Sometimes you can touch them and the black parts of the feel hot enough to burn you. I can't find the article right now but I read something from a vet one time that said that cats are very heat tolerant and that the only time he had seen one suffering from heat stroke was when one got ran through a full dryer cycle. Poor kitty!

As long as the cat is indoors only shaving them is fine as long as you leave a little layer of fur. Theres several long-hairs here who get summer shaves. I've thought about having Wickett shaved (he'd make such a cute little lion) but we have central AC so it's not necissary. You can also add ice to their water. Do you have air conditioning? If not then the easiest thing might be a shave... and it'll last all summe rlong as it takes 2-3 months for their coat to grow back in fully.

Nya's Lion Cut Adventure
Bella713 also gets her kitty Sev shaved and apparently he loves it!

You can watch for signs of over heating. Panting is usually a dead give away unless the cat is under severe stress.

This article might help.

http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/9/Keeping-Cats-Cool.html

ooh the marble does sound like a good idea I will have to try that as well. We give our girl a trim but she is an indoor cat. Beings that we live in Orlando its always summer lol. I'm originally from Chicago up until 3 years ago, It still tickles me pink to see people wearing coats when its 50 degrees in "winter". We do have an indoor/outdoor dog though. We of course have an igloo for him for some shade and we take his water bowl and fill it every night and put it in the freezer and then set it out in his igloo when we put him out so he has cold water all day.He's usually only out about 6-7 hours and with the extreme heat here its awesome that its still cold by the time I get home from work. Also the igloo is under a big tree so its always shaded, Maybe she might lay in a small dog house? Again though the marble sounds like a great idea, I'm going to try that myself.

I have these huge party/snack bowls I bought for about $5 at Wal-Mart. They can hold about two gallons of water if I filled them full, and I fill them 1/4 the way full with water. Then I put ice cubes in from the kitties ice-cube tray. Chili and Emma (who hates getting her paws wet) play and play and play in the bowl, sometimes getting all the way in. I plan on putting squeaky toys in for prolonged use.

I turn fans on and make sure there are shady spots they can rest in. I groom them regularly, getting out plenty of undercoat. I also keep a spray bottle out--they enjoy the mist only when they're REALLY hot, and that's when it's time to go inside.

Gonna try those marble boards and ice packs around. Fans dont seem to work for her as shes unsettled by the air.
Shes our first long haired cat we've ever had so we're very new to the idea of shaving. I'd rather it was very last resort though as being in the UK can be hot one day and cold and raining the next
Thanks all again, this site and forums are brilliant

My cats love to lay on the tile floors in front of a fan. They also love ice cubes to play with and lick in the summer.

My cats are indoors and I used to live in an apartment without air conditioning. When the temperatures got hot heat was a real problem. What I would do was take towels, wet them, wring them out, then keep them in the fridge. Every few hours I would take them out (and replace them with new ones to get cold) and lay them on the floor/carpet. The cats would all immediately go and lay down on top of the cold towels and stay there until I replaced them with new cold ones. You could perhaps do that overnight for your outside cat when she is in the house. If she has a shady spot under a bush or hedge outside where she can lie on the earth or a cooler surface may help her when she is outdoors. Make sure she has water available! I have large planters that I fill with water for the birds and outdoor animals (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) that I place in the back yard and I notice that the neighbouring cats also come and drink.

i give my cats ice cubes to play with

Originally Posted by troublesome2

i give my cats ice cubes to play with

Click to expand...

I make them catnip iced tea (leave a mason jar of brewed organic catnip tea in the fridge for them)! ...
or catnip ice-tea-cubes! great for us b/c I'm also trying to get them to stay hydrated/increase water intake

Ceiling fans - we run them all year long to help keep us comfortable and cut down on the AC bills.
Attic fan - we had a huge one in our house in NM. Leave the windows only slightly open and the fan pulls the air in. Works best in low humidity areas.
Swamp coolers - AKA evaporative cooler. Best in dry climates, air is pushed though pad containing cool water.

Attic fan sounds good. My bedroom is an attick one so I get all the heat and with only one window in my room that can open ( has to have a cover as kitty has been caught jumping out once, she was caught in time ). Most of the time shes not in there but at night shes insistent on coming in.