Is my thermostat setting making my cat sick?

The wife and I like to be eco-friendly and save energy by keeping our house at 78 during the summer. It seems like everybody else sets their thermostat at 72 or so. I read that this causes more than a doubling in charges when you live in a place like Texas, so maybe we are just being cheap rather than energy efficient. We have one short haired cat (Alley) and one very long haired cat whose fur is extra thick (Persi). When I took the cats to the vet for the first time the vet commented "my, what a furry creature you are!" referring to Persi.

I have ranted and raved on here for years about how much I brush and comb Persi and how much fur I get out of him every day. It is amazing but he still maintains an extremely dense amount of fur.

Alley likes to go out on the balcony in the morning and lay in the sun so I leave the door open for her for a while so she can sun herself. Persi wants no part of laying in the sun and has never laid on a window sill in the sun. During the summer, the most likely place to find Persi is in the sink or bathtub. We have all hardwood floors which he lays on a lot of the time. When it is not Summertime, he sleeps with us in the bed all night long but during the summer he comes up for less that an hour and jumps down and goes into the bathroom and lays on the tiles. So, it has finally dawned on me that he is suffering.

I only see two options but that is what TCS is for, to get other options that I have not considered. The only options I see are to lower the thermostat, in which case DW is going to be under blankets most of the time because we are not used to lower setting than 78 and are very comfortable at that temperature. The other option is I have seen cats on this site with "lion cuts" which would certainly cool him off. I have absolutely rejected this in the past but wonder how long it would take for the fur to grow back. Perhaps he could just have a summer cut; would it grow out by Winter? (we only have two seasons here.)

One of the cats is regularly throwing up but I cannot catch which one it is (but coincidentally started at the arrival of Summer). There is water available all over the house for them. I am beginning to think it is Persi and I think it is heat exhaustion from all his fur.

So, do we suffer the costs of higher electric bills (much higher) and sit and shiver, or do we have his long hair shaved off? This sounds like the game we used to play here on TCS called Which is the worst?

These are the only two options I see but somebody on TCS always comes up with something I have not considered. Any ideas would be appreciated!

I don't think 78 should be uncomfortable for a cat. It has been in the 80's here and I do not have ac. I just plug in fans for the cats. They seem to do fine as long as there is a tile floor for them. I will even catch them laying in the sunny window when it is so hot!

In the winter, when we have our woodstove on, it can get to 80ish in the house. Yet they are all laying around it.

At least that is my experience with cats and heat. Prob some others will have different views.

I agree with farleyv, 78 is a reasonable temperature even for a longhaired cat. We no longer have air conditioning and in this heat wave our house may reach temperatures in the high 80s. It's at that point that the cats will start heading to our basement, where the temperature stays around 78 all summer. Otherwise, even our longhaired "hippie" cats are happy with plenty of open windows, fans in each room, cooler tile and floors to lay on and several fresh water dishes.

78 should be fine ... have you thought of a cooling pad for the kitty's?

are you in an area that has lots of pollen?

Im in NJ and we had temps in house 85-95. A few looked uncomfortable but not so much they wanted to move into the ac room(bedroom, and now ac running in kitchen but waiting to see the bill on THAT!) I keep the shades down. Cats have access to concrete floor, stick on tile, and more concrete as dog made us rip carpet out

far as shaving-my cats who got shave months ago are no even looking like shorthair cats-very patchy an thin

I agree that 78F should not be an issue for a cat. I keep our thermostat set at 76F here in the summer. My roommate prefers it cooler and, with her having the lower portion of the house, it is a good deal cooler. And, for me, I am comfortable anywhere between 76F-80F. But, since I live upstairs where it is warmer, it works out well for me. And, I have two long-haired cats who do not seem to suffer despite the warmth in the house. One kitty loves being warm and will sit in the window with the sun streaming in on her despite it being quite hot outside. The other, however, much prefers laying on the tiled floor of the bathroom or against one of the air vents. But, even so, he eats, drinks, and plays and generally doesn't seem to mind the heat though he does appreciate the AC.

I've never had a lion cut done and so can't comment on that, but I also don't think that you'd need to lower the thermostat because of Persi. And, while I'm not an expert, I would doubt the heat being the cause of the vomiting. A much more likely cause would be an allergy of some sort. Even cats who have been on the same food for years can develop an allergy to one or more of the ingredients. I do have a couple of suggestions for you, though. Have you considered taking some water bottles, filling them, and then freezing them. It sounds as though you don't have carpeting and, in fact, have tile in some rooms. Would it be possible to fill them and leave them, frozen, around in case Persi would want to lay aside one. Yes, the bottles will sweat and could potentially cause the cat to get wet, but I've found that, with ferals, they don't mind the moisture and even lick the bottles to get the cool water. Another option would be to purchase a large marble slab or a number of other, smaller slabs to be placed throughout the house -- particularly in warmer areas where Persi tends not to go during the summer. The marble acts like a cooling agent. It's a trick I remember from owning chinchillas. I know thinner slabs can usually be purchased very inexpensively, but there may be less expensive options available as well. But, from experience, the marble can be gotten cheaply following larger contracting jobs and whatnot. A good place to start would be Home Depot or an independent kitchen/bathroom renovating company.

Like I said, I doubt the heat, even for a cat with a thick, plush, and long coat, is too much. But, if all else fails, a quick call to the vet could help ease your mind. I hope that you and Persi can become more comfortable. Good luck and, please, let us know what you decide to do.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity .

My long haired kitty migrates to the tiled areas when it's warm.

I'm thinking of getting one of these cooling pads


http://www.fancypaws.com/caninecooler.html

I bought the much cheaper inserts for a dog bed for heating and cooling... I use just a pillow case to cover them

78 should be absolutely no problem for a cat. Remember, cats are natively a desert animal, well-adapted to heat.

In fact, a real problem in Texas is "seasonal reversal" on cats. People set their thermostat to 68 in the summer and 74 in the winter, with the result that the cat thinks summer is the cool season, and winter is the warm season!

We keep our house at 80 in the summer here in the Phoenix area, and have one cat that is extremely furry, and two others with very dense coats even though they are short hairs. None of them seem to be bothered at all by the temp. One even suns herself every afternoon on the kitchen counter and gets so hot to the touch it's unbelievable, but she loves it ! Plus, don't their coats act like insulation?

I am concerned with whoever is vomiting, however. I'm guessing it's not hairballs? My longer haired guy throws up hairballs regularly, even though I brush him frequently and feed him hairball treats. I'd consult with my Vet about THAT issue, to see what he/she has to say.

If we turn on the air at all here, it's set at 80F. Our climate is a heck of a lot more humid than yours is. I don't turn on the air until the heat index is way into the 90's.

Your Persi reminds me a lot of my Muddy, but Muddy is black so absorbs even more heat than your Persi would. Muddy stays on stone or porcelain surfaces when it's hot here, and I have ceiling fans running in almost every room of my house. He doesn't play as hard in the summer and I can't blame him.

A friend of mine in Denver (without air conditioning at all) has her extremely long haired cat shaved in the summer (his mane has been measured at 6" long). Even though high elevation, she's been complaining of temps in the 90's. The last 2 years she got him shaved into a mohawk - very cute on a white cat.

Persi will be fine at 78 degrees. Let him stay on cold surfaces and give him more if you can.

Originally Posted by sharky

I bought the much cheaper inserts for a dog bed for heating and cooling... I use just a pillow case to cover them

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Ohhh. Good idea. I don't even know if the kids will use them or if, like so many other things, they'll go in the room with the rejected cat toys.

I just want to add that I have other long haired cats that love to spend the day in my sun room, which gets up to 100F in the summer. Given a choice between an air conditioned house or a broiling sun room, they chose to bake. It doesn't bother them in the least.

Originally Posted by sharky

78 should be fine ... have you thought of a cooling pad for the kitty's?

are you in an area that has lots of pollen?

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I am glad so many of you think 78 is reasonable. But I can tell he has a discomfort which he does not appear to have in Winter. I think a cooling pad is definitely something I will try.

Why do you ask about Pollen? I know that Dallas is considered the worst city in the U.S. if you have hay fever. So I would conclude there is a lot of pollen around. How might that be a factor? I know I am dealing with an expert here so I will be interested in this possibility.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I just want to add that I have other long haired cats that love to spend the day in my sun room, which gets up to 100F in the summer. Given a choice between an air conditioned house or a broiling sun room, they chose to bake. It doesn't bother them in the least.

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So you're saying I have a weirdo cat? No, wait Amy, I have the answer! Persi is a Himalayan cat and we all know it never gets warm in the Himalayans. (I do know that Himalayan cats are not from the Himalayans.)

High Pollen days make me and my allergic dog( shi ztu thus short nosed like a himi) get nausea and sometimes vomiting...

I would think that would be fine. My Boo got a lion cut awhile back (Long hair persian) and he's chilly in the house (Mom keeps the thermostat on 74, we're here in NC and temps are running in the 90's lately, have a split level house and new pump so it cools very well) so we keep him a cozy bed, tent and a box with a cozy blanket in it. Chickster is a medium hair tortie and she seems fine though sometimes I catch her stretching out on the slate by our wood stove. They don't do a lot of moving around tho Kudos to you for being able to handle 78, for some reason if we turn ours up to 75 or 76, the house just gets plain ol' hot and uncomfy, but we have bad insulation and the sun beats straight down in certain places, don't get me started on how much the attic fan runs in the summer.

Hope your Himmie will be more comfy soon