How to keep a cat cool in the summer?

I thinnnk this is the right place for this/ please re-direct me if it isn't, I'm terribly sorry!

Anywhoot, summers coming up over here and I was wondering if there's any specific ways that I can keep Indie and Butty cool? It's already very stuffy and they're both spreading out on the floor a lot to keep themselves cool (we have a stone/marble floor so it stays relatively cold)

But I was wondering if I could make them some sort of ice-pops or smthn? Maybe make some homemade chicken soup and freeze that in ice-cubes? Would that be safe for them or? I'd supervise them with the ice-cubes of course. I did this as well last year but they didn't show much interest when the cold water got on their nose! :-)

Could I give them cold treats like yogurt too? Would that help in keeping them cool?

I can really relate to this question.  One very hot summer a bad storm took out our power for almost a week and I had to figure out ways to keep my cats cool.  Fortunately there was an ice machine where I worked so I brought ice chips home every night.  I filled water bowls with the chips and used melted ice water to wipe down their coats.  Even so, they spent most of their time on the kitchen floor which was cooler than the carpeted areas of my apartment.   The temperatures in my apartment reached about 95° during the day and never went below 85° at night.  They tolerated these temperatures with no adverse effects except that they were less active than usual

As far as making frozen chicken soup -  you need to be aware of bacteria growing as the soup warms up, especially if it is left out for any length of time.  As long as you're there to monitor things, it should be okay. The same is true of the yogurt.  

There are lots of ways to keep cats cool in the summer.  Here's an article that has many tips. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-keep-cats-cool

Here are two threads that also talk about ways to keep cats comfortable.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/199708/how-to-keep-cats-cool-in-hot-weather

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/130904/keeping-cats-cool-in-summer-tips

Just in case something goes wrong, here are the symptoms of heat stroke in cats.  Hopefully your cats will be fine, though. 

Rapid panting.

Bright red tongue

Thick sticky saliva

Dark red gums or pale gums

Drooling

Lethargy

Dizziness

Muscle tremors

Vomiting (possibly with blood)

Diarrhea (possibly with blood)

Bleeding from the nose

Coma

Cats actually have much higher thermal neutral zone than humans. You know how we are most comfortable at "room temp"? That's because our bodies have the easiest time maintaining a constant 98.6 degree body temperature in that room temp range. For a cat, their ideal room temp is about between 86-97 degrees. 

Thankyou for the links, I'll look into them! And thankyou for the info on heat strokes in cats! Hopefully it shouldn't be too hot though, it hardly ever crosses 40 celcius over here, someones 42 every so often :/ Our house is relatively cool though, but I still wanna be on the safe side of things!

Also another thing to mention, Indie does pant sometimes in the summer? It's not very rapid but he sometimes sticks his tongue out to pant softly, and he only does it for a few seconds. It's normally after he's had a sUPER crazy playing session with Button. He can never stay still no matter what I do, he's always on the run and always sticking his nose into everything! He literally jumps off walls at the littlest thing that he finds exciting, he hardly ever sleeps unless you actually force him to! I don't think the panting should be a problem though? He just does it on the VERY hot days when he's just had a good run around for about an hour. He stops doing it after a few seconds!

Originally Posted by indie-n-button  
 
Thankyou for the links, I'll look into them! And thankyou for the info on heat strokes in cats! Hopefully it shouldn't be too hot though, it hardly ever crosses 40 celcius over here, someones 42 every so often :/ Our house is relatively cool though, but I still wanna be on the safe side of things!

Also another thing to mention, Indie does pant sometimes in the summer? It's not very rapid but he sometimes sticks his tongue out to pant softly, and he only does it for a few seconds. It's normally after he's had a sUPER crazy playing session with Button. He can never stay still no matter what I do, he's always on the run and always sticking his nose into everything! He literally jumps off walls at the littlest thing that he finds exciting, he hardly ever sleeps unless you actually force him to! I don't think the panting should be a problem though? He just does it on the VERY hot days when he's just had a good run around for about an hour. He stops doing it after a few seconds!

Click to expand...

Its hard to say why he pants. It could be asthma or just out of breathe. Most vets want you to bring your animal to be looked at if its panting BUT I know you may not have that luxury.

Be sure to write down how often this happens and if there is coughing? If there is slacking off on eating it could be because he is trying to breathe and doesnt have enough breathe to eat BUT from your words this doesnt sound like its an issue. It does sound like a simple case of high energy and still young.

How old is your kitty?

In the summer I use a damp washclothe and gently soak the bellies of my girls. They actually like it..it mimicks a mother cat grooming them-sometimes they stick a claw in me when they have had enough but usually I just crawl on my hands and knees and have it against their chest as they walk. They will often groom themselves after because lets face it-they dont like their fur messed up.

also they do sweat from their paw pads so you can always wipe cool water on their paw pads or what I do-get a towel and spritz it to make it damp and pick up cat and lay them on towel with their paws/belly against it..they usually dont mind this.

I have two of my cats shaved in the summer-one has done the panting and she has been ultrasounded and has mild Heart whatever that big word is=the muscles have hardened up a bit but because the physical findings of her heart were not in range yet we can't medicate her-so in the summer she loves her haircut. She actually is really easy to groom which normally she bites and hisses but this will be the 9th year of getting her clipped = we only need to restrain her on her back to do the belly/legs and hollers alot but tolerates it=ten minutes later 3" thick fur is down to 1/2".

My other fluffy girl in my profile pic=she is harder to cut-she bunny kicks. so we use two people to hold her down. She has gotten better but is much better when I am out of the room. She has asthma and I find she is better when not having so much fur. She actually loves baths-she loves the water on her and has sat in the rain before..so for now I just do hair cuts and cool clothes.

I havent tried the ice cube thing because they tend to want water that has sat for awhile vs fresh water...cats...

You can place a block of ice in front of a fan and it'll blow cooler air. 

indie-n-button said:

 
Thankyou for the links, I'll look into them! And thankyou for the info on heat strokes in cats! Hopefully it shouldn't be too hot though, it hardly ever crosses 40 celcius over here, someones 42 every so often :/ Our house is relatively cool though, but I still wanna be on the safe side of things!

Also another thing to mention, Indie does pant sometimes in the summer? It's not very rapid but he sometimes sticks his tongue out to pant softly, and he only does it for a few seconds. It's normally after he's had a sUPER crazy playing session with Button. He can never stay still no matter what I do, he's always on the run and always sticking his nose into everything! He literally jumps off walls at the littlest thing that he finds exciting, he hardly ever sleeps unless you actually force him to! I don't think the panting should be a problem though? He just does it on the VERY hot days when he's just had a good run around for about an hour. He stops doing it after a few seconds!

Click to expand...

This really does sound normal.  If the panting continues more than a few seconds, I'd worry, but I think many cats pant a little after vigorous exercise, especially when temperatures are high.  

There are pet cooling mats you can buy. Here's one: I'm not sure if you can find something similar in your country. Providing a dark shaded area in the house will help as will keeping the curtains and shades drawn during the hot part of the day.

foxxycat said:

 
Its hard to say why he pants. It could be asthma or just out of breathe. Most vets want you to bring your animal to be looked at if its panting BUT I know you may not have that luxury.

Be sure to write down how often this happens and if there is coughing? If there is slacking off on eating it could be because he is trying to breathe and doesnt have enough breathe to eat BUT from your words this doesnt sound like its an issue. It does sound like a simple case of high energy and still young.

How old is your kitty?

In the summer I use a damp washclothe and gently soak the bellies of my girls. They actually like it..it mimicks a mother cat grooming them-sometimes they stick a claw in me when they have had enough but usually I just crawl on my hands and knees and have it against their chest as they walk. They will often groom themselves after because lets face it-they dont like their fur messed up.

also they do sweat from their paw pads so you can always wipe cool water on their paw pads or what I do-get a towel and spritz it to make it damp and pick up cat and lay them on towel with their paws/belly against it..they usually dont mind this.

I have two of my cats shaved in the summer-one has done the panting and she has been ultrasounded and has mild Heart whatever that big word is=the muscles have hardened up a bit but because the physical findings of her heart were not in range yet we can't medicate her-so in the summer she loves her haircut. She actually is really easy to groom which normally she bites and hisses but this will be the 9th year of getting her clipped = we only need to restrain her on her back to do the belly/legs and hollers alot but tolerates it=ten minutes later 3" thick fur is down to 1/2".

My other fluffy girl in my profile pic=she is harder to cut-she bunny kicks. so we use two people to hold her down. She has gotten better but is much better when I am out of the room. She has asthma and I find she is better when not having so much fur. She actually loves baths-she loves the water on her and has sat in the rain before..so for now I just do hair cuts and cool clothes.

I havent tried the ice cube thing because they tend to want water that has sat for awhile vs fresh water...cats...

Click to expand...

Indies not even two yet! I'm not sure of his exact age but I'm guessing somewhere around 1.5 years old? He's also unneutered (Also! His spraying has cut down A LOT since we've had a new outdoor extension built into the house?? I'm starting to think he was just spraying to be let outside?? Is this a possibility? Sorry for it being so off-topic haha!)

Ooooh! That damp washcloth idea sounds like a neat trick! I remember last summer we used to get a hosepipe out and fill a bucket of water. Indie tolerates water a lot more than Butty does. I used to rub the water all over him with my hands and he'd spend at least two hours licking it all off!! He loves playing with it though, I just don't want him to catch a cold from getting too chilly, even if it is very hot outside.

We do have a feeling he may have asthma but we're not /too/ sure. He sneezes a lot when he's around dust, and also occasionally has a few coughs every now and then (They've cut down a lot since we've been dusting the house pretty much every day though. They were really bad when he was a baby, but he hardly has them now) Could this just be allergies? Otherwise he's a very healthy cat and very VERY tough, in my opinion.

And omg the idea of shaving a cat sounds so funny! How quickly does their fur grow back? Indie isn't long haired at all (apart from his tummy, which is kinda medium length) but I know that if he was he wouldn't tolerate being shaven AT ALL. I'd probably end up with severely blooded hands.... Your cat is beautiful by the way! I love the colour of her fur
 

LTS3 said:

 
There are pet cooling mats you can buy. Here's one: I'm not sure if you can find something similar in your country. Providing a dark shaded area in the house will help as will keeping the curtains and shades drawn during the hot part of the day.

Click to expand...

The curtains are drawn most of the time, ye, mostly because we have dreadfully nosy and rude neighbours! We only ever open them when Indie or Butty want to go and pester the pigeons outside! But ye, I'll make sure they have a shaded area. Maybe I can set up a few boxes or something? That could provide some shade I think? I'll make sure to have bowls of water around everywhere too, but the only problem is that I don't want to attract mosquitos :/

Originally Posted by indie-n-button  

The curtains are drawn most of the time, ye, mostly because we have dreadfully nosy and rude neighbours! We only ever open them when Indie or Butty want to go and pester the pigeons outside! But ye, I'll make sure they have a shaded area. Maybe I can set up a few boxes or something? That could provide some shade I think? I'll make sure to have bowls of water around everywhere too, but the only problem is that I don't want to attract mosquitos :/

Click to expand...

Yes, a few large roomy boxes will provide shade Soem cats will just hide under the bed or sofa where it is dark and cool. Are pet fountains available where you live? The moving water discourages mosquitos from laying eggs.

Thank you for the compliments. The fur takes a few weeks to grow in. In may or june we do a summer cut then once more in first week of August as we go on vacation in mid August and we always catch fleas although last summer we didn't have much of a problem. They used to have a cat where we rent and I suspect that they didn't use flea treatment. We use revolution.

If you have an outdoor cattery they love to lay in sand. One of mine digs a hole like a dog does and lays in the samd under the deck. We have to put some more sand down this summer. But at least shady spots on hard smooth floors will help. Or a damp towel they can lay on.

I don't shave my cat she gets her fur clipped. She goes to a groomer who specializes in cats. Shes really good and fast. She has been clipping Floey fur for almost eight years now. Honeybee this will be year three.

I can still remember what happened in the first time we clipped....jumping bean is what she is. Took three of us..they usually tolerate it by the third or forth session. Once they see that we are not hurt them.

I think the panting you are seeing in your cat is perfectly normal. Cats can't sweat (except in their paw pads), so panting gets rid of some of the heat. Obviously, if the panting is continuous or labored, then you need to help the kitty cool down with one of the ways mentioned here.