102 Degrees F Heat!

[BonitaBaby]

Okay. I put this under Cat Health because the temp in my room climbed up to 102 degrees F and I got scared for my cat who was panting.The A/C wasn't working and may have made my room hotter when I tried to turn it on. My cat doesn't seem to drink much water lately (ever since I started giving her some wet food again), so I couldn't get any cold water into her.

Finally 15 mins ago, I grabbed her when she came out from under the bed and put her in her carrier. She had heard me getting her carrier earlier and ran and hid under our bed. We're in my car now and I'm going to drive around with her with the A/C on until the temp goes down. Today was/is a really hot day for L.A.

 

[RajaNMizu]

How awful! Good thinking on your part about taking her for an air conditioned drive! I survived a week of NY heat before my new AC was installed. Longest week of my life! Can you place some ice in front of a fan to help blow some cooler air?

 

[Daisy6]

I assume the ice would quickly melt.

 

[RajaNMizu]

I assume the ice would quickly melt.

Anything would melt in that heat! Perhaps some frozen water bottles or reusable ice packs in towels might help to offer a cool spot too.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I assume the ice would quickly melt.

Actually, I think that's fine. Ice water would be best, or melting ice. The air blowing across water is what makes it cooler, as the ice itself takes too much energy to directly cool the room. The water is evaporated, this cooling the air as it blows on you. This should definitely work in a low-humidity area like LA, so long as you are directly in front of the fan. I don't know if it would cool it enough, though, to safely hang out in 102 degree heat.

I just saw a cool article here about keeping cool:
How To Keep Cats Cool

Man, I wish California housing had AC!

 

[athenaloi]

I was basically in the same problem last week, so I brought a fan for her (and me too) cause I was constantly worry about how my kitty was doing under the heat. I also tried putting an ice mat under a towel for her to lay on, which surprisingly last over 2hr. She seemed to enjoy either of the solutions!

 

[BonitaBaby]

Hi. I have 5 fans in my room. 3 tower fans, a round fan, and a window fan. The temp was 102 degrees with all 5 on. As I was driving around outside with A/C, the temp outside went up to 111 degrees F around 6:30 pm.

I didn't have any ice and figured if I bought a bag, it would quickly melt and turn warm. There's a lot of stuff in the freezer so I can't keep a bag of ice in there. I took out an ice pack for my cat and did try rubbing her down with cold wet paper towels, but she squirmed and didn't seem to appreciate it, so I don't know if it worked on her. She did lay on the small ice pack, but then got up. I'm not sure why. I was glad she lay down on it. Since she wasn't using it, I put it on my forehead and it quickly turned warm. I read the article about cooling cats, but decided going for a long drive with A/C was better.

Thankfully, I was also able to stop by my sister's place which has working A/C and is very cool compared to my sweltering room. We're still hanging out here. My poor cat hates going in her carrier and going anywhere, but she's been quiet since we arrived and is probably enjoying the cooler temp.

 

[5starcathotel]

I live in Phoenix, and all my crew are former ferals who lived outside. So what I can say is....for your average domestic short-hair, 105F is fine. They will find a cool spot to lay, and sleep, until the temperature drops.

115F and above is a problem. The newest members of my crew would sleep against the sliding back door (because the house was a cool 72F), and pant vigorously, in such weather.

Provide clean water every day (whether it is consumed or not), and keep up with the wet food, and she should be fine.

 

[BonitaBaby]

I live in Phoenix, and all my crew are former ferals who lived outside. So what I can say is....for your average domestic short-hair, 105F is fine. They will find a cool spot to lay, and sleep, until the temperature drops.

115F and above is a problem. The newest members of my crew would sleep against the sliding back door (because the house was a cool 72F), and pant vigorously, in such weather.

Provide clean water every day (whether it is consumed or not), and keep up with the wet food, and she should be fine.

Thanks. I was wondering up to what temp is okay, but honestly, over 100 F is TOO hot for me. I took kitty out in her carrier for the both of us. Also worry about hydration for her because she doesn't eat a lot of wet food and doesn't seem to drink water anymore. Just a very tiny amount once a day. I wish I could talk to her and explain cold water on hot days is good. I would give her ice cubes but don't think she'd like them. She tried cold water once and didn't like it.

 

[RajaNMizu]

I am so sorry that LA moved to the surface of the sun yesterday! Glad you found a place to cool off!

 

[BonitaBaby]

I am so sorry that LA moved to the surface of the sun yesterday! Glad you found a place to cool off!

It was still 100 F in my room when we got back at 9:30 pm. 5 fans on. It took hours for my room to cool down a bit, but kitty did drink some water after eating and wasn't panting.

 

[BonitaBaby]

So the temp in my room hit 102 F again early this afternoon despite the outside temp being a little bit cooler than yesterday. I waited 3 HOT, sweaty hours for my cat to come out from under the bed as I worried about her. She hadn't drank any water all day and barely ate a little wet food in the morning.

I got her in her carrier and fed her the tiny bit of wet food she would eat. I gave her cold water, but I don't think she drank any. We hung out at my sister's again. Got home 1/2 hour ago to probably 102 F temp in my room. By the time I looked, the temp was down to 100 F and, thankfully, has dropped to 97 F in the last 1/2 hour with the window fan bringing in cooler air from outside.

I'm hoping our A/C gets fixed soon. On the bright side, we do have electricity unlike some areas of L.A. that I think are still without power.

A couple things I realized to do next time: bring cat food & buckle the seatbelt around my cat's carrier. I've been forgetting to do the latter the last few times I've taken my cat out. Other than yesterday and today, I only took her out to vet appointments.

 

[BonitaBaby]

I keep her in her carrier in the car and at my sister's. I don't think she wants to come out anyway. The cold water I gave her spilled when I was walking. When I opened the door to pour in more cold water when we were at my sister's, she hit my hand. She's feisty.

 

[kashmir64]

Is there any way to make a makeshift evap cooler from one of your fans? Soak a towel or two and somehow fasten it behind the fan (so the fan can breathe) and maybe one of the sides.
I'm having a hard time finding the correct way to describe it, but basically, imagine how an evap looks.

 

[Pixie_kitttie]

The suggestion someone made earlier is actually very helpful. I always keep frozen water bottles in my freezer in case of emergencies. Before I got my cat, I had ferrets, and they do NOT do well with high temperatures. My A/C broke in the middle of a Florida summer, and that's the only thing that kept them cool.

Keep some bottles in the freezer pull out a few to place in front of fans, and rotate them out. Once they melt, stick them back in the freezer and pull out the frozen ones. We humans do fine with just fans because we sweat, I don't know if cats sweat, so the ice cold air really helps cool them off.

I really hope this helps you! I'm also in LA right now, my house wouldn't go below 80v and I was complaining, I can't imagine 102.

 

[BonitaBaby]

Is there any way to make a makeshift evap cooler from one of your fans? Soak a towel or two and somehow fasten it behind the fan (so the fan can breathe) and maybe one of the sides.
I'm having a hard time finding the correct way to describe it, but basically, imagine how an evap looks.

Thanks, but my sister used to have some of those and they just made the room hot and very humid. My skin breaks out in a heat rash if the room is too humid. It's terrible. Itchy and scaly and painful.

 

[BonitaBaby]

The suggestion someone made earlier is actually very helpful. I always keep frozen water bottles in my freezer in case of emergencies. Before I got my cat, I had ferrets, and they do NOT do well with high temperatures. My A/C broke in the middle of a Florida summer, and that's the only thing that kept them cool.

Keep some bottles in the freezer pull out a few to place in front of fans, and rotate them out. Once they melt, stick them back in the freezer and pull out the frozen ones. We humans do fine with just fans because we sweat, I don't know if cats sweat, so the ice cold air really helps cool them off.

I really hope this helps you! I'm also in LA right now, my house wouldn't go below 80v and I was complaining, I can't imagine 102.

Thanks, but I have no room in my freezer. I share it with my parents. Also, see above regarding humidity. I need as low humidity as possible. I tried cold water in front of a fan when I lived with my sister and it worked at first, but afterwards, the air was too humid for me. I'm hoping the landlady will fix the A/C before the next heat wave.

 

[Pixie_kitttie]

Oh I'm sorry I didn't see about the humidity! I'm so sorry, I hope your A/C gets fixed soon!!

 

[BonitaBaby]

Oh I'm sorry I didn't see about the humidity! I'm so sorry, I hope your A/C gets fixed soon!!

Thanks! That post was after your post so you couldn't have known.

 

[orange&white]

I'm guessing you're on the top floor and may have west-facing windows? If so, cover the windows with thick blankets to keep light and sunshine out during the day. How low is the overnight temp dropping? If your room is staying hotter than that, then open the windows right before sunrise (the coolest time of day) and let the cooler air in, then close them and cover with blankets.

One thing I found when I was having hot flashes year-round for ten years (menopause ) was to wet and ring out hand towels, fold in quarters, put them in gallon freezer bags and freeze them. I kept four at a time circulating. They lay flat and don't take too much freezer space. They do warm fairly quickly, but I'd put the warm one on the bottom of the stack and grab a frozen one off the top. By the time I was through the stack, the bottom one would be refrozen. They would be a nice size for a kitty to lie on...I'd try one under a cotton sheet or towel.