Heating options for this situation?

[tdonline]

Picking your brains as I prepare for winter and time away from the cats.

First, a very long story short, about a year ago I had to start separating my cats due to redirected aggression.  My sister cats live together now--except when I'm not home.  When I'm away I separate one cat to the bedroom and the other to the rest of the apartment.  The cats rotate locations daily. 

The problem is that the bedroom faces north and the living room/kitchen faces south.  The thermostat is in the living room.  As you can guess, the bedroom is much colder than the living room.  And this is especially so in the late morning and afternoon.  As the living room is heated by sunshine, the thermostat doesn't turn on the heat and the bedroom is freezing.  If I compensate by upping the thermostat, it becomes unbearably warm in the living room.  This was a noticeable problem for the two winter trips I took last year.  So much so, the cat sitters pointed it out too.  And of course, it's a problem when I have to be out for the day too.

This year, I'm once again traveling (Thanksgiving and Xmas) and I'm determined to remedy the situation.

Low wattage heated beds seem to be the way to go.  I think the warmth from the bed will suffice but I worry that the bedroom cat will never move from the heated bed as the rest of the room will be so cold in contrast.  I worry about the cat holding the bladder a little longer because she doesn't want to hop off the bed and go to the litter box.  Am I overthinking this?

Because of the above, I am considering an oil-heater in place of OR in tandem with the heated bed.  I'd keep the heater on the lowest setting and also on a timer so it's not on 24/7.  This low-heat approach wouldn't make the bedroom hot but give it enough slow low warmth so it's not much colder than the living room.  Of course, the concern is safety.  I understand there are very safe oil-heaters, but of course there is always the chance of a fire hazard (are heated cat beds much safer in comparison?).  I'd ask the cat sitter to be particularly mindful of the heater.

The cats have had the self-heated mats for years but they do not seek them out in the winter so I wonder if the mats work for them.  I also recently bought hooded beds and I'm hoping the covering will help in terms of retaining body heat.  One cat uses them a little bit and I'm hoping both cats will catch on as the weather cools.  But again, I'm not sure if it will be enough to keep the bedroom cat warm.  

Would appreciate your thoughts on the above and if you have other recommendations.

 

[bonepicker]

Cats are very hardy mine used to go out in the snow. They sometimes sleep in unheated garage by choice. As long as they are dry and have some snuggly cozy bed to curl up in you do not need heated bedding which I would worry would cause a fire. I live in the snowbelt along the Lake in Ohio and it gets cold.

 

[tdonline]

Bonepicker, I hear ya, but I guess my always indoor cats are adapted to a certain lifestyle?  In the summer, one of them had a runny nose when she spent time in the bedroom.  The AC was set to keep the living room temperate but the bedroom without the southern exposure was much colder.  No sneezing or illness, but one cat was leaking clear liquid for days after I had been away in the office or a trip.

You're right, safety is a huge concern and it's why I have not yet purchased any electrical heating items.  

 

[AbbysMom]

I have two heated pads and a heated perch for one very spoiled cat. They are all K H manufacturing brand. One of the pads I've had for years the other stopped working and had to be replaced, but it was after a reasonable amount of time. I knew it stopped working when i noticed her not using it as much. I don't keep my thermostat very high normally and my cat gravitates toward them.

What is the temperature of the bedroom on a cold day? I turn my downstairs thermostat down to 58 at night and my cat does walk around at night to eat, etc.

 

[LTS3]

Heated cat beds would work just ifne. Most only heat up when it senses weight on top. Or you can try a heated cat house: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25135 I use microwavable SnuggleSafe pads tucked under a towel. I bought the pads from a pet store.

I wouldn't use room heaters. A cat may decide to sleep on top of right in front of the heat element and either be burned or cause the unit to overheat.

 

[tdonline]

Abbysmom, I set the thermostat around 67-68 degrees during the day.  It's an old analog thermostat so I can only eyeball it.  I can't sleep with air on so I turn down the thermostat to the point where I know the heat doesn't kick on.  I usually wake up to upper 50's /low 60's on the thermostat. Again, it's not exactly precise.  During the day, the bedroom seems to be 8-10 degrees cooler.

Over the years, I have felt a bit guilty about keeping the overnight temp rather chilly.  That's why I bought the self-heated mats and more recently the hooded beds.  In the winter, the cats rotate sleeping with me and curling up somewhere (recently, I've left a closet door open so they can get to a padded corner) But up until last year, they would only be cold at night and then spend the day in the living room sunshine.  With the separation mode, one cat spends 24 hours straight in the cold bedroom before they are rotated by the sitter.  That's the problem.

 

[AbbysMom]

How long do you expect your trips to be? If a week or less, I do think the heated pads would work out OK.

Is it possible to put some type of screen door on the bedroom or would just seeing each other cause some aggression? I remember seeing pictures in a thread of a member that was renting an apartment but managed to rig a screen door.

 

[tdonline]

The first trip is for one week and the other is 2 weeks.  

I think the screen door suggestion came from Shadowrescue?  Earlier this year, I rigged up a variation of it with a large window screen.  But I only used it when I was around to supervise.  The screen was held in place by tension rods so obviously one little push and it would come tumbling down.  And I could only keep one cat behind it because the other, Josie, would sniff around and looked to push through it.  And my bedroom door is the sliding type so attaching a hinge door may be complicated and or expensive.  I'm not sure management would be keen.

The situation right now is that they tolerate each other almost all the time.  Josie is a bit of a bully and causes scuffles when she just gets too annoying. This is almost tolerable.  The problem is Dory, the skittish one.  This all started when she saw a cat out side our living room window and went into nuclear meltdown.  I came home to find Josie hiding behind the toilet sitting in her own waste after the first meltdown and Dory growling like a lunatic in the living room.  This is why I separate them when I'm not around--I just can't chance Dory losing her rag and having an episode go on for hours or a day before someone comes by.  Ever since that first meltdown, Dory when scared or startled, will attack Josie rather than do what she used to--run and hide.  And it's hard to predict what is scary enough to set Dory off.  Thus the preventative separation tactic.   Dory has attacked Josie even when she's on prozac.  They are currently on a low dosage every other day.  Over the past year, I would say Dory has attacked Josie about 6-8 times.  I mean frenzy puffy tailed attacks, not just sisterly annoying slaps and chases for a few seconds.  Unless I see clearcut evidence Dory's attacking fits have gone, I can't leave her alone with Josie.

 

[tdonline]

I wouldn't use room heaters. A cat may decide to sleep on top of right in front of the heat element and either be burned or cause the unit to overheat.

This and a malfunctioned wire are my biggest fears.

 

[AbbysMom]

I can't blame you for not wanting to leave them alone, especially for long stretches of time.

Are either one of them scratchers or do they like digging their claws into things? Do you clip their claws often? The heated pads have heavy duty plastic, then there is a thin layer of foam, then the pad itself. It would take a bit for them to claw through it, but if they are known to do that or if there claws are usually razor sharp, I guess it could be a concern.

We had a lamp overheat and blow out a circuit once. Ever since that I live in fear of a fire starting when I'm not home.

 

[catapault]

Just a somewhat aside comment - why don't you get a new thermostat that is easier to set / regulate temperature? It is not that difficult to replace an existing one.

You could even get a nice set-back thermostat that automatically raises / lowers the temperature at preset times. In a previous house we had a double set-back - raised temperature about 7:00 a.m., lower it around 9:00 a.m. Then raise it about 6:00 p.m. and lower it around 10:00 p.m.

 

[zoneout]

What kind of heating do you have? Most baseboard elements can be adjusted by opening or closing the dampers. This is how you can balance the heat in the rooms. The other thing is to have fans move the air from the warmer rooms to cooler. They can be small.

 

[chromium blues]

I put a thick comforter over my bedroom window to keep the heat in during the winter. I borrow this trick from my mother who did this many years ago when we were renting a poorly insulated house. It makes a difference overnight, but if there's no one there to open it in the morning, you lose the benefit of the sunshine. Lots of soft, fleecy blankets and places to snuggle into. Hot water bottles would be wonderful if they could be reliably filled. I use Coca Cola bottles wrapped in receiving blankets and my cats love them - no chance of claw punctures, either.

 

[tdonline]

Thanks to all for advice and suggestions.

To answer some questions:

 Are either one of them scratchers or do they like digging their claws into things? Do you clip their claws often?

I'm not so much concerned about the cats causing an electrical problem.  I'm just overly paranoid about leaving a heating device unsupervised and having it malfunction by shorting or overheating.  My understanding is the heated beds are very safe...still since it's plugged into an outlet, there's still a chance of something happening.

 why don't you get a new thermostat that is easier to set / regulate temperature? It is not that difficult to replace an existing one.

I rent, but I'll bring it up with management.  It's not really about regulating the temperature though.  The thermostat isn't going to change the fact the living room heats up with sunlight while the north-facing bedroom is dark and cold.  If I set the thermostat to keep the bedroom warm, it would get too hot in the living room.

 What kind of heating do you have?

Central air.  I closed one of the vents in the living room and fully opened both vents in the bedroom.  I hope this balances it a little.  

For my Thanksgiving trip, I'm going to pass on the heated devices and see how it goes.  It's not as cold at that time and we'll see how the cats cope.  It may be that in December/January, I may have to up the ante.   I will place a self-heated mat and hooded bed on the bed.  Use the duvet to build around those two items.  I also replaced the bed side lamp's CFL bulb with an incandescent one.  I'll aim the light at the spot where the mat and bed are.  The lamp will be on a timer and will go off and on.  The incandescent bulb will provide light and a very low level of heat.