It was 85 degrees here today and my room was extremely hot with the sun coming in from the windows. I was overheating...What about Jake? How hot is too hot for cats?
Cats can usually take heat better than dogs, but if a cat is panting, he's too hot.
One thing you can do, for when you are not home, is buy a stone cutting board and put it in the freezer for a few hours, and put it on the floor, he will seek it out and lie on it if he gets too warm.
If you are home, you can place a pan of ice in front of a fan.
I rarely run the air conditioner in the summer, and even when I do, the cats go thru the cat flap into our sun room which isn't air conditioned. It faces south with a wall of windows 35 feet long. That room bakes in the summer and I know it's gotten over 100 degrees in there. It doesn't bother them. I make sure they always have fresh water and throw ice cubes into the water to keep it chilled for them.
We have an enclosed sunroom with windows on 2 sides. It gets hotter than anything out there in the summer (outside temps in mid-upper 90s and lower 100s) and the kitties LOVE to be out there! If they get too warm, they come inside and lay on the floor under the ceiling fan or go lay down on the tile floor in the kitchen or bathrooms. I keep a bowl of water out there for them that I change daily. I think they'd be happy if they could live out there 24/7.
Our AC went out last summer for like 4 days and Jack really struggled with it--but he has very thick long fur. We basically locked him in the basement at that point, much cooler plus cement floor which is cool to lay on. But generally they both take the heat well.
The challenge I'll have this year is Ginger and her babies outside--as its unseasonably warm here--it was 80 today, yet 35 one day last week....gotta love Ohio.
I think it had to have been 100 degrees in my room today....I am worried about Jake because he stays in my room while no one is home because if not- he runs out as soon as someone opens the front door..
I'm loving this heat and don't plan on using the AC until sometime later on because I am so sick of this winter. It was actually 30 degrees just 2 weeks ago..
I live in the S. CA desert. Last summer temps stayed well over the 100 degree mark, with nights only slightly cooler.
There are hundreds of feral cats in this area and they certainly survive the hot weather. They find shelter under plants that are regularly watered (usually twice a day). The sandy soil seems to contain the cooler temps if the area is in the shade and has water on it.
I have ice packs in the freezer ready to use for my indoor cats should we have problems with the power and/or the AC is out of commission. Me? I use the pool.