Record temperatures predicted this week - tips for keeping cats cool?

[Bazsmum]

What about the un-patented outdoor drinker! 

I also have a baby bath with a quarter full of water in the garden, the puds love to get their paws wet! 



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[Kirst]

Seeing as Beavis like to lie flat out in the sun in the conservatory , and the hotter the better , I am letting him get on with it! Gizzy is NOT liking the sunblock on his white ear tip tho!

[Smudgey]

Hi I've been wetting t towels or towels and putting them on the floor in the kitchen Abby was straight on it this morning ,I put ice cubes in the sink they like to bat them about
frozen bottle of water they can lick off the condensation (same goes for rabbits/guinea pigs)
Zak likes to lay in the window with his paws hanging out lol
And i do wet their fur too Abby likes it but zaks not as keen

[Sheli_80]

I was worrying about the heat as well but my boys seem to be managing to keep cool, Charley is lying on top of the tumble drier which is nice and cool as no-one in thier right mind would have it on in this weather! Basil is sleeping in the bath and Baxter is napping under the bed. Garf is lying by the window enjoying a nice breeze.

They don't seem to be eating much wet though, seem to prefer their dry food which is annoying as they need all the fluid they can get in this heat. I may try Leanne's suggestion with the tuna and some extra water.

[Angiew]

My brother bought some window stickers that are like bird of prey that stops it happening. Not sure where he got them from.

I had a bird of prey outline painted black that I stuck on my front winsow for years - seem to work though as I had it on a bit of string I was for ever reattaching it and it got a bit battered.

[Leanne]

When its really hot we give them a treat of tinned tuna (in spring water) and add more water to it

[Mark]

I do that as well but I'm not giving them any during the day as none of them eat it straight away and the flies get there first 

I relented and gave Willow 1/2 pouch but she didn't touch it so it went down the toilet.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I'm sure this is a fairly obvious thing to do but thought I'd mention it just in case....  I've been adding a big slosh of water to the boys' wet food, I normally do it for the morning meal anyway but have been adding it to dinner aswell to make sure they're getting enough fluids.

[JeanH]

When it gets too hot (which isn't very often in NE England  ) I usually find my cats sleeping in the bathroom.  It's tiled in there so lovely and cool

[tab]

Can someone please tell Riley the way to keep cool is not to press himself up against me whilst I'm trying to sleep! I'm on nights so was trying to get an hours rest but with a hot furry body pressed up against me it wasn't happening 

Byron is the same! it's great in winter but being smothered in sweltering heat 

Yep Ambers the same too. Just not helpful is it.
love
Tab

[Janeyk]

Can someone please tell Riley the way to keep cool is not to press himself up against me whilst I'm trying to sleep! I'm on nights so was trying to get an hours rest but with a hot furry body pressed up against me it wasn't happening 

Byron is the same! it's great in winter but being smothered in sweltering heat 

[hannah (weeny)]

i wish jasper would take notice of any of these kind of ideas, but no, he's just a big ol grump in this hot weather.  makes me very sad cos i hardly see him!!!

wish i could help cool him down, but he wont let me 

he's also terrified of fans which doesnt help. 

[Tiggy's Mum]

Can someone please tell Riley the way to keep cool is not to press himself up against me whilst I'm trying to sleep! I'm on nights so was trying to get an hours rest but with a hot furry body pressed up against me it wasn't happening 

[Mark]

I am staying in the basement. I stupidly left some wet catfood outside today so you can imagine the state of it when I went outside just now. 

[Daisymac]

God it is really hot,  I have a stomping headache and am so hot,  I cant imagine what it would be like to have a fur coat on at all times,  I feel for my lot,  have just put a load of fans on in the house and let them lay about in the lving room which doesnt really get the sun that bad x

[Dawn F]

I think he said it because we had the shaver out anyway!  she has horrible mats on her hind quarters both sides, she is moulting like crazy

[Gillian Harvey]

I was wondering about your lot Gillian, oh said about shaving star but there is no need, is there?

Nope! 

[Dawn F]

I was wondering about your lot Gillian, oh said about shaving star but there is no need, is there?

[Gillian Harvey]

Most cats are pretty well adapted to regulating their own body temperatures without any help from us  My lot with their thick, long coats, know exactly what to do, they stretch out flat on the floor where it is coolest and in the places where they catch any breeze.

[Wibblechick]

Cross posted with you, Mark -

How can I stop birds flying into my windows?
You can fix something to the outside of your windows to stop birds from flying into them. Birds fly into windows because the reflections confuse them. Some see the reflection of trees and the sky and don’t realise it is glass. By fixing something to the window you will reduce the reflection and birds are less likely to be confused.

Plastic stickers work well - RSPB reserve shops sell stickers in the shape of bird silhouettes, which are ideal. 


http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/p//R0973.htm

The best I can find at the moment ....     My kestrel was simply black paper from a craft shop.  I found an image online, copied it larger and that was that 

[Wibblechick]

when it's sunny the birds fly straight at the patio windows 

This used to happen where I used to live    I drew and cut out the silhouette of a kestrel (but any bird of prey would probably work) and stuck it in the middle of the window.  Result!!  The birds kept away and it also stopped small children from trying to run through the closed patio doors  

As to cats keeping cool, Mr T couldnt actually be bothered to climb on to the deckchair, but he looks pretty cool to me  

[Mark]

My brother bought some window stickers that are like bird of prey that stops it happening. Not sure where he got them from.

[Janeyk]

When I'm out I draw the curtains so the room stays cool for Byron but also because when it's sunny the birds fly straight at the patio windows 

[Mark]

I fill up bottles with water, put them in the freezer and when frozen stick them in front of a desk fan. Then turn the fan on  It seems to work and does makes the air cooler. Just need something under the bottles to catch the drips as they melt.

I bought a poor man's air-con unit off ebay a few years ago for the attic room when the B&B was open - it gets roasting up there. I think it helps a bit but hard to tell as people would leave windows open as well 

Basically it has a tank of water and a big pad that soaks it up - the fan blows air through it. It was only about £40 from what I remember.

[Leanne]

I try not to worry about this when I'm at work  they have water down and the fountain on.

Fortunately our lounge is north facing so it quite cool during the day, Milo who doesn't like the heat (he'll come in from the garden and sit in the cool) seems to sit on the landing which is the hottest part of the house, but when he gets too hot he sits under the bed. Jess is a sun god who will lay in any bit of sun he can get.

[blackcat]

yep, straight from the fridge is particularly bad in hot weather - when I say cold water, I mean run the cold tap until the initial warmth goes away. Mind you in Queensland the soil used to get so hot that even a cold shower was tepid ...

[Janeyk]

Yeh, they say cats don't like cold water and food -  I tend to give Byron just inbetween not too hot/too cold,  I don't really think ice cold is good for tums.

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

Actually other then making sure water is down and sunblock on i am not sure what can be done, as cats seem to find the hottest place to sit anyhow..!! They make up their own minds i suppose... But eating less is probably something you notice more... The idea of ice cubes in water is good but as far as i was aware cats hate cold water to drink, they like it warm.. do they not? As with cold food... anyhow nice to see the sun and we should moan about the temperatures should we? it rare enough we get lovely weather lets enjoy it!

[Den]

I fill up bottles with water, put them in the freezer and when frozen stick them in front of a desk fan. Then turn the fan on  It seems to work and does makes the air cooler. Just need something under the bottles to catch the drips as they melt.

[LadyJane]

I was worried about this too but Samson was very good at finding his own shade yesterday and as blackcat says he spent alot of time under a bush in the garden or under the patio set (the patio doesn't get much direct sunlight).  He also didn't eat until the evening which I didn't realise was down to being hot but will stop worrying about that now.  I refreshed his water several times throughout the day too.

I've left the lounge curtains closed today so it should stay shady in there for him.

[blackcat]

But as you know, in the UK, at temperatures above 25, railway lines buckle

so the 'wrong kind of heat' then? Seems to me public transport over there is not equipped to deal with weather. Full stop.

[Lottie (Team Svartalfheim's)]

The freezer bowls from PAH (doggy section) are quite good for keeping water cool too.

[Mark]

But as you know, in the UK, at temperatures above 25, railway lines buckle and roads melt -
we are not equipped for any kind of extremes 

[blackcat]

Call that hot? The day I tossed the cats in the bath it was 48!!

[Dawn F]

how long is it forecast for, I want a bbq on Saturday 

[Mark]

The prediction is 30^o+ by Wednesday 

What you said about the sarong reminds me of my science teacher when I was a school, Dr Vasistha who said when he was a kid in India, they basically lived in a straw hut and kept cool by having a piece of wet fabric over the door frame.

He went on to work for NASA and helped develop whatever it is that stops rockets burning up when they go into space.

[blackcat]

When I lived in Queensland I would actually put them in the bath, with cold water. Hourly. The first time they would shriek in outrage, after that they would queue for the treatment.

Also, give them the freedom to find somewhere for themselves. If they are outdoor cats then hose down a spot under a shady shrub so the soil is cool and damp. Provide copious amounts of drinking water and keep replacing it with cold water, as it will warm up rapidly and become unpalatable. Cut back on food if they don't do it voluntarily. If they are indoors I have found that a fan running behind a sarong that has it's bottom in a bucket of water results in an airconditioning effect as the water evaporates, it wicks up more water from the bucket and the evaporation process cools the moving air.

But then, it doesn't get that hot in England 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Wipe down with damp clothes, put ice cubes in the water bowl to keep it cold, for indoor cats, only open one curtain in each room so there is some shade, if they go outside they should be sensible enough to find their own shade (all mine did yesterday)

[Mark]

I read (on here I think) about damping their fur down if it gets really hot - not sure if mine would stand for that so just wondeing if anyone has any other tips? - Our lower ground floor is quite cool (bitterly cold in the winter) I can hardly keep Willow and Kylie in the house. They are virtually living out there 24/7 and so used to each other that they seem to have called a truce after 5 years.