Although it’s true that we cats love to find warm and toasty places where we can curl up, and we always enjoy stretching out to catch every ray of sunlight possible, the truth is that a feline heatstroke is more frequent than you might think and it can be quite dangerous for us.
That’s why I’m bringing you a number of simple pieces of advice for helping us keep cool during the hottest months of the year so you can avoid any scare.
Hair care
Although we shed during the hottest times of year, we’ll always welcome your helping us out with a good brushing now and then or even a haircut in the event that your cat is long-haired. Bear in mind that this is a cut of 2-3 centimeters, never more, as our coat also serves to shield us from UV rays.
Cool environment
It’s very important that your cat have a place shielded from the sun where it can rest. Remember that this resting place must be well-ventilated, and that it’s always good for your cat to have access to the coolest places in the house, like the bathroom, to be able to rest. A trick that you may find useful is to fill a hot water bottle with cold water and even add some ice cubes and place it underneath your cat’s bed.
Hydration
This is one of the most important aspects. Make certain that your cat always has cold water available. Sometimes, your cat’s water dish may be outside, and the water heats up when it’s hottest outdoors, so you’ll have to pay more attention to this aspect.
We recommend that you put a little ice in your cat’s waterer once in a while… not too much, because we may not find cold water to our liking, and you can even use ice cubes to play with your cats, they’re nice and cool and really slippery fun!
Hottest time of the day
Noontime is when you should be watching out closest for us. Make sure that we don’t go outdoors to play at the hottest time of day. It’s better for us to get our exercise once the sun starts going down. On especially hot days, even though we may not be too enthralled about the idea, you can try wetting our fur from our head down our backs with a wet towel. We’ll be glad you did in the long run!
