Ragdoll Cat Forums

Now, this isn't normally a problem over here in England as normally the weather is anything but hot!! But the last week or so the temps have really risen and Charlie seems to be hating it!

Living in a block of flats on the third floor means its really hard to have the windows open even a crack when we are not there to keep an eye on him, and even when we are there he's so quick I'm terrified he'll run for an open window and I wont be able to catch him! So they stay open only a few inches and on the latch so he can't nodge them open any further. Also, when we're there I put the fan on the floor at his level so he can sit infront of it and get some breeze!

When we're not there I make sure the blinds are down on the bedroom window (they are thick black out blinds) to try and keep the sun from getting in. I also put a few lumps of ice in his water bowls so his water is always as cold as poss (although he seems to think these are toys and will bat them around the water! ) I was also told yesterday that putting a damp towel in the freezer for a couple of hours then letting them lay on it is a good way for him to cool down so I did this and Charlie seemed to love it!

But just wondered if anybody had any other tricks to help keep the furbabies cool?

What is the high temp and how long is it that hot?

I don't know exactly, don't have any thermometers in the house unfortunately!
But its unusually warm and humid for here.

Cats should be fine up into the 80s. You can monitor dehydration by tenting him - pull up the fur at the shoulder blades and confirm that it promptly and smoothly falls back and does not hold up and cling together a bit as it goes back in place.

It has been in the high 70's so far Jan, but only for a few days. The forecast is for it to last a few more days with temperatures cooling towards the weekend.

Sammi, I don't think you need to worry too much. It sounds like you are doing good things to keep Charlie comfortable but over in America they have months of temperatures in the 90's in some states and although they are more used to it and more prepared the cats still have the same fur coats.

If you have tiles on the bathroom or kitchen floor make sure Charlie has access to it as it will be cool for him to lie on.

I did guess I was probably being an over worrying Mummy! But I've only ever had 'outdoor' cats so am totally new to keeping them comfortable indoors all the time!

Thank you both for re assuring me!

It's been up in the high 90s here in Alabama with a heat index of over 100. I worry about my outside boy, but he seems to be ok. Consider wetting a towel for him to lay on if you can. I do that and put outside for Smoke and he seems to like it. I bought a cooling pad a year ago that you fill with water and it keeps cool for hours -- he wouldn't lay on it at all.

Hi Sammie, do you have an inside laundry rack? - If so and he feels uncomfortable try wetting a big towel or an old bed sheet and make a nice little tent for him, underneath that towel the air is cooler because of the evaporation... and Charlie can play hide and seek with you

Have no experience in this area but have a suggestion, can you freeze some water bottles and put them under a blanket or towel so if Sammi gets too hot he can lay on them? Or you can put ice cubes in his water bowl, they seem to love that

Sorry, I just laughed when I saw "it's been in the high 70s"... it's been a horrible summer here so far in Virginia, with temperatures well into the 90s on all but 4 days in June, and high humidity (this is more like August weather... and an unusually persistently hot August, at that!), and last Thursday there was a crazy storm that knocked down trees and power lines all over town so I didn't have electricity for 2 days in this heat. Without air conditioning, the temperature in my apartment (top floor in a building without an attic) got up to around 85 and never fell below 80 for the duration of the power outage, and the cats were lethargic but otherwise fine. I just made sure they had lots of fresh water, and I couldn't do the towel-in-the-freezer trick because of the outage but I wiped them down with a cool washcloth a few times a day. So don't worry, they'll be fine!