4 tips to avoid a heat stroke to your cat

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Last week, the temperatures were scorching here. We remained hidden the largest part of the day in the shade of bushes, lying on the cool ground.

Cats cannot perspire as a human to lower their physical temperature when it’s warm : they have only some sweat glands between the pads, that’s all. We risk a heatstroke in case of strong hot season ; the following signs (in order of growing gravity) indicate that we are too much hot, far too hot, and that we have to cool quickly :

  • Hanging out tongue
  • Panting
  • Fast pulse
  • Too high body temperature
  • Loss of balance
  • Respiratory distress syndrome
  • Apathy
  • Unconsciousness

Pixie panting
What’s to be done in the presence of these signals of distress ?

  • Place immediately the cat in a cool and well ventilated place
  • Place his paws in cool water (not cold !) during 10-15 minutes to lower his temperature

To avoid getting to this point, some simple precautionary measures can be taken :

  1. Provide some cool water in various places of the house (also outside)
  2. Renew often the water so that it remains cool
  3. Keep the house as cool as possible: draw the blinds or close the shutters, close the windows on the side of the sun but leave the others opened so that the air circulates, and suspend wet linen in front of the open windows
  4. If it’s possible, keep the cat inside in a cool room ; if the cat is used to go out, make sure that he has an easy access to a cool and shaded place

Getting cool, that can also be funny : go to see how do our friends Die Kleine Fellindianer here and here !
Pixie234

Zorro228

33 thoughts on “4 tips to avoid a heat stroke to your cat

    1. Robert

      I was also glad to see this information. The temperatures are getting into the 90’s here and I know this bothers my cats. The information here is useful and very much appreciated.

  1. Summer

    These are the sort of things that are good to remember – especially next year, when my human will be driving me to BlogPaws in the very hot, dry American Southwest!

  2. Pawesome Cats

    Such great advice, people forget about the risk of heat-stroke or sunburn for pets but they are at just as great a risk as us humans. We have to be particularly careful about heat and sun protection living in Australia.

  3. Sammy

    We need help from our humans in knowing when we’re in need of a cool-down…….so this information is TOTALLY great to post now as we move into summer!

    Hugs, Sammy

  4. da tabbies o trout towne

    guys…this is a grate summer time ree minder post…thanx for sharin thiz info & for postin it ♥♥♥

  5. Just Ducky

    Good tips. Mum thought the house was too warm and stuffy and so she turned the air chiller on today. Tomorrow it will be cooler, so she can turn it off again.

  6. Robin

    This information is so important with the weather heating up! It’s something we should remind ourselves of often so that we can prevent heat stroke in our kitties. Heat can really sneak up on you sometimes!

  7. Mark's Mews

    TBT makes sure we have shade and water outside (there is a small pool), can come in when we want, and checks on us often when we are out. Mostly, we gladly stay inside in the heat.

  8. Jeanne Melanson

    Luckily, our house stays cool all summer long. (All winter long too, for that matter.) So our cat, Jessie, remains comfortable while the weather’s hot. She doesn’t like to go outside much anyway, but when she does, she always has a way to come back inside when she’s ready. Thanks for bringing awareness to your readers. It’s so important to know the danger signs of heatstroke. Thanks a lot. Take care.

  9. Christine & Riley

    I have a couple of cats that refuse to come inside, even when the temps rise. Thank you for these suggestions I am going to make sure they are as comfy as possible and even install some misters in their area 🙂

  10. Raven

    Great advice on keeping cool during the summer. It gets over 100F here in summer and lots of animals are left outside. I’m lucky to be indoors with the air conditioning so I’m never too warm.
    I don’t think I’d like to get my paws wet fishing for treats like your friends Die Kleine Fellindianer

  11. Cathy Keisha

    Before they moved to a place with a/c, TW used to put a little water in the tub and stand Nicky in it. Once Gramma called Pop and told him to come take Autumn cos she was panting and he had an a/c in him room.

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