How can you cool down your cat in the summer and how much heat can cats tolerate in the warm season? First of all: cats generally like it to be quite warm - but can also be very sensitive when it comes to temperature fluctuations or light conditions. Read how you can tell if your cat is too warm and how you can cool it down.
Cooling down a cat: when is it urgent?
If you want to cool your cat down in the summer, you should first know the physical signals that the cat uses to signal that it is too warm. It is very important to know that cats, like dogs, cannot lose body heat through sweating. The sweat glands on their paws, on the other hand, serve to mark their territory. Instead, a cat pants when it is too warm. This causes a lot of fluid to be lost and the body temperature to rise. This is normally in the range of 37 to 39 °C, but if it is higher, it can quickly become dangerous for the cat. Without cooling, heat stroke can occur, causing the circulation to collapse.
Visible or noticeable signs that you should cool the cat down are shortness of breath, increased heart palpitations and nervousness. In addition, the mucous membranes in the mouth are often darker than usual. If one or more of these symptoms occur, the cat should be cooled down immediately. The best way to do this is to take the cat to a cool place and encourage it to drink or to feed it small pieces of melon. These also contain a lot of water. Rubbing the cat down with a damp towel can also cool it down, as this generates evaporative cooling. If these measures do not help, a veterinary practice should be consulted if possible.
How can I cool down my cat? Prevention helps
Of course, it is best to give the cat various ways to cool down and protect its metabolism from the start. A shady, cool spot, enough fresh water and keeping the apartment or house cool are already good measures to help the velvet paw in summer. Cats like to doze a lot in summer - they are not as active overall. Damp towels on the floor or cold packs well covered with a towel can help to create a place to retreat. Very important: food should not go straight from the fridge into the bowl. Because instead of cooling the cat, this only creates additional stress for the cat: the cool food must first be warmed up in the body, which costs energy. It may also be advisable to adjust the portioning and feed smaller portions more spread out over the day. Setting up fans in the cat's place of retreat is also well-intentioned but harmful. The cat can easily catch a cold or get conjunctivitis.
Last but not least, cats should also be hygienic in the summer - at both ends of the digestive process. Fresh meat in particular should only be left in the bowl for a short time in warm temperatures or quickly put back in the fridge, and the litter box can also be cleaned more often than usual. Warm temperatures are the perfect basis for high bacterial loads and unpleasant smells.
With these tips, your cat will hopefully stay cool and relaxed in the summer. We wish you and your furry friend a great summer!
