The Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Cat Safe During a Heat Wave
1. Crank Up The AC – The easiest way to keep a cat safe during an extreme heatwave is to crank up the household air conditioning until it holds a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or 26 degrees Celsius or less. Cats thrive in temperatures at or less than the aforementioned range.
2. Provide a Lot of Water – Cats are just like human beings in the sense that they need to consume larger amounts of water than normal during hot summer weather. Always be sure to provide cats with plenty of water during an extreme summer heatwave.
3. Brush Your Cat Often – Brushing excess fur off of a cat during the summer months will help to keep their core body temperatures much cooler. Cats shed a lot of their fur during the summer season. Unless they are brushed this loose fur will stay attached to their bodies.
4. Play in The Mornings and Evenings – Cats need plenty of playtime, however, it is important to play with them during the cooler morning or evening hours during a heatwave. This is particularly true if the cat is staying inside a home without air conditioning.
5. Keep an Eye on Them – It is very important to keep a close eye on cats during extremely hot temperatures. Every 1-3 hours pet owners should track down their cat and make sure that their breathing rate is normal and that appear calm, relaxed, and alert. As a cat owner, you should know the signs of heat stroke. If you find that your cat is panting, lethargic, vomiting, or having trouble standing, your cat may be having a heat stroke. If this is the case, you need to cool your cat down as fast as possible and seek medical treatment.