{"id":3921,"date":"2018-07-10T08:54:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T13:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.diamondpet.wearewoodruff.xyz\/?p=3921"},"modified":"2022-07-19T15:54:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T20:54:37","slug":"summer-heat-is-no-problem-for-cats-debunked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/culture\/myths\/summer-heat-is-no-problem-for-cats-debunked\/","title":{"rendered":"Debarking Pet Myths: Summer Heat Is No Problem for Cats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d a monthly series dedicated to addressing common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs and cats.<\/em><\/p>\n

When summertime temperatures soar, people sweat, dogs pant and animals of all types seek shelter in the shade, preferably with a gentle breeze. That assumes, of course, there\u2019s no access to air conditioned rooms or vehicles.<\/p>\n

But what do cats do to stay cool?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking summer heat is not an issue for our pet cats because they originated as desert animals, you\u2019ve fallen victim to this month\u2019s myth:<\/p>\n

Summer heat is no problem for cats.<\/h2>\n

Although cats tend to tolerate the heat a little better than dogs \u2014 after all, they are famous for seeking sunny spots for sunbathes \u2014 the reality is that cats can suffer from overheating (hyperthermia<\/a>) and heatstroke too. Heat-related health problems tend not to be as common in cats, possibly because cats tend not to exercise in hot weather with their humans and spend less time in the car.<\/p>\n

Cats are also incredibly smart about keeping themselves cool. Here\u2019s how they keep cool, as well as things you can do to help them beat summer\u2019s heat.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Cats conserve their energy.<\/em><\/strong> You may notice your cat \u201cdisappearing,\u201d taking longer naps or being less active during really hot weather. That\u2019s because cats (unlike their canine counterparts) know that conserving, rather than exerting, energy during hot weather helps keep their core temperature down so they don\u2019t overheat. Cats will sleep during warmer parts of the day, preferably in a cool area out of direct sunlight, and reserve activities for the cooler parts of the day or evening hours.<\/li>\n
  2. Cats seek out cool surfaces.<\/em><\/strong> There\u2019s a reason why you\u2019ll find your cat chillin\u2019 on the tile floors of the laundry room, bathroom or kitchen or on the cement floor of your basement. Cats understand that the cooler floors will conduct heat away from their body. They\u2019ll also seek out shaded areas like under the bed or a closet where they can stay out of direct sunlight. So make sure your cat has access to areas of your home with tile floors or rooms that don\u2019t get much sun.<\/li>\n
  3. Cats groom themselves more.<\/em><\/strong> Because cats can\u2019t sweat like we do, they groom to keep themselves cool. As they groom during hot weather, their saliva evaporates off of their fur, cooling them down just like evaporating sweat cools us.<\/li>\n
  4. Cats drink more water.<\/em><\/strong> Cats get thirsty when they\u2019re hot, just like us and our dogs. Be sure your kitty always has access to fresh, clean, cool water. You can help keep kitty\u2019s water cool by adding a couple of ice cubes.<\/li>\n
  5. Cats benefit from their fur coats.<\/em><\/strong> You might think your cat\u2019s fur coat makes them miserable during hot weather, but the reality is that fur has insulating properties that help regulate body temperature. What you can do, however, is brush your cat frequently to help remove any excessive undercoat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What else can you can do to keep your indoor kitty comfortable?<\/h3>\n

    Consider setting your home\u2019s air conditioner to a conservative but comfortable temperature instead of turning it off when you leave the house in the morning. And don\u2019t forget to close curtains and blinds to reduce heating through windows, skylights or sliding glass doors.<\/p>\n

    \"Debarking<\/p>\n

    RELATED POST: Protect Your Pets From Summer\u2019s Heat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Welcome to \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d a monthly series dedicated to addressing common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs and cats. When summertime temperatures soar, people sweat, dogs pant and animals of all types seek shelter in the shade, preferably with a gentle breeze. That assumes, of course, there\u2019s no access to air conditioned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Summer Heat Is No Problem for Cats | Diamond Pet Foods","_seopress_titles_desc":"Welcome to "Debarking Pet Myths," a monthly series dedicated to addressing common myths, misconceptions and old wives' tales about dogs and cats. When summertime temperatures soar, people sweat, dogs pant and animals of all types seek shelter in the shade. Learn how cats cope with the heat.","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,275],"tags":[11,186,53],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3921"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13541,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions\/13541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}