and the humidity!
I have melted into a puddle of fur. It’s Thursday but I am NOT thankful and haven’t been for quite sometime. And it doesn’t appear as if the source of my discontent is going to improve anytime soon.
There’s nothing for me to do but sprawl in the shade on the porch and pray for a cool breeze to ruffle my tummy furs. I could retreat to air conditioning but that would require me to go back into the house, and I am not a quitter.
I have water nearby, but I must be careful to avoid heatstroke (hyperthermia). All pets can easily become dehydrated. In addition to fresh, cool (think about asking your humans to add some ice cubes) water, stay in a shady place, do not over exercise and stay inside when it is extremely hot.
Normal body temperature for cats is 100.5 to 102.5 º F ( 38.2 to 39.2 º C). High temperatures and humidity could cause my body temperature to rise above the normal range. If that happens, I could suffer from serious medical issues. Heat stroke is a medical emergency which can lead to organ dysfunction, coma and death. Urgent care is required even for mild heat stroke.
You need to make certain that your humans are aware of the symptoms of mild heat stroke: restless behavior, panting, sweaty feet, drooling and excessive grooming as you attempt to keep cool.
Symptoms of hyperthermia include: rapid panting, bright red tongue, dark red or pale gums, drooling, weakness, dizziness, muscle tremors, lethargy, anxiety, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from the nose and coma. (Blood may be seen in the vomit or feces.)
Any cat can develop heat stroke; however, some are at greater risk, like me. I am considered an old cat, and I have a heart murmur. If you are a cat that falls into any of the following categories, make certain your humans are extra careful about your becoming overheated. You are: a short-faced breed, old, young or a kitten, sick, obese, have a heart condition, have a medical condition affecting your breathing or are pregnant or nursing.
Stay cool, furiends!
This is Part One of a two-part series. Next Thursday The Cat on My Head will cover the treatment for mild heatstroke as well as hyperthermia.
Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia
Sources: www.aspca.org, www.PetMD.com and www.cat-world.com.au.
Love this info! It’s hot everywhere. I think we’re all in hell! The info provided will help us all in the future.
(((Shoko)))
Everybody is cooking!! What is el Nino and why is it doing this to us?
Kisses
Nellie
Great advice, Lily Olivia. We always think about the stray and feral cats during the extreme temperatures. We wish that they didn’t have to be out in the head. We look forward to Part 2 of your series!!
Sampy sends 2039485720394875345 kisses to Astrid, and we all send lots of love!
If I figure out how to turn off the heat, I will let you know.
All we can say is thank cod for air conditioning.
I didn’t know excessive grooming was a sign of heatstroke. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that. It’s supposed to reach 105 here today! Yuk!
Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie
You can send some heat over here please and some sunshine too , Thank you very much 🙂
XOXO
We are hot here in TN too but my cats are indoor in the air conditioning so none the worse for wear. 🙂
Oh, I’m so sorry it’s so hot at your place! Thank you for all the information. I really appreciated that you were translating the ° in C !
Hm. We understand your dilemna. Inside it’s cool and nice, but you’re not a needy and helpless cat. And your stupid human hasn’t moved your bench into the living room? Bad service, we’d say!
We have the hots too and we’re happy to be inside kitties. We’re watching our ferals though.
Amen. We are miserable. And anywhere Bill goes in his truck it is miserable We just stay home and suffer. Bring on Autumn..
We’re melting this week too and we’re tired of it. We’re ready for the hots to go away!
We’ve seen lots of melting cats this week (including Annabelle yesterday) — there is lots of ‘hots’ going on all around! We hope you stay as cool as you can Lily Olivia. Mom always keeps the fan on when we are out on our back porch (which is as far “outside” as we are allowed).
That is good information. I wish someone would turn our heat on though. I am fed up with cold and windy weather.
Great information! We have the same concerns here in Florida. Got to keep an eye on the little ones cause they don’t always look out for themselves! 🙂
Oh my yes………it sure is hot outside. We are all melting at our house too. Mom & dads room is the only place with AC and we don’t like that the door has to be closed . We want to be able to go in and out of rooms at will.
Stay cool everyone. Kisses to Ms Lisbeth
Scout Charles
Our cats want to be outside all the time but don’t realize how lucky they are to be inside with the air conditioner.
This heat is just awful isn’t it? I’ve been staying in the house for the most part although sometimes I ask Mom to let me on the front porch, she opens the door and the heat hits me in the face so I BACK AWAY!!!! It’s best to stay cool and in the shade and hope for some COOL soon!!!
Hugs, Sammy
Good reminders about how to look for heat distress. It’s crazy-hot here, but we’re resigned to it. That’s life in Florida. We just don’t get to leave the air conditioning until autumn.
We can’t tell you how jealous we are of your heat as we are at a dizzy temperature of 10 degrees centigrade (this is our summer or lack of it this year). Can we arrange to do an exchange please?
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
We have to drive for a few hours in triple digit weather this weekend – you can bet the air conditioner is going to be blasting the whole way! For me more than for my human.
Stay cool!
Good advice. We had the hots yesterday and thankfully in this part of the world our hots don’t stay long. Our natural airconditioning (aka fog bank) is coming back.
Please turn off our heat, too!
You look as cool as a cucumber Lily Olivia. We know your sweet Mom will definitely make sure you don’t get overheated. Our Mommy is even shutting us out of the catio certain hours of the day. (She’s so overprotective!)
Happy thursday!
XOXO