As we know and adore, cats can be contrary creatures. Sometimes they will ignore everything you do to help them, and sometimes they will be all over it in seconds. Some cats love to play in water, while others pretend not to even drink it and will be embarrassed if caught. You know your cat, and can decide whether they’ll need a privacy screen to take advantage. Some cats are heat seekers, and will lie on the shed roof in full sun until they’re too hot to comfortably touch, while others will stay indoors or in the shade as much as possible. Here are some ideas to keep your kitty happy in their enclosure for longer. 1: Make sure your beloved feline has clean water in a shady spot. If the sun hits the water directly, not only will it evaporate away, but it will get hot through the day and most cats won’t drink it when it’s warm. Consider a small fountain or a constant trickle into the bowl to keep the water moving – this will prevent it from losing oxygen, which gives the water a fresher taste. No one (furry or not) likes water that tastes flat and stale. And if your kitty likes to swim or dip their paws, make sure it’s big enough that it can do that and still come back later for a long drink. If you find that your kitty is ignoring the water bowl, try moving it to a different spot, or putting a leaf of catnip into the bowl (just one!). 2: Make sure that part of the enclosure is shady and has smooth surfaces that don’t retain heat. When it’s hot enough outside, most cats will avoid upholstered sleeping spots as they retain not only the ambient heat, but also escaping body heat. One of the cats I grew up with used to sleep on the phone in summer as it was a nice, cool plastic, and flat enough that once he had knocked the receiver from its cradle he could be comfortable for hours. Perhaps try to avoid that particular scenario, as you’ll tend to miss calls! If there is an area with some grass and pavers, some slate or bricks, position your enclosure there so kitty can have the best of both worlds. Try to avoid concrete slabs, because they normalise heat across the entire slab and it only takes part of it being in the sun for kitty to be unhappy. 3: If you have a cat cube, rather than a full yard or porch enclosure, drape half of it with a couple of layers of wet sheets, and position it in the shade. The water will evaporate off and keep the whole area cool. Don’t wet them too much, or your cat won’t lie under there with it dripping, but make a few layers with a white one on the top. Ideally, you want a dark colour under the white, as this traps a thin layer of air between the sheets and slows down the evaporation in every direction except down to where your kitty is resting, as well as the white outer layer reflecting radiant heat away from the cube. 4: Wet cloths. Most cats will disapprove of this process but thoroughly enjoy the results. Once or twice an hour, wipe your kitty down with a damp cloth. It turns their fur into their own, portable evaporative air conditioner. After the first few times, most cats stop objecting to the process, but to get them to that point, try to make it as pleasant as possible. Don’t use a cloth that’s too wet, just damp enough that you can leave water in the tips of their fur, and always stroke from head to tail, then come back for their ears. Cats lose a lot of heat from their ears, so wet down the outside (not the inside, you don’t want water entering their ears) and give them a good scritch while you’re at it. These days my kitty will actually approach me when he’s hot and smooch into the flannel. It’s very satisfying to hear him purring while I wet him down! 5: Cucumber and watermelon. To the uninitiated, this may sound crazy, but given the opportunity, cats will eat cucumber and watermelon, and both of these have an interesting property of staying cold on the inside. There is a temperature difference of up 12 degrees celsius between the skin of a cucumber and the centre when left in the sun, and up to 15 degrees for a watermelon. I have had several cats over the years who would raid my kitchen for cucumber whenever they could, and in summer I would buy extra and leave it where they could find it. What can I say? We all do what our cats want, it’s part of the fun! If your cat isn’t interested in the cucumber, try watermelon or rockmelon, even a little raw pumpkin – although you may need to slice that a bit thinner.
Oct
03
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