In the cold, a winter cat does not freeze much. Thanks to its dense, thick fur, the animal can easily tolerate low temperatures, and even when it is very cold in winter, the seals ask their owner to let them go for a walk. However, you should not leave your pet outside at temperatures below 15 degrees, because not all cats survive extreme weather conditions and can suffer from hypothermia and related consequences.
What sub-zero temperatures can cats tolerate?
Most cats tolerate low temperatures well. Thanks to its thick and dense coat, the animal is able to survive severe frosts, reaching down to -15-20 °C. However, you should not think that your pet will easily cope with extremely harsh weather conditions. The animal will not survive if the thermometer drops below -20-25 degrees outside in winter.
Unfortunately, not every cat has a warm home and caring owners. A stray cat has a much greater chance of freezing, especially at night. In winter, street animals often live in basements, hallways, and abandoned buildings. This is the only way to survive and not freeze to death.
Frostbite in cats
The most frost-sensitive organs in a cat are the tips of the ears, tail and paw pads. Depending on the temperature outside and the length of time the animal is exposed to frost, it can receive superficial or deep frostbite.
Superficial frostbite affects exclusively the skin tissue and subcutaneous layer. When frostbite occurs, the skin first turns pale, then, when blood circulation is restored in the warmth, it turns red. Then it swells and begins to peel off. If blisters filled with liquid appear, it means severe frostbite has occurred. Visually identifying frostbite is not difficult - frostbitten areas of skin are always bordered by a clear boundary from healthy skin.
Deep frostbite is more dangerous, as it entails the death of the surface layer of skin, subcutaneous tissue and muscles, and sometimes even areas of tendons and bones. In this case, the tissues are affected to a great depth, and the body rejects them. At the site of deep frostbite, bloody blisters appear, transforming into black scabs, which indicate tissue necrosis.
What rocks freeze in winter?
Cats with fluffy coats, for example, Maine Coons, Siberians, Neva Masquerade, Norwegian, feel comfortable in the cold. The same cannot be said about short-haired and hairless breeds, such as:
- Abyssinians;
- Persians;
- Burmese;
- Devon and Cornish Rex;
- sphinxes, bambino.
Purebred couch potatoes are very difficult to tolerate temperature changes.
What temperatures cats can withstand depends not only on external factors and the presence of warm fur and breed. For example, a kitten will freeze very quickly because its thermoregulation is not fully developed. For the same reasons, older pets also freeze. A cat that lives at home all the time and is not used to street life can immediately get frostbite. Short-haired breeds are absolutely not suitable for living outdoors. If the temperature is not so comfortable for him, the cat will immediately get sick and die. The maximum that a purebred pet can afford is to sit on the balcony, wrapped in a warm blanket.
If a hairless or short-haired pet is lost in winter, it will not be able to withstand low temperatures. Therefore, when you happen to see an unfortunate animal on the street, you should not throw it to certain death. We need to help the cat survive.
Behavior of cats in winter
Most cat owners notice that with the onset of the first cold weather, their pets behave completely differently than in the warm season. Even the most playful and active animals turn into lazy couch potatoes who spend most of their time on the sofa or near a warm radiator.
It should also be noted that all felines have an increased appetite in winter, as a result of which the pets noticeably gain weight, gaining a few extra pounds. Cats do this on a subconscious level, because their genetic memory tells them that a layer of subcutaneous fat helps them survive in winter frosts.
Some owners are worried about this and begin to limit the cat's food, fearing that the pet's excessive appetite can lead to obesity. But such fears are completely in vain, because with the onset of spring, the animal’s need for an additional portion of food will disappear, and the pet’s weight will return to normal.
At what temperature can a cat walk in winter?
Thanks to the special structure of the coat, the cat walks freely in cold weather without experiencing discomfort. The heat generated by the body remains under the fur coat; thanks to this thermoregulation, these animals survive and are not afraid of low temperatures. However, wet fur loses its ability to retain heat, so it is extremely undesirable for snow to remain on the fur coat, which will then melt and get under the fur.
But a cat has unprotected areas of its body - its paw pads. There are much fewer receptors on them, and if it is minus 15-20 °C outside, the cat runs the risk of frostbite. Therefore, when the thermometer drops below 20 degrees, a pet tries to hide in the house, and stray cats and kittens take refuge in basements.
Leaving a cat outside in winter can lead to hypothermia.
Hypothermia or hypothermia brings a living organism into a state where the body temperature drops below the minimum required to maintain vital processes.
How to recognize hypothermia. The cat begins to feel chills and trembling. She becomes lethargic and apathetic, and her body temperature drops by 36°, while the normal temperature for cats is 38°-39°. If an animal remains in a state of hypothermia for a long time, then the breathing rate and heartbeat slow down, the glucose level in the blood decreases, the muscles freeze, first collapse and then coma occurs.
How to bring an animal out of hypothermia. First of all, he needs to be warmed up. Wrap in a blanket and put on a heating pad. If your cat's condition is very concerning due to a weak heartbeat and barely perceptible breathing, you should call a veterinarian. The doctor will put the patient on a drip with warm solutions, do warm pleural lavage, connect him to a ventilator with heated air, and administer an anesthetic drug. After removing the cat from this condition, a full examination will be required for undesirable consequences and complications and timely treatment.
What to do if your cat is cold and gets hypothermia?
External signs will help you understand that it’s cold for a cat to be outside - the animal is curled up in a ball, the muscles are tense, the fur fits tightly to the body. Once in a warm room, a frozen pet tries to position itself closer to a heat source - a radiator, stove, fireplace. If the cat is very cold, you need to wrap it in a woolen blanket and place the basket near the radiator. It is prohibited to bathe the animal. Some people think that warm water will warm them up faster, but this is not the case. After bathing, the fur will dry for a long time, and the pet risks freezing even more. And instead of benefiting the animal, it will cause harm. Sometimes a cat cannot withstand such stress and dies.
To save the animal, it is necessary to melt the ice that has frozen the limbs.
If a cat finds itself frozen to the ground, it is necessary to help it free itself, because the animal will not tolerate the cold and will die. It is necessary to make sure that the ice that binds the body melts, but without harming the animal. You can melt an ice trap using warm, but never hot water. While pouring the ice, you need to help the cat free herself at the same time. So that she does not worry and worry, you should talk and stroke the poor thing. If an animal has frostbite in any part of its body, it is necessary to urgently take it to a veterinary clinic, where a doctor will provide first aid.
How to recognize heatstroke in a cat
In hot weather, owners need to be extremely attentive to their pets. If the kitty is lying belly down, breathing heavily, with its paws outstretched and its tongue hanging out, then this is a significant cause for concern. The owners can help in such cases by opening a window or balcony, ventilating the room, and turning on the air conditioner. When your pet is outdoors, the best option is to move it into the shade, you can put it on a damp mat or wipe it with a wet towel. It is strictly forbidden to dip animals in cold water to avoid vascular spasm.
To understand that your cat has heatstroke, you should pay attention to the following signs:
- high rectal temperature 40-40.5 degrees;
- rapid heart rate up to 140 beats per minute;
- breathing is frequent and heavy - the animal breathes through its mouth, sticking out its tongue, like a dog;
- salivation;
- dry hot nose;
- apathy, refusal to eat;
- redness of the eyelids, mucous membranes (tongue, gums) or, conversely, excessive pallor;
- lack of coordination, the pet does not respond to external stimuli, loss of consciousness is possible.
- vomiting with foam from the mouth.
The above symptoms develop at lightning speed (sometimes they are confused with symptoms of fever), and if first aid is not provided in time, they will lead to serious consequences, and in some cases, death.
Other useful tips
A pet that eats high-quality, balanced food will survive sub-zero temperatures much easier. When cold weather sets in, energy costs for heating increase. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to the diet, especially for kittens and older cats. In winter, it is necessary to increase the calorie content of the menu, add complete proteins and fats. These substances are found in sufficient quantities in meat and dairy products.
Homeless animals rarely eat healthy food, so it is natural that not all will survive in the cold and severe frosts. Therefore, if abandoned cats live in the yard or nearby, you should try to help them cope with bad weather. You can feed the strays with leftover food or give them inexpensive dry food. Particularly compassionate cat lovers make them a primitive shelter where the animal can hide from snow, wind and severe frost. But if the cat is cold and all the signs of hypothermia are visible, you should not leave it to suffer outside, because the body will not stand it. A rescued animal can become a new member of the family and find caring and loving owners.
But how then do street murks survive?
It's terrible, but not everyone survives. Even hereditary stray cats are not able to withstand frosts below 20°C for long. Pack dogs gather closer together, warming each other, and dig holes in the snow. Cats do not know how to dig holes, and do not gather in packs. If you doubt whether cats are cold in winter, pay attention to how few familiar faces you meet when going to work in the morning: in the summer there is a mug under every car and on every bench, in winter they all disappear somewhere.
Somewhere - these are, as a rule, basements and entrances. Although in recent years, many basements have been tightly sealed, and ordinary doors have been replaced with metal ones with an electronic lock. Of course, from a sanitation point of view, populating basements with stray cats is not the best solution, but for many cats this is the only chance to survive the winter.
First aid and treatment
The owner is able to do everything possible and independently provide first aid when the body temperature does not exceed 40 degrees. Therefore, as soon as you notice something is wrong, take action immediately.
First, move the victim to the shade or a quiet, cool place. Using a thermometer (it is better to use an electronic one, not a mercury one), measure body temperature rectally (through the anus). To do this, lubricate the tip of the thermometer with Vaseline and, holding the cat firmly by the withers, carefully insert it into the rectum about 1 cm. Next, you should take the necessary measures depending on the readings of the thermometer.
What to do for your pet first
At the first stage, the most important thing is not to panic. Cats sense this and become even more nervous; as a result, they develop a fever and trembling. First, you need to lower the temperature to the permissible 39.5 degrees gradually over 1-1.5 hours.
Apply cool compresses or ice wrapped in a thin cloth to the paw pads, armpits, stomach, and head. Place a bowl of clean, slightly salted water nearby. If the cat is unable to drink, take a syringe without a needle and give the liquid drop by drop (so that the pet does not choke).
It is strictly forbidden to use medications for fever (for example, Ibuprofen), as this is not only useless, but also dangerous due to the risk of bleeding. As soon as the temperature has returned to normal, without wasting time, go to the veterinarian or call a doctor at home.
When the thermometer is above 40 degrees, it is better to postpone amateur activities to prevent death. It is important not to waste a minute and urgently go to a hospital, where specialists will carry out the necessary diagnostics, put in an IV, and carry out other procedures. Since hyperthermia causes disruptions in the water-salt balance in the body, the owner needs to monitor the functioning of the kidneys, in particular, monitor the color of the pet’s urine. For such cases, a special diet may be prescribed that does not burden the urinary system.
Visit to the veterinarian
It is important to remember that during the first five days after heatstroke, there is a high risk of liver and kidney failure, brain damage and bleeding. Therefore, consultation and supervision of a veterinarian is always necessary. Even if it seems to you that the cat is cheerful and feels great, its situation may worsen due to damaged internal organs. And the owner is not able to track such damage on his own.
Specialists at the clinic carry out resuscitation measures, give the necessary injections to reduce body temperature, and may require medications to maintain the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems. If necessary, urine, blood, X-ray, and ECG tests are performed. It is also possible to prescribe intravenous infusions of cool physiological solutions (glucose, dextrose). In severe cases or complications, potent drugs are prescribed and it is recommended to undergo a course of intensive therapy from several days to a week.
What is used to eliminate the effects of heatstroke in cats:
- If there is a deficiency of fluid in the victim’s body, a solution of sodium chloride with dextrose is administered with special additional fluids to maintain urine output.
- In case of acute liver failure, Dopamine and Furosemide are given intravenously with mandatory monitoring of venous pressure.
- If arrhythmia has occurred, lidocaine is used intramuscularly.
- In cases of disturbances in the blood coagulation system, fresh frozen plasma is infused.
- For digestive disorders (diarrhea, diarrhea), appropriate medications are prescribed.
- Seizures are treated with Diazepam or Phenobarbital.
- For general sedation, tranquilizers or herbal sedatives are acceptable.
All of the above-mentioned drugs have a strong effect and are prescribed exclusively by a doctor in the required proportions, based on the weight and condition of the victim. Self-treatment is strictly prohibited.
Accessories, tools and methods
If the above methods do not help protect your cat from the heat, you may want to try additional methods. The cat will feel better if its physical activity is reduced as much as possible, so bowls, a tray and a bed should be placed in the same room.
Once you're sure your cat is completely healthy, you can use homemade ice cream as an extreme coolant. Naturally, the product is contraindicated for cats with lactose intolerance and should not contain sugar. Ice cream is fed to the cat from a teaspoon in a slightly melted state.
Many owners decide to cut their cat's hair to ease its suffering. Grooming as a method is not prohibited, but as mentioned above, a pet cannot be cut to zero. The more important point is combing. By summer, the cat's undercoat (if any) is completely shed and must be thoroughly combed out. The higher the air temperature becomes, the coarser the pet's fur will become and this is normal. In the process of increasing the stiffness of the guard hair, the cat may lose a small part of the old hair, this is also normal.
Even if your pet doesn't like water, place a small bathtub freely accessible. Cats are not afraid of water, but they do not get into it unless necessary. Increased air temperature is the most natural need to wet the wool known in nature.
Modern industry keeps pace with progress. Today, in almost any large store, you can purchase cooling accessories for animals. For dogs, the range is wider; suits and paw muffs are sold. For cats, the range is currently limited only to cooling bedding and collars. The accessories are filled with hydrogel, which not only holds water, but also maintains a low temperature. Before use, the accessory is placed in a container of water for the time specified in the instructions. Typically, cooling accessories maintain a cooling effect for 1-3 days and last 2-4 years.
Possible complications and their elimination
Hyperthermia does not always end with just a trip to the doctor. Sometimes it is fraught with serious consequences, various types of organ disorders. Heatstroke in cats leads to gastrointestinal disorders, disruption of the functioning of the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, urinary, and nervous systems.
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Healthy adults are able to recover on their own, but older cats, small kittens and animals with chronic diseases cannot cope. They need a thorough veterinary examination and treatment.
Even if the cat is apparently healthy, do not take risks and see a veterinarian. The consequences of heatstroke in cats can be fatal!
With this type of overheating, the animal's behavior becomes restless, seizures often occur, there may be vomiting and convulsions, sometimes there is an increase in body temperature within 1 degree, shortness of breath, diarrhea is possible, and in some cases there is loss of consciousness.
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In Russia, with the onset of cold weather, the heating season traditionally begins. And in the apartments where our beloved cats and dogs live, radiators will start working. How will changes in temperature and humidity affect the four-legged members of your family?
Not only the weather outside, but also the temperature in the room affects the well-being of dogs and cats. The animal’s body reacts sensitively to temperature fluctuations and rearranges its thermoregulation. The temperature decreases - heat generation increases, since the metabolism in the body increases, and when the air temperature rises, on the contrary, heat generation decreases and heat transfer increases.
Many pets tolerate high temperatures much less well than low temperatures. An increase in temperature beyond the optimal parameters has a bad effect on the health of animals: metabolism decreases, appetite disappears, food is poorly digested, and the secretory, enzymatic and motor functions of the gastrointestinal tract are weakened.
In this case, not only the normal temperature in the room is important, but also the air humidity. Including hygienic indicators. High relative humidity also has a bad effect on the animal’s body and its heat transfer, both at high and low air temperatures. The animal sweats and its breathing may be difficult and quicken.
Very dry air is also harmful, because the drier it is, the more dust accumulates in it. Because of this, the mucous membranes and respiratory tracts of animals dry out, the skin dries and may peel, and the claws deteriorate. The body's resistance to infectious diseases is significantly reduced. Therefore, the humidity in the room should be maintained within normal limits. The optimal humidity level is 60-70%; at elevated temperatures, 50% is acceptable, and at low temperatures, 80%. A comfortable temperature for four-legged animals ranges from 20–25 degrees.
What advice can be given to cat and dog owners during the heating season? During the cold season or at low temperatures, insulate the windows and use an additional heater if the central heating radiators do not provide enough heat. Lay carpet or rugs on the floors.
When it's hot or during warmer months, lower the temperature with curtains or blinds that block direct sunlight while still allowing in plenty of fresh air.
If you have an air conditioner installed, the task is much easier, but remember that the inside of this device is a haven for germs, so do not forget to clean it. In addition, like a heater, an air conditioner dries the air. Monitor humidity changes using a room hygrometer.
Lack of air humidity, as well as excessive humidity, are equally harmful to you and your pet. When monitoring humidity, consider your comfort zone. For different animals, the indicators are different, but for the majority of cats and dogs living near us, the comfort zone is in the range of 55% with a permissible fluctuation of 50 - 60% humidity.
In order for such indicators to be observed in the room, it is enough to use an air humidifier or, if you don’t have one, install water tanks. And if the room is humid, simply ventilate the room periodically or turn on the heating.
Remember: your pet tolerates microclimate changes more difficult than you; it is harder for him to get used to changes in temperature and humidity. But he is not able to talk about his problems, lethargy and colds. So all the concern for his well-being falls on you.
The material was prepared with the support of the Farmina Pet Foods brand
Lack of air humidity, as well as excessive humidity, are equally harmful to you and your pet. When monitoring humidity, consider your comfort zone. For different animals, the indicators are different, but for the majority of cats and dogs living near us, the comfort zone is in the range of 55% with a permissible fluctuation of 50 - 60% humidity.
