Hot Tips for Cool Cats

FFL foster cat Susan enjoying a cool treat

FFL Foster cat Susan enjoying a cool treat

While most cats enjoy basking in the sun, ensure your cat stays cool during hot weather and does not overheat or get sunburnt. Even after providing them with extra water and other cooling measures, do not leave your cat alone for more than a few hours, as they are vulnerable to heatstroke and dehydration.

 

Keep an Eye on Your Cat

Healthy adult cats should not be left for longer than 4-6 hours when temperatures exceed 27°C (80.6°F). Kittens, senior cats, certain breeds (such as Persians), and cats with long, dense fur or health issues will need more frequent checks and shorter periods alone, regardless of the actual temperature.

Provide extra shade if your cat is an outdoor cat and doesn’t like to be kept inside. Check sheds, greenhouses and summerhouses before closing them up, as heat can build up quickly there.

If possible, it is recommended that you keep your cat inside during the day and into the evening, where you can keep them under observation and influence, if not control their environment. Don’t be alarmed if your cat doesn’t want to eat their usual fill. Instead, make sure they are well-hydrated!

 

Keep Your Cat Hydrated

Provide your cat with additional access to clean, fresh water, even if he/she usually does not drink much. Place extra bowls of different sizes/materials in different locations if you are unsure which ones your cat might go for. Add ice cubes to a bowl or a little tuna juice or chicken broth. Consider switching from dry food to wet food, and include a water fountain as an alternative to standing water.

Cats need to drink to stay cool and prevent muscle spasms in hot weather. If your cat doesn't drink during hot days, he/she can quickly become dehydrated, which can lead to serious health issues like heatstroke and organ failure.

It can also increase the risk of a blocked bladder in cats, particularly male cats, due to dehydration and the potential for increased crystal formation in the urine. Dehydration can lead to concentrated urine, which makes it easier for crystals to form and potentially obstruct the urethra. Signs to look out for include frequent but unproductive visits to the litter tray and excessive drinking.

If you suspect your cat is dehydrated, especially during hot weather, contact your veterinarian immediately!

 

Keep Your Cat Cool

Keeping your cat cool is sometimes easier said than done. Start with cooling your home as much as possible. Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day, especially when exposed to direct sunlight, and give your cat access to cool surfaces.

Ensure that a cool breeze is going through any rooms they are in. Most Londoners do not benefit from air-conditioned homes, but you can use regular fans, cooling or misting fans, or mobile air conditioners, provided they’re in good condition and safe for cats to be around.

If your cat is indoor-only, take extra care to secure windows and doors, only opening gaps that are 2 inches wide and securing them with high-quality screens or netting.

Keep up regularly grooming your cat to remove any excess fur that might keep heat trapped and add to their discomfort.

Some cats enjoy licking (flavoured) ice cubes. Try to freeze your cat’s favourite treat, like a Lick-e-Lix, but remember to allow the ice lolly to warm up slightly or to pour a little warm water on it to prevent his/her tongue from getting stuck before you give it to him/her.

Top Tip: A great way to cool your cat down is to apply cool water to their beanies!

One of our amazing foster carers and cat behaviourist, Dr Sarah Brown: “I tried this with Lennie and George yesterday to help cool them down. Only very shallow water though and I wouldn’t leave near young kittens in case they got stuck in the water. George and Lennie loved it!”

Consider buying your cat a cooling mat. Alternatively, you can use cold, wet towels or ice packs to put underneath their bedding or wrap them in thin towels for them to lie on. Here’s more from Sarah’s Instagram:

Don’t overexert them and schedule play early or late when they will be more active.

It is not unusual for cats to withdraw to a dark hideout during the hottest hours of the day and seem more lethargic. Even when they are in a cool or air-conditioned environment, they will feel the high-pressure weather system affecting them.

So, how can you tell when your cat is overheating and needs help?

 

Watch Out for Signs of Heatstroke

Cats can overheat and suffer heatstroke in temperatures above 27°C (80.6°F). Heatstroke is a very serious condition that can cause severe dehydration, organ damage and death. If your cat is showing symptoms of heatstroke, start cooling them down immediately, then contact your vet. Heatstroke is more dangerous the longer their body temperature stays high, so the quicker they are cooled down and treated by a vet, the better their chance of a full recovery.

Signs of Heatstroke in Cats

  • Panting and fast breathing

  • Bright/dark red or sometimes very pale gums

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhoea

  • Weakness

  • Confusion

  • Wobbliness or collapse

  • Seizures

  • Blindness

  • Unconsciousness

 

First Aid for Heatstroke in Cats

Step 1: Move your cat indoors to a cool room or into the shade

Step 2: Start cooling your cat straight away

  • Slowly pour cold water (water from the cold tap is fine) over their whole body, most cats don’t like being wet so be very gentle (be extremely careful they don’t inhale any water by keeping it away from their nose and mouth)

  • Create a breeze by turning a fan on, or opening doors and windows

  • Offer them a drink of cold water but do not force them to drink

  • Put them on top of a cold, soaking-wet towel

  • Don’t cuddle them or cover them with a wet towel as this can make them even hotter

  • Wrap an ice pack or a bag of frozen veg in a tea towel and place it between their legs

Step 3: Call your vet as soon as possible or, better yet, rush your cat to the nearest (emergency) vet

  • Transport your cat in a car with the air-conditioning on, or with the windows open (but make sure they aren’t able to escape)

  • If possible, bring someone with you to keep cooling your cat while you travel

For more information, visit the PDSA’s article: Heatstroke in Cats

 

Last But Not Least: Avoid Sunburn

Temperatures don’t have to exceed 27°C (80.6°F) for cats exposed to peak sunlight hours (10am to 4pm) to suffer from sunburn. Make sure they have plenty of access to shady, cool areas, especially when the sun is strongest, from midday to mid-afternoon, or consider keeping your cats indoors, especially if they are prone to sunburn.

If your cat can’t be kept indoors or confined to the shade during these hours, you’ll want to look into pet-safe sunscreen.

For light-coloured cats (white, ginger, especially any with light-coloured noses and ears) that like to venture out in the sun, consider using Titanium Dioxide-based sun cream, especially on the tips of the ears and nose. Avoid any that contain Zinc Oxide and ask your vet if you are unsure.

Depending on your cat’s personality, you could even try a rather fashionable trick: Cat Hats

 

Feline Friends Winter Appeal ❄️🎄

'Tis the Season of Giving for Our Furry Friends! 🌟☃️

This Christmas, Feline Friends London (FFL) needs your festive generosity more than ever!  We're currently taking in more cats in need than before and giving cats life saving treatment and nourishment - but our resources are stretched thin. Most small London rescues are at full capacity, leaving us as a beacon of hope for feline friends in distress


Why FFL This Christmas? 🌟 🐾 We're working round-the-clock, taking calls until 11 pm and beyond—providing assistance when others can't.  With small rescues at max capacity, your support enables us to rescue, provide medical care, and foster more cats in need.


🎁 Give the Gift of Love! 🎁 Your donation, no matter how big or small,  can make this Christmas brighter for cats in distress. Help us continue our mission of rescue and care!


🎄 Donate Now 🎄: 
https://www.paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/3882474
 

Instagram: @londonfelinefriens

X: @ FelineFriendsUK

Website: https://felinefriendslondon.uk/

Neuter and Microchip Your Cats

A note to our cat loving community:

Kitten season is upon us.  Already, charities and rescues are having multiple births to add to the strains of everyday rehoming.

If you have a cat or kitten, please, PLEASE get them neutered and microchipped.

Young cats should be neutered by 5-6 months.  There is no need for a female to have a ‘first heat cycle’; in fact it will be detrimental to their behaviour – female cats, when in season will do everything they can to follow their biological need. Intact male cats will want to wander and sow their seed; they will scrap and fight, claw and tooth for access to a female, and for territory, and are at greater risk of disease and infection which they can pass on to a female mate and she to her kittens.

They will take any opportunity to slip out of the door past your feet, they will take any opportunity to escape an open window, they will cross busy roads to follow their biological needs increasing the risk of a traffic accident.

An intact female will look for a mate; an intact male will mate with any female in heat.  This is biology, not opinion.

Neutered cats who escape will generally stay closer and those unneutered will wander further.  At best your little female will come across a willing donor soon and be pregnant before you get her back.

https://www.catcuddles.org.uk/why-neuter

https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/reproductive/signs-pyometra-cats

https://spayneuter.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Cats-breeding-chart-diagram.jpg

Microchipping your cat will not prevent this behaviour, but neutering almost certainly will.

Microchipping your cat and correctly registering the microchip will increase your chances of getting your beloved cat back should it go a-wandering.

Please ask your vet to microchip at the same time as neutering – it is far kinder to have the chip implanted whilst under anaesthetic. AND REGISTER THE MICROCHIP.

https://www.cats.org.uk/c4/home.asp

https://felinefriendslondon.uk/lostcats

Thank you for reading.

The Allotment Cats

The Allotment Cats, in the Birmingham area, have a special place in the hearts of our Feline Friends London trustees and many of our commited volunteers, who have all been touched by their stories on Twitter and the kindness of the humans who care for them, as well as the moving tweets spoken by the cats themselves. At the beginning of this year there were seven Allotment Cats. Now sadly, there are only two. Barbara, a tabby and white male and Janet, a shy and very beautiful tabby/ tortie female.

We feel very privileged to be able to help them in this small way by advertising Robert's books and calendar.

This is the link to Robert's first book - tinyurl.com/4szywt8d  

 The second book is - tinyurl.com/4br9d3n9

Sad News at Feline Friends HQ

Doris, one of our wonderful elderly adoptees, has passed away… 🌈

We were contacted by a nurse at a Hertfordshire vet practice, early in 2021, asking if we could take Doris in after she had been brought to them as an elderly stray. Had they not been able to find somewhere for her, Doris would have been euthanised.

Doris was tired, underweight and presented with some balance problems. There were times early on when we weren’t sure whether Doris would make it but she was a strong little character and with good care from her foster Hannah, who provided an environment that Doris could navigate easily, Doris gained some weight and her health stabilised. Hannah, who lives in North London, decided early on that she couldn’t bear to part with Doris, who was a very sweet and endearing little cat, and adopted her.

Everyone who met her said Doris was such a sweetheart - she just wanted to be loved and had so much love to give in return, she loved sunbathing and head scratches and curled up on Hannah’s lap at every possible opportunity. Hannah and Doris had 18months of happiness which just goes to show that euthanising Doris without giving her that chance to enjoy her retirement would have been a tragedy.

Thank you, Hannah, for all you did for Doris, for giving her the chance of life and for loving her.

Feline Friends Launches Pickle by Pockets Warhol Auction

EmYzgn1XIAE9dDc-1.jpg

Auction Here: https://app.galabid.com/ffl-auction/items/c59bf1d5-9502-4c53-8b2d-920b662eb32f?backPath=ffl-auction%2Fregister

Founded in 2013, Feline Friends London aims to offer sanctuary to vulnerable cats and those at risk of unnecessary euthanasia across London. Run by volunteers, we rely entirely on donations to provide vet checks and treatments to our cats. We also help take care of several feral colonies providing neutering and supporting feeders. Our cats and kittens, including those with severe health problems, are placed in long term foster care until we can find them a permanent home. All donations will go towards the care of our cats and help us to save more lives.

rickygervais_121440537_2499222793704485_3038366008030286870_n-e1607122561539.jpg

Our good friend, Pockets Warhol, has kindly donated this fabulous portrait of Pickle the cat to auction and raise funds for our vital rescue work. Pickle, a gorgeous female tabby, was rescued by Feline Friends and was one of 16 cats from a hoarding situation in London in late 2020. Pickle was placed into foster care with actor and comedian, Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon, author of Queen Bee, and they soon fell helplessly in love with her. Pickle, our most famous foster fail, is now a well-known fixture on social media, having her own Twitter account and featuring on both Ricky and Jane’s Instagram and Twitter accounts daily.

1.png

The incredibly talented Pockets Warhol is a capuchin monkey and resident at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary near Sunderland, Ontario, Canada. Pockets came to media attention in 2011 when the sanctuary held a fundraiser featuring 40 paintings by the monkey. Since then, he has collaborated with many artists, including Martin Gore of Depeche Mode for his new EP "The Third Chimpanzee”. A long list of celebrities have bought his paintings and he still sells many canvasses to support his sanctuary work and many other causes.

Support us by bidding on this beautiful painting of Pickle by Pockets Warhol - all funds raised go directly towards helping the cats in our care and the rescue efforts for future cats.

 If you are able to bid or make a donation, however small, it will make a huge difference and Feline Friends will be so grateful. Donate here.

Sammy Fundraising Appeal

Sammy after his MRI scan.jpg

“Sammy came to us in the New Year of 2020 after his owner, who had mental health problems, had thrown Sammy out. A kind neighbour, Sam, would have liked to take Sammy in but her two cats wouldn’t accept him. She therefore contacted us and asked if we could take Sammy into our care and find him a home.

Sammy is a friendly, long-haired and very loving, black cat, of around 4 years, who has been through a lot during his 15 months with us. Not long after he came to us, Debby, Sammy’s fosterer, noticed that his back legs would suddenly give way, causing him to stumble and fall.

 We arranged for Sammy to be seen by Manuel Cristadoro, an orthopaedic vet at Celia Hammond Animal Trust, who diagnosed luxating patellas (or dislocated knee caps). Sammy then had surgery, followed by several weeks of cage rest to allow his legs to heal. At his check-up, Manuel noticed that Sammy’s back legs were bowed, so recommended Sammy have a bilateral femoral head excision. Unfortunately, following surgery on his right leg Sammy lost ability to weight bear or walk on his back legs and could only get around by dragging himself by his front legs.

There is a donate button and an option to pay via PayPal if you go to www.felinefriendslondon.uk and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

 

Manuel endured several sleepless nights trying to figure out what might have gone wrong with Sammy’s surgery. He did further x-rays and carried out, what he thought would be, corrective surgery. Unfortunately it had little effect so Sammy was referred to a neurologist at The Ralph, where he had an MRI scan. This confirmed Sammy has a tumour on his spine, affecting his capacity to use his back legs. He is now on steroids and pain killers which are enabling him to walk again for the first time since December. However, this improvement can only be temporary and to attain longer term improvement and to prolong his life, Sammy needs surgery to remove the tumour. We are therefore trying to raise funds to cover this surgery and to recoup some of the costs of Sammy’s treatment, which to date has amounted to over £5000.

 

Sammy is a loving and a brave cat. He has never complained, despite several surgical operations and long periods of cage rest. He has been a wonderful foster dad to the other cats who Debby has taken in during the time Sammy has been with her, including Kitty Penny, Oreo and Minstrel. He has taken Minstrel (otherwise known as Tea Leaf for his tendency to go into Debby’s kitchen, open the cupboard and help himself to food, when he sometimes takes two sachets, one for himself and one for Sammy), who was initially very shy, very much under his wing (or paws) and they have become great pals, as you can see from the photo of them together.”

Sammy relaxing.jpg