Heat stroke in cats

• Overheating and heat stroke in cats
• The symptoms of overheating and heat stroke in cats
• How to help, if the cat overheated?
• How to protect your cat from heat stroke?

Can the cat to overheat in the sun or in a stuffy room? How to understand that the cat hot? How dangerous is heat stroke and how to keep him for a pet. About it in our article.

Overheating and heat stroke in cats

What is overheating and heat stroke? They are different concepts or synonyms? Let’s deal.

Overheating called a painful condition where due to the high temperature environment in the body is disturbed the heat balance and body temperature rises. Heat stroke is a critical point of overheating, when the body is unable to cope with the heat. He is accompanied by a high heart rate, shortness of breath, strong thirst. If you do not take action, the first symptoms should loss of consciousness and convulsions.

Overheating can occur when exposed to direct sunlight, being in a stuffy room or intense physical exertion in high humidity or ambient temperature.

Of course, cats don’t sweat like we do, and thermoregulatory mechanisms in the body are completely different. But they can overheat and get heat stroke. Moreover, they feel it much heavier than we are.

To suffer from heat exhaustion (including solar) can cat any breed, any age. It is enough to spend just five minutes in the scorching sun or stay for two minutes in a closed car.

Especially often suffer from heat stroke cats with flat faces, excessive body weight and in other States, providing additional load on the body.

The symptoms of overheating and heat stroke in cats

• Restless behavior or, conversely, apathy
• Cat frantically swallows air
• The increase in body temperature
• Rapid, heavy breathing
• Palpitations
• Eyes wide open
• Increased salivation
• Dryness and paleness of mucous membranes
• Nausea
• Loss of consciousness
• Cramps

In the hot season or when the stuffiness in the room is enough of a symptom to sound the alarm. Symptoms develop very quickly, and the consequences can be very serious. The increase in body temperature to 43 C and above can lead to death.

Noticing at least one symptom of these may not necessarily as fast as possible, contact a veterinarian and administer pet first aid.

How to help, if the cat overheated?

Your task – to immediately contact a veterinarian and as quickly as possible to deliver the cat to the clinic. But first you need to have a cat first aid.

• For a start, move it to a shady place and lay on a cool surface
• Provide fresh air. You can turn on a fan or air conditioning in the room.
• Moisten with cool water lips. For recuperation and cooling of the body cat needs to drink. You can put a bowl of cool water nearby. If the pet is unable to drink himself, carefully dropwise, give him water through a disposable plastic syringe without a needle. To do this, move the gum, insert the thin tip of the syringe between the teeth and carefully (the drops, not a stream) pour the water. Make sure that the pet does not choke. This method of replenishing fluid in the body practiced only if the animal is conscious.
• Lightly moisten with cool water belly, armpits and cat fur. Note: do not dip your cat into cold water, otherwise you will provoke the vasospasm and will hinder the normalization of body temperature. And that can lead to heart failure.
• Possible apply ice, wrapped in cloth, to the pads of the paws, groin, back, head, and on the surface of the body put cold compresses (on underarms and inner thighs).
• Monitor body temperature: it should decrease gradually.

It is strictly forbidden: to dip a cat into cold water, to give antipyretic, do nothing! Heat stroke will not pass by itself!

Having a pet first aid, bring him to a veterinary specialist or call it home. Even if the cat is already feeling well, better to have her condition checked by a professional. The consequences of overheating can develop within 5 days.

How to protect your cat from heat stroke?

Cats are very smart, careful and cautious animals. By nature they know how to avoid overheating. Please note that the cat never runs and does not play in extreme heat, always finds the most cool place in a stuffy room, as if basking on a windowsill in the sun, then from time to time always goes into the shadows to stabilize the temperature.

Trouble with the overheating start when the process interferes with people. A great number of cases related to the fact that the owner left the pet alone in the car. Just a few seconds in the sun to let the car warm up and turned the cat into a kind of sauna where she can’t breathe.

Another common cause of overheating is a walk with a cat in the sun. The owners can led pet harness, despite their resistance. Of course, intentions are good, but due to the lack of knowledge pet is suffering.

To protect the cat from overheating, follow these simple rules:

• Don’t walk a cat on hot days, don’t let her stay out of the sun
• In the room where the cat should always be cool and shaded place
• Ventilate the room frequently
• Don’t force the cat to move a lot when it is hot or stuffy
• Do not overfeed the cat
• The cat should always have free access to clean drinking water. If you went on a journey, don’t forget to bring water for the cat and a bowl with you. There is a special sippy cups that can be installed directly into the door of the shipping container.
• Do not cut and do not shave the cat. Contrary to the stereotype, short hair or its absence will not help to protect the cat from the heat, and Vice versa.
• Do not use collars and other accessories that can make breathing
• And most importantly – do not leave your cat in a car even for one minute!

Just imagine: even at 20 C, the temperature inside the car can rise up to 46! Pet is trapped with no fresh air and gasps. Thus the fault of irresponsible owners seriously injured a number of cats and dogs. Under U.S. law, and the UK passerby has the right to break the glass of a car to rescue trapped pet.

Following these simple rules, you will protect the pet from danger. We wish you a summer with no incidents!