Help cat adjust to heat?

Question

I just recently moved to a new city which has a much higher normal temp.

My cat has very long fur and I'm not sure how i can help him adjust better to the heat. I am not able to have the air conditioning on a lot of the time due to financial reasons. Also my family thinks it would be a bad idea to shave him, although that's what i think would be best. He is also very skittish and would not do well traveling again to go see a groomer. I provided a link to a picture of him in case that may be of any help.

http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll231/ChiBeeRocks/?action=view&current=LJpic.jpg

Answer 1

Cats are descended from desert dwellers and they can withstand much higher temperatures than we can.  When I lived in England, our long haired cat enjoyed laying against the central heating radiators which were too hot for me to touch with my bare hands!  When I moved to Cyprus, I brought her with me and she quickly adapted to the new climate without any problems.  During the summer months here the average temperature is above 40°C and the two cats that I have now spend most of the day time sleeping under my bed.  Neither of them is very keen on the air-conditioning and tend to leave the room when I put it on.  Oddly enough, our long haired cat seems to cope better with the heat, whereas our short haired one prefers the cooler weather.

Cats do tend to have the knack of finding the coolest/warmest spots around the home as required, so as long as you keep him away from the mid-day sun he should be fine.  (There are lots of strays in Cyprus and they all manage to find somwhere in the shade when it's too hot).  Ensure there's always plenty of fresh cool water for him, and if you're concerned at any time that he may be getting too hot, the link below has lots of advice about cats and heatstroke that you may find helpful.

http://www.cat-world.com.au/HeatStrokeIn...

  

Answer 2

If you think the answer is to shave him, you shouldn't own a cat.

Answer 3

that looks like either a Siamese or Burmese, they are "genetically" from hot climates so your cat may have some difficulty with the heat for a little while but should adjust fine, maybe leave a fan on low or open a window a crack for him to sit in, he'll be fine

Answer 4

I'm not really sure how long his fur is, it's hard to tell maybe you could cut it yourself at home.. that's my only thought otherwise they do sell (for dogs) these cooling/heating pads/beds try dr foster and smith online  that might work if your cat actually lays on it otherwise I'm sure your cat will adjust to it himself

Answer 5

pretty kitty!!

i`ve been told that shaving certain animals can mess up their internal thermostat and cause huge problems, possibly even death.

however, i have seen a long-haired cat who got "shaved" in the hot months by the owner, and he seemed to be just fine.

if you have access to a cool basement let the cat hang out there.

keep fresh water out (add an ice cube or two for entertainment purposes).

my cats can hang out in my nice, cool basement and yet they prefer to sleep in direct sunlight--cats are nuts.........