Thursday, July 30, 2009

What temperature do cats like their living space to be?

My house is always really cold cuz i like it that way, but i don't know if my Hobbes does. Is there a temp thats to cold??
Answers:
Oddly enough, cats like heat; although each cat is different.
One woman I knew had a hothouse. One summer, during a heatwave when the temperature was about 98掳, her cat would go into the hothouse, where it was much hotter. She wondered if this was safe, so I asked my vet. The vet said it was fine as long as 1) the cat had a way to get out of the hothouse by itself and 2) that water was available to the cat. She said that animals know when they have had enough and will go where they feel most comfortable.
Hobbes can adapt to many temperatures. Don't worry about it. Even though you say your house is really cold, I assume it's not like the middle of winter during a blizzard :) Also, he can always jump onto your lap when he wants to get warm.
What you might consider doing for Hobbes is buying him a nice fleece cat bed. This way, if he feels too cold, he can go snuggle up in his warm bed.
Also, their fur acts as an insulator, holding in both the heat %26 the cold, as needed.
There is one way to tell if a cat is too cold. They will lie down with one "arm" draped over its nose to keep it warm. Its nose is not protected from the cold, so when I see my cat do that, I get her a small blanket.
I warm blanket available to him on a chair, and/or a fleece bed should be enough to ensure Hobbes has a place to go if he feels too chilly.
Cats normal body temperature is about what a humans is maybe a little lower or higher but its a warm blooded mammal so whatever you are comfortable with.
Their fur makes them tolerate more cool air than we do. But how cold are we talking here? 65 and below might be a bit much. We keep our place at 74 or so, and my cat always sunbathes.
I wouldn't worry if you can tolerate the temperature so can the cat.

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