Best MSE ways to keep your pets cool in the summer heat - 2019

MSE_Molly · 23 July 2019 at 10:40AM

Hi Forumites with furry friends!

This week is set to be a scorcher so we want to hear your top tips for keeping your beloved pets cool in this heat!

Do you use a fan? Shut the curtains for some shade? Or just make sure there's lots of bowls of water available for them?
Why not have your little ones think up some creative ideas too? It's one way to stop them from saying 'I'm bored!' now it's the summer holidays!

It's been discussed on here before (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3980121) but maybe you have some new ideas you want to share in 2019?

Keep it MoneySaving if you can!

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions! :T

- MSE Molly

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

[MSE insert, 5 Sep 2023: We've merged this thread with several others like it to form one bumper thread.]

RacyRed · 30 June 2009 at 3:22PM

Hi

My very large semi-longhaired tom is really suffering in this heat, despite thorough daily grooming (during which a load of undercoat comes out with the zoom groom). He possibly has a large amount of Norwegian Forest or Main Coon blood in him (he has both ear and toe tufts), so has a really thick coat, poor lad. He has been sick the last 2 mealtimes and I'm pretty sure it is because of the heat.

Any suggestions for keeping him cool would be welcome.

Thanks

picklepick · 30 June 2009 at 3:29PM

Oher than making sure he has plenty of water and a cool place in the shade i dont think theres much you can do. Cats are pretty good at finding a cool spot and helping themselves. I've got a little desk fan that i have on but my kitty wont go anwhere near it cos the noise scares her.

There are some little freezable disks that you can buy, i saw them on tv this morning. you pop them in your pets bed under a pad and it keeps them cool. not sure how much or where you get them from though sorry. It was on This Morning

On a little side note, of my friends has a resue long-haired cat who due to past experiences wont let you groom him and doesnt groom himself so at the start of the summer he goes off to the vets and has the majority of his fur clippered off. Obviously this is a bit drastic for your kitty but thought id mention it. he does look funny poor little man but im sure he feels a lot cooler and more comfortable because of it.

picklepick · 30 June 2009 at 3:30PM

Just wanted to add... hes not breathing through his mouth is he at all?

lisa2905 · 30 June 2009 at 3:31PM

My 13 year old boy is really suffering I have just been and got a wet hand towel and put it over him for 15 mins. Last year I got him a paddling pool!!! But he is not so active nowadays and just wants to sleep. He also has a couple of fans on him one by his bed and another when he is in the lounge.

picklepick · 30 June 2009 at 3:33PM

Found it...

http://www.petsathome.com/find/keyword-is-ice+pod/product-is-17796

They did say to make sure if doesnt touch the animals skin, so make sure theres something covering it when you put in the bed

RacyRed · 30 June 2009 at 3:42PM

picklepick wrote: »

Just wanted to add... hes not breathing through his mouth is he at all?

No, he is breathing normally. I'll check out those discs, thanks :T

I have to admit I thought of getting him shorn, but he is a bit vain about his coat (he asks me to groom him) and might not easily forgive me, even if he does feel cooler.

A paddling pool is an interesting idea Lisa, did your boy just lie in it or splash about? I've been wondering about popping him into the bath with the shower on a cool trickle.

foreign_correspondent · 30 June 2009 at 5:35PM

quarry stone floor tiles are popular with hot animals ... a nice cool surface to lie on - I wonder if an offcut of marble or similar, or a stone flooring tile would be a good idea?

lisa2905 · 30 June 2009 at 5:35PM

Harry just had a couple of inches in his paddling pool and i put a couple of his toys in there and he just splashed em about a bit (whilst I sat on a chair on the side with me feet dangling in Ohhhhh lovely !!)

Sirbendy · 30 June 2009 at 5:41PM

I have to say it's bugging my cats too...shorthair moggies, one black and stocky, the other white and very lanky. Poor things keep flopping on the floors and moving about trying to keep a cool surface under them.

I've doubled up on the water bowls, the food is being eaten on an "as and when they have the energy" basis, I have a small clip fan on a plug-in timer switch too.

TBH, the fan is more for the guinea pigs, who don't seem fazed at all by the heat. I've been putting dampened bricks and rock in their cage as cool surfaces to lie on, keeping the water supply full, and I've got a couple of small bottles in the freezer that I rotate in the cage with a sock over them for cooling cuddles.

I'm trying to persuade the cats that sleeping in either the sink or bath is the clever option..both are comparatively cool.

RacyRed · 30 June 2009 at 5:56PM

I just offered Yogi a cool bath with about 1cm of water in the bottom....

Where's the savlon :rolleyes:

Best MSE ways to keep your pets cool in the summer heat - 2019

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free