25/10/2026
🐱☀️ HOW DO CATS KEEP COOL IN EXTREME HEAT?🥵
Did you know that cats don't regulate their body temperature the same way humans do?
With summer approaching and temperatures beginning to climb, it's important to understand how our feline companions cope with the heat - and why extreme temperatures can become dangerous for them.
Cats are naturally very good at conserving body heat, but getting rid of excess heat is a completely different challenge!
Unlike humans, cats cannot sweat all over their bodies to cool down. Instead, they rely on several fascinating natural mechanisms.
🐾 1. SWEATING THROUGH THEIR PAWS
Yes, cats actually sweat!
However, their sweat glands are primarily located in their paw pads. Because this is such a small surface area, sweating provides very limited cooling.
You may occasionally notice damp pawprints on a hot day, although stress can also cause this.
🐾 2. GROOMING TO COOL DOWN
Ever noticed your cat grooming more frequently during hot weather?
When a cat licks its fur, it deposits saliva onto the coat. As that moisture evaporates, it helps remove some body heat.
It's a little like the cooling sensation we experience when water evaporates from our skin.
However, this natural cooling method becomes much less effective when humidity is high.
🐾 3. STRETCHING OUT ON COOL SURFACES
Have you noticed your cat sprawled across the tiles instead of curling up in its favourite bed?
There's a reason for that!
When cats stretch out on a cooler surface, heat transfers from their bodies into that surface. This process is called conduction.
By stretching out, they increase the amount of body surface in contact with the cooler floor.
This is why cats often abandon their soft, cosy beds in favour of bathroom tiles, shaded concrete or other cooler spots during summer.
🐾 4. USING THEIR EARS TO RELEASE HEAT
A cat's ears have a network of blood vessels close to the skin.
When a cat becomes warm, these blood vessels can widen, allowing more blood to flow near the surface and helping heat escape into cooler surroundings.
This process is called vasodilation.
However, when the surrounding air becomes extremely hot, this cooling mechanism becomes less effective.
🐾 5. SLEEPING MORE AND MOVING LESS
Cats instinctively conserve energy during hot weather.
Running, jumping and playing generate additional body heat, so reducing activity helps prevent their temperature from rising unnecessarily.
This is why many cats become less active during the hottest parts of the day and prefer to play in the cooler mornings and evenings.
🐾 6. WHAT ABOUT PANTING?
This is where cats differ significantly from dogs.
Although cats can pant to help release heat through evaporation, persistent panting or open-mouth breathing is NOT normal behaviour for a resting cat.
If your cat is panting during hot weather, especially with rapid breathing, drooling, weakness or distress, it could be a sign of dangerous overheating.
Never dismiss panting in a cat as simply being hot!
🌡️ HOW HOT IS TOO HOT?
A cat's normal body temperature is approximately 38°C–39.2°C.
When their body temperature rises excessively and they can no longer cool themselves effectively, they are at risk of heatstroke.
Heatstroke is a medical emergency that can damage vital organs and become fatal.
And remember, humidity makes matters worse!
During our hot, humid KwaZulu-Natal summers, evaporation becomes less effective, making it even harder for cats to release excess body heat.
☀️ HOW CAN WE HELP OUR CATS STAY COOL?
💚 Provide plenty of fresh, clean drinking water in several locations.
💚 Ensure there is adequate shade throughout the day, particularly during the afternoon.
💚 Allow access to cooler surfaces such as tiles and shaded floors.
💚 Provide good ventilation and safe airflow.
💚 Avoid encouraging vigorous play during the hottest hours.
💚 Never leave cats confined in poorly ventilated rooms, enclosed huts or catios that become excessively hot.
💚 Pay extra attention to senior cats, kittens, overweight cats, flat-faced breeds and cats with underlying medical conditions.
💚 Remember that insulation alone does not actively cool an enclosed sleeping area.
🚨 KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS OF HEATSTROKE
Watch for:
• Persistent panting or open-mouth breathing
• Rapid or laboured breathing
• Excessive drooling
• Weakness or unsteadiness
• Vomiting or diarrhoea
• Confusion, collapse or seizures
If you suspect heatstroke, immediately move your cat somewhere cooler, begin gently cooling them with cool (not icy) water and seek urgent veterinary assistance. Do not wait to see whether they recover on their own.
🐱 A FINAL THOUGHT FROM Catopia Cat Boarding
Cats are incredibly resourceful animals, and their bodies have some remarkable ways of regulating temperature.
But there is a limit to what their natural cooling mechanisms can achieve.
A cat stretched out on cool tiles may simply be regulating its temperature naturally. However, a cat trapped in a hot environment without adequate ventilation, shade or access to cooler areas may be unable to protect itself.
At Catopia, we believe that understanding feline behaviour is an essential part of providing proper care.
Shade, fresh water, ventilation and the freedom to choose a cooler resting place are not luxuries. They are essential to a cat's health and wellbeing.
Besides the fans that run during the day keeping the cattery and cats suites cool.
We have ordered some cooling mats in preparation for some of those really scorching days to keep our feline guests cool and comfortable during unbearably hot days.
Because sometimes the simplest things we provide can make the biggest difference. 💚🐾
Catopia Cat Boarding
Where cats always come first!
