Heat stroke - the symptoms. Please read.

[Straysmommy]

Tonight Prince had a heat stroke. I thought I was losing him. I didn't know what it was. I cried and cried so hard he got afraid and ran to hide. The moment we arrived home and I turned on the A/C, he was perfectly fine in a second. But he barely made it the 5 floors up the stairs. I calmed down when I found the below in the web. The symptoms were EXACTLY as described below. I'm sharing so people here are forwarned and don't panic as I did, although it can be serious and has to be dealt with right away. Source: http://www.azhumane.org/artman2/publish/aboutus/Triple_digits_can_take_a_toll_on_Valley_pets.shtml

"If your pet appears to be suffering from heat exhaustion – loud, rapid panting; rapid pulse; glazed eyes; excessive salivation; elevated body temperature; excessive whining/agitation; staring and/or vomiting – attempt to cool pet down by placing them in a shaded area, applying cool water to their body; especially head, feet and groin and giving them small amounts of water to drink as you seek veterinary care. "

[saitenyo]

Thank you for posting this! It gets very hot here in the summer, and we don't have central air, so it's good to know what to watch out for.

[Larry]

That happened to one of my cats last summer on a hot and humid day. I thought she was dying but the other cats were fine. I do remember turning on the fan(we don't have a/c) and gave her some cool water. Still don't know why it happened to only her and not the others.

[Mitts & Tess]

Heat stroke is a very real problem in the Arizona desert. My friend and I rescued two dogs which were abandoned on a baseball / soccer field. They were left and a dug out pen which had no shade. My friend had brought her daughter to play her soccer game and found out the dogs were there when the refs got to the field at 6 AM. It was mid afternoon and no one helped the dogs.

Obviously my friend refused to leave them there to die. We brought them to my air conditioned garage and put wet towels over them. They had collapsed on the garage floor. It seemed touch and go for awhile. They recovered but it is very serious to leave an animal in the sun for any length of time.

[def kitty]

I had to transport a kitten by train yesterday, I was worried because I knew kittens have died of heat stroke during transport, especially on hot summer days. I put a bottle of water in the freezer overnight and used it as an ice pack during the trip to keep her cool, and as the ice in the bottle melted I would offer her some water from the cap. It was hot but this cooling "system" seemed to work.

[Straysmommy]

And here I thought because cats are originally from the desert, that they didn't suffer the heat!

It was 10 pm when I took Prince out. We never go out during daylight in summer. But at night it's hot and humid anyway. Coupled with his play fight with another cat, that did it.

It's so scary to see, the glazed stare, the heavy panting and the rapid breathing and the crying...

Prince has stopped playing with DaBird and my strays have stopped moving around. I think cats know not to exert themselves in the peak of summer. Instead of running and jumping, Prince lies down and I dangle the toys over his head or on the floor near his paws and he catches them.

Only yesterday did I realize how fragile cats are. One more thing I realized yesterday is that cats are not supposed to walk or run any distances. They're supposed to make very short darts only. I now think that taking a cat on a walk in summer, even at night, for a block or so, can be dangerous. And when we go downstairs, I'm bringing a wet towel with me to wrap him in just in case, as he won't drink water.

[Goldtanker]

It has been unusually hot and humid here lately, temps in the 90's and dew points in the 80's. Midnight, the wild cat, instinctively knows to stay in the shade and most of the time he is on the concrete during his daytime lounging. He is still gone at night, but knows enough to be inactive in the daytime heat. It still boggles the mind to think of him going out in the snow at 30 below zero. One extreme to the other! I still haven't told him of the invention of air conditioning. He'd probably want that in his house too!

[Straysmommy]

Oh yes, he would. Prince stopped playing with DaBird when the heat increased lately. But today I turned on the A/C and he played with DaBird, jumped and ran more than ever, didn't pant at all, and even did a somersault, I laughed so hard he got scared and ran to hide!