Hot Cat in the City

It's another Whiskers on Wednesday post (I know, my blog is turning cat-centric, but with the heat wave we've got going this week, I doubt my fingers will be touching any knitting needles in a house that's 100+ degrees with no A/C!)

I thought I'd tie this post in with the current heat wave we're experiencing in the PacNW this week. I've been worried about how Frankie will be handling the heat in the house. I woke up at 3am this morning to try to get some air circulating in the home. The record breaker is supposed to be today with outdoor temps hovering in the 100 mark, which means the inside of my home is going to be ridiculously hot hOT HOT!. Thankfully, I'm only minutes from work, so I go home for lunch and can check in on him.Here's a list of some things we've done to make Frankie as comfy as possible during this hot weather.

- Put down extra bowls of water, and refill every couple hours with cool water and/or ice cubes. I set one down in front of where he's sitting, as he'll sometimes get up and take a few laps (and makes his worried mom feel better) :)

- Wipe his fur, paws and ears down with a cold, damp towel (he doesn't like it, but I'm doing it anyway)

- Since we have to keep all the windows closed, we keep a fan going to at least have air circulating, even if it's hot air.

- Reduce the room temperature by putting up reflective bubble wrap on the windows, closing blinds, using dark drapery (others in our condo unit have taped up aluminum foil on their windows, heh)

- Feeding smaller meals and adding an extra feeding time or two (he eats, but in smaller amounts)

I'd love to hear how you keep your pets cool during hot weather, so please share your tips so that we can all keep our furry critters comfy!