What temperature range is comfortable and safe for cats?

May 6, 2018 6:56 PM

How warm can a room be and still be comfortable and safe for cats?

We're going out of town for a few days. I'm planning to set the a/c to come on automatically if the area the cats are in gets over a certain temperature. What temperature should I choose? 80ish? I have no memory of what I've done before.

Someone will be coming once a day to check on the cats, feed them, take care of the litter, and make sure they have sufficient water. The cats are about six years old and healthy.

posted by insectosaurus to Pets & Animals (14 answers total)

Our thermostat is always at 79F here in FL and our cat is just fine. If we lose power and it gets to 85F then she gets very lethargic (as do I).
posted by gatorae at 7:07 PM on May 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

The fat, long hair cat I live with gets pretty unhappy at about 85
posted by Jacen at 7:18 PM on May 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Cats have a comfort zone of 86 to 97 degrees - which means that the temps we humans usually set our houses to are too cold for cats. ...I find the lower temp just gives them incentive to be snuggly.

Source of this info near the end of the article. I originally read this factoid somewhere else - I just can't find my original source. Maybe it was the study that article cites?
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 7:32 PM on May 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

We've got a poorly insulated house with no central AC (woohoo, Japan!) and wall units in each room. In the summer it gets brutally hot upstairs, so we leave the downstairs AC on a "cooling" setting that's not full bore AC, in case the cats need to get some relief. More often than not, one of our cats will be under the blankets on the bed, where the temp sometimes gets up to 35-38C. Your cat mileage may vary.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:56 PM on May 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think you'll be find up to about 90 or so. I live in the Valley of LA where it gets brutally hot, and the most I've ever noticed my cats doing before the AC kicks on is migrating to cooler spots like the tile floor of the kitchen or bathroom. And I def. notice them purposely sitting in the sun when it feels way too hot for me.

Of course, make sure there's water available at all times.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:09 PM on May 6, 2018

I get uncomfortable long before my cats do. If it’s tolerable for humans, it’s fine for cats. My black cats will voluntarily roast in a sunbeam on even the hottest of days and get to the point where their fur is legitimately hot to the touch, so I’d be comfortable letting it go 30C-ish (google tells me that’s about 85F)
posted by cgg at 8:13 PM on May 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

My house is regularly mid to high 80s and the cats like it just fine. I'm the one who hates it.

They think winter is an abomination because I let it get to the low 50's with no heating.

So long as they have water and it's not so hot that household items are melting, they'll be fine.
posted by kitten magic at 2:46 AM on May 7, 2018

My very floofy maine coone- esque cat tops out around tolerating 82-85 degrees before camping out directly in front of the fridge and meowing for an ice pack (which he will then nap on/guard like a little dragon). If it gets cold at night he's fine with the heat during the day, but during those awful heat waves in the summer, where night time lows are 80, he's just as cranky as his humans.
posted by larthegreat at 4:38 AM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]

It really depends on the breed. When I was in Bangkok during the hottest month of the year and with no A/C (temps of about 97 and humid, every day) the cat at the hostel was happily laying on a warm pizza box while wearing a tiny cat tank top. Also, I've never had an A/C in NYC, and my cat is fine during stretches of high summer heat. He just spreads out and is kind of torpid, but there are no signs of damage or unhappiness. I wouldn't try this with a Maine Coone or similar, but in my experiences around the world, most short-hair cats do fine in really high heat.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 5:54 AM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]

They're descended from desert animals. They're fine if they have enough water and they're otherwise generally healthy.
posted by AFABulous at 8:41 AM on May 7, 2018

My chubby long-hair kitty will camp out under the bed when the space heater is warming that area to a cookie-baking temperature.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:36 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

Cats in general prefer warmer temperatures than most people expect given that they evolved in warm climates. Obviously, different cats have differing amounts of fur and fluff, so the exact number varies, but anything under 100F is perfectly livable for most, assuming a source of water is constantly available.

Many do prefer closer to 90 or even a bit less, as others have noted, but they'll be fine regardless.

Ever since we moved to a place with a fence, my cats spend a lot more time outside, and it's usually not even particularly cold in our house. They all prefer 85-90 over 70-75 unless it's raining out, much to my chagrin.

Basically, if the AC is running at any level a reasonable human would set it while away to prevent excess humidity from causing mold, cats will be fine.
posted by wierdo at 11:43 AM on May 7, 2018

I don't have an answer except to say we have feral cats in our neighborhood who have made it through multiple summers of 100-plus degree weather. I think they have access to under house areas that may be cooler, and someone in the neighborhood is certainly feeding them and giving them water.

And to address any potential criticism, these cats were here when I moved into the neighborhood, they don't like people, and I'd be creating conflict with my neighbors by rescuing or otherwise relocating them. cnccat is indoor-only.
posted by cnc at 2:03 PM on May 7, 2018

I have radiator heat and it's often 75 in my apartment (I don't have much control over it). The cats will often lay an inch from the radiator when it's too hot for me to touch.
posted by AFABulous at 3:36 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]