Frisco is unable to play like he usually does due to the heat in the house. We can't afford to pay for air conditioning so he doesn't get to play at all. Very sad.
So I propose a simple cat friendly solution. The Air Conditioned Cat Gym.
Small enough that we could afford the extra energy bill, but large enough to contain kitty and all his favorites.
I envision a hamster wheel like apparatus, with a catnip filled mouse for motivation, to get him up and running. Then he could play bat-a-bat with some of his favorite things, like mice, and when he was all spent and pooped out, he could scratch at the door and be let out.
That way he could get his much needed exercise, and still stay cool. (I read a study that said felines need their exercise, equally as much as they need their food).
Happy Frisco, Happy Life.-- blissmiss, May 06 2015 Don't they OD after awhile from all of that catnip?-- RayfordSteele, May 06 2015 A truly excellent idea which we cannot praise too highly. [+]
In fact, you could go and get one of these right now. Drive to your local electrical appliance store, and buy your kitty a cooled play space.
You'll find them in the aisle labelled "chest freezers" ... absolutely guaranteed to keep you cat cool and in a state of quantum indeterminacy for the rest if its life*.
*Providing you don't open the box and collapse the wave function.-- 8th of 7, May 06 2015 As a short term / low cost solution you could mist him periodically and follow him around with a fan (+). And what [Ray] said about catnip. It just makes mine loll around.-- normzone, May 06 2015 Not good ... does it gave the same effect on your cat ?-- 8th of 7, May 07 2015 Would it not work to tie strings to a fan?-- 4and20, May 07 2015 Wow [4and20] That is a great, albeit cheap, fix. And by the way, Frisco does not respond to catnip at all. Claire used to go crazy with it. Now that I think about it, Frisco is always on the loose end of the noodle, if you know what I mean!!! He possess's his own, inner catnip. 24/7-- blissmiss, May 07 2015 All ideas that are kind to animals will be rewarded by me. Cat kindness ideas will receive double croissants from me. (I'm allowed to do this) ++-- xenzag, May 07 2015 //Air Conditioned Cat Gym
Just reading the title, it could have gone the other way if His Borgness had written it..-- not_morrison_rm, May 07 2015 Forgive my ignorance, but how hot does it have to be before the domestic cat throws the towel in? I mean none of them are panting in those ancient Egyptian statues... do you live somewhere hotter than there? What about the big cats, with the much less favorable surface area/volume ratio? they seem happy chasing antelope, with some panting, I'll admit? Could you not dip the cat in cool water before the play session?-- bs0u0155, May 07 2015 //Could you not dip the cat in cool water before the play session ?// Possible, but I think you'd have to start while the cat's young. Otherwise bring plenty of iodine and bandages.
Housecats' body temperature is >100F, but medium and longhairs are well insulated. Depends on the cat too: the furriest moggie I have hibernates on the couch during the winter, while the shorthair's outside, messing about in the snow.-- FlyingToaster, May 07 2015 //Otherwise bring plenty of iodine and bandages//
Ah, our cat goes outside occasionally, and dutifully rolls around in the dirt as a priority. It gets either a wipe down with a wet cloth, or a shower. He hates, but tolerates the shower, he actively loves the cloth.-- bs0u0155, May 07 2015 My cat will drink water, and watch water, and watch me drink water, but if I tried to splash a bit of cool water on him he would tear me to shreds. He's just like that.
And we are experiencing a rather prolonged heat wave here, and it's not supposed to break till next week. Meanwhile, Frisco is splayed out in front of the fan, as he has been, for days. Booooo.-- blissmiss, May 07 2015 You could always add a little dinitrophenol (DNP) to your cat's food. It acts to lower metabolism, and consequently to reduce body temperature.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 07 2015 No, wait, that should be 'raise'.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 07 2015 A little beanie propeller hat, perhaps.-- FlyingToaster, May 07 2015 MB, raise which, metabolism or temperature. Now you've confused me. And FT, that would make for some really cute cat footage, me thinks.-- blissmiss, May 07 2015 // You could always add a little dinitrophenol (DNP) to your cat's food. //
You could always add quite a lot of trinitrophenol (TNP) to your cat's food ...-- 8th of 7, May 07 2015 //which//
Both. DNP is used as a diet pill. Upside: svelte cat. Downside: potentially cooked-from-the-inside-out cat. Swings, roundabouts.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 07 2015 I think the cat may be faulty. It's 27C in here and the cat is still on top of the laptop power brick. Using some real physiology, a little fasting wouldn't go amiss. there's evidence that predators need a little metabolic prod to get their mitochondria in reasonable shape.-- bs0u0155, May 08 2015 //I think the cat may be faulty.//
[Marked-for-Tagline]-- 21 Quest, May 08 2015 ^ Seconded.
// Downside: potentially cooked-from-the-inside-out cat. //
Oh, yes. Only "potentially", not "definitely". That's a real downside. Certainty is gooood ....
// It's 27C in here and the cat is still on top of the laptop power brick. //
You'll be fine until it hits about 35 C, above which the adhesive on the gaffer tape may start to soften and lose grip. A few ty-raps should do the trick.-- 8th of 7, May 08 2015 Out of interest, does anyone know what happens if you shave a cat?
<update and warning> Be careful about Googling this.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 10 2015 Interesting idea, [bliss]... but couldn't you accomplish the same thing by placing the cats (preferably, a LOT of them) into the polar bear exhibit at the zoo? What better motivation would there be for lots of frantic, wild-eyed kitty exercise than pure, naked, instinct for survival?
Kitty gets exercise. Polar bear gets lunch. It's a WIN/WIN, no?-- Grogster, May 16 2015 random, halfbakery