Need tips on keeping cats cool in a hot stretch

[TZ]

So my a/c is out and its going to be a few days before it can be repaired. Its hot in my place-and while I can deal with it (fans) I'm worried about my cats...They seemed awfully hot yesterday (one was panting..yikes). Best way to keep them comfortable? They HATE the fans....I read someonwhere about putting frozen peas in a bag and putting it in their bed...but they have several spots they sleep in. I guess I can wet them down gently with a damp towel...any other suggestions?

[Lars39]

1. Maybe ice cubes in their water bowl would help.

Our cat loves 'em...gives her the illusion of fish. :D

[Kali]

2. leave the damp towel out for them to lie on or near

they may take to the fans (low) if there is a damp towel near by, mine sure do - they have taken to following the fan around when I move it room to room.

They are pretty good at finding the cool spots! Do you have any bare floor or tile - make sure they can get to those spots.

obviously make sure they have water to drink and rather than wasting food (frozen peas) just put some ice cubes in a ziplock or freeze a block in a cake pan then bag, wrap well and cover with rug/blanket

[TZ]

4. Yeah I've seen them there.

But I think they like my dark cool linen closet best. I think they were stressed more because I was gone too-dogsitting. One of them threw up this morning and they almost NEVER do that. So thats why I'm worried....

[LynneSin]

3. I won't run my AC if I'm out of the house more than a day.

I don't mind leaving the AC running in one room when I'm at work (it only takes about 30 minutes to cool off my house) but when I'm gone for more than 24 hours I turn the AC off.

I have one room that stays much cooler than others since it's the back of the house away from the Sun. So I leave that room open and a window fan running. I also keep plenty of H20 out for the cats. They seem to be fine. Even with my AC running in my bedroom I still keep that back room with the window open and fan running and my one cat just loves it better in there than in the rooms with running AC.

Remember cats have lived in the heat for ages. As long as they have access to water and a breeze they should be fine. If I'm gone for more than 48 hours I have a neighbor look in on the cats and put fresh water out for them.

[unpossibles]

5. cold water, a fan on a tile floor, maybe a bit of cold water in the bottom of the tub

they should be fine. That said, my traitor of a cat has been living in my roommate's AC room all summer....

[kimi]

6. Don't know if it will work for cats,

but when I kept my bunnies outside, on hot days I'd put bottles of frozen water in with them to lie against. They seemed to like that.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Panting is not a good sign.

Definitely think ice in as many ways as you can. Do you have any ice packs for a cooler? Those would have a longer lasting effect on their sleep spots. Ice in the water bowl for certain. I'd also put ice in a shallow pan in the tub, since the cats may seek out the coolness of the ceramic to help cool down. Even though they don't like the fans if you're comfortable leaving a fan on while you're at work, do it. The air movement should help them.

Ask your vet too.