Keeping Cats Cool in the Car During Summer’s Hot Weather – How My Human Does It

Between therapy cat visits and cat shows, it’s impossible for my human and I to avoid dealing with a hot car during the summer months. So after last week’s therapy cat visit, my human shot a quick video about how she keeps me cool in the car in hot weather.

Here are some of the important points from the video:

• Usually my carrier is latched into the back seat. But when it’s hot, my human puts it in front of the passenger seat. There’s not as much sun, and she can open up an A/C vent down there. After Saturday’s cat show, she had me down there with the A/C on high the whole trip home, and when we got back, my carrier was cool to the touch. And it was really hot outside!
   
• She got the frozen water bottle in a towel tip from our therapy cat organization. She puts it next to my carrier if it’s hot, and you can see me lying next to it in the video.
   
  Never use the ice packs that come in shipping containers for food, or reusable ice cubes. They are possibly toxic, and never should be in contact with a pet’s body. And while my human will offer me a sip of water from the icy bottle (I rarely want it), she never gives me bottled water that’s been sitting in the car for a long period of time. Plastic from the bottle has probably seeped into the water.
   
• The inside of a car is brutal in hot weather! I’m not even allowed in the car until my human has opened at least one door and blasted the air conditioning to cool it off. If we are at a cat show, and know someone I’m safe with, she will leave me with them while she does this.
   
  Never expose your pet to the inside of a hot car. And never leave them in the car, even in mild weather.
   
• What she says about never leaving me in the car is true! I’ve seen the inside of many rest stops, gas stations, and convenience stores. This is a no-exceptions rule.

The video is not meant to be a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts. It’s just what we do on a regular basis to keep me cool when we’re on the road during summer. So if you have any tips in addition to what you see here, do leave them in the comments!

 
Here are some hot weather and cat care posts:

• Beating the Summer Heat With Kitty Popsicles
• Even Indoor Cats Can Get Heatstroke! Here’s How to Avoid It
• My Human and I Took a Cat First Aid Class on Zoom!