Is It True That A Cold Cat Can Die ? Here Is The Answer !
Ever heard that cold can cause death in humans. Surely you've heard of it, right. Death from cold can occur when a person's body temperature drops drastically.
The body loses heat faster than it produces heat. At this time, several vital organs, such as the heart and other vital organs, will experience malfunction. This is a common cause of death in those who experience extreme cold.
Cold conditions that can cause death generally in the world of medicine is called Hypothermia. We often hear that hypothermia occurs in humans, but can this also occur in cats?
Can cats who experience cold experience death and how can we overcome and prevent this from happening to our cats ? For Good Owners who are curious and want to know the answers, you can read Anggora's article below. Read to the end.
Can Hypothermia Occur In Cats ?
There are many similarities between humans and cats. Like cats can experience motion sickness, stress, fever and the like. And another similarity between humans and cats is that both can experience Hypothermia.
Maybe many of you think that it's impossible for cats to experience hypothermia because cats have thick fur, especially Ragdoll, Siberian, Birman, Angora, Maine Coone and similar types of cats that have thick fur.
But actually what you think is wrong, cats can also experience cold even though they have thick fur. Cats can feel cold when the cold temperature level is beyond the tolerance that their body can withstand.
If they are no longer able to withstand the cold temperature then they will experience cold and the worst thing is they can experience hypothermia.
Can Cold Cats Die ?
It is true that cats can die from cold, provided that the cat experiences a drastic decrease in body temperature and takes place at a fairly fast interval ( Hypothermia ).
Hypothermia generally occurs as a result of the cat being in a fairly cold environment for too long. In addition, hypothermia can also occur due to :
Cats are bathed in the morning, for example, around 6 to 8 in the morning
Cats are bathed at night
Cats are outdoors when it snows
The cat is let in the rain outside the house
Cats are outside the house when the air is cold ( generally occurs in countries that have relatively low air temperatures such as Canada, Russia, Finland, Mongolia and others )
And several other causes
Cold in cats does look trivial but in fact it is cold at a certain level like Hypothermia, this can cause death in cats. Anggora himself has never had a cat that died from hypothermia, but other cat lovers have experienced it.
They told the community cat-loving group that one of their cats died after he bathed it. He told me that his cat died after being cold because he was bathed. There are two things that might be the cause of this, namely:
Cats are bathed when the air temperature is cold
The cat's body is left wet and not immediately dried.
Angora thinks that this mistake can only be made by those who have just raised a cat and don't know how to properly care for a cat, so they lose the cat they love as a result.
In Australia, the death of a pet cat due to cold is very rare and only happens if the owner doesn't know how to properly care for their pet cat.
Meanwhile, for stray cats in Australia, deaths due to hypothermia are quite common. Based on Anggora's own experience, there were several stray cats that Anggora had seen die from the cold.
Then How to Overcome Cold In Cats ?
To overcome cold in cats, the method is actually quite easy, namely :
If the cat's fur is wet, dry the cat's fur immediately with a hair dryer or use a dry towel or cloth
Raise the room temperature, if at home you have a room temperature controller such as an air conditioner then try activating the heating mode
Let the cat sleep where it feels warm such as by the fireplace, under a lamp, on a bed, on electronics and other objects that it perceives as warm
Keep watching the cat until you see that your beloved cat doesn't look cold anymore
If the cat's condition does not improve, you should immediately take the cat for treatment to the vet.
Is There A Way To Prevent Cold In Pet Cats ?
So that our cats don't get cold and avoid hypothermia, the only way we can do is prevent cats from getting cold. How to ? The method is as follows :
Do not carelessly bathe the cat. Bathe the cat at a time when the air temperature is relatively warm, namely during the day between 11 am and 2 pm
When you see your cat's body wet, whether it's because of the rain, snow, being splashed by people or because of other causes, then immediately dry your cat's body and fur
Shortly after the cat is bathed, dry the body to prevent the cat from getting cold and prevent dirt or bacteria from sticking again and prevent the cat from getting moldy
Do not let cats outside the house when the air temperature is very cold, especially when it rains or snows
Keep monitoring your cat's condition, if you feel he is cold then immediately do various ways to warm his body
Set the room temperature according to the air temperature that is good for humans and cats, which is around 38 to 39 degrees Celsius
If A Cat Is Sick What Should We Do ?
The same as what Anggora usually recommends, namely if a cat is sick after getting cold, then the cat should be brought as soon as possible to vet. We do this to prevent the cat's illness from getting worse and so that the cat can recover soon.
That's a discussion about can cold cats die, how to deal with cold in cats and how to prevent our beloved pet cats from experiencing cold.
