When I leave my cat alone at home or when I go to sleep at night and I see her sleeping in the living room I wonder what would be the ideal temperature for her, what it’s too hot for me maybe it’s great for her and vice versa. So I decided to investigate and find out.
In general terms, cats tolerate more warm temperatures than most people considering their body temperature is from 100.5 to 102.5 degrees. However, long haired cats breeds can tolerate much colder temperatures than short haired cats. This is a general rule and the adaptability to temperatures will depend on other factors, such as age, size and health condition. There is not really a magic number so the best approach is to analyze the following factors to figure out if your cat will be fine with normal room temperature or if it will need some adjustments.
CAT’S ADAPTABILITY TO TEMPERATURES DEPENDS ON:
Breed: Long-haired cats tolerate better cool temperatures than short-haired cats. For example, the Siberian cat is much more prepared for cold temperatures than a Burmese due to its thick fur that warms up its body. Cats such as Siberian, Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cats even have their paws covered by hair designed to walk in the snow or cold forest. Cats with thick coats may feel more uncomfortable with higher temperatures than short-haired cats.
Age: Kittens need higher temperatures than adult cats. A kitten could even suffer hypothermia in normal environmental temperatures due to the lack of capacity to retain body heat. Also, old cats need more warm temperatures than young adult cats as they usually suffer bone or joint pain.
Size: The smaller your cat, the less capacity to retain body heat. Also, if your cat is slim with low body fat you need to provide more sources of heat for it to feel comfortable and safe. On the other hand, if your cat is overweight it’ll probably be able to handle cool temperatures a little better.
Health: Cats with thyroid problems could be more prone to avoid too much heat. If a cat is suffering an infection or another type of sickness you need to provide your pet a warmer environment than usual, with a heated pet bed or heated blanket.
CHOOSING THE TEMPERATURE
It’s important to mention that the following guide tries to reach a realistic temperature for humans and cats, recognizing the ability of cats to adjust their body temperature to the environment using the means provided at home. In strict theory, a temperature between 86 to 97 degrees would keep the cat’s body temperature in neutral mode, but this is an unrealistic temperature for humans to keep at home 24/7/365 (and expensive in Winter). Also, this range doesn’t consider the type of cat and this is a very important factor. The Norwegian Forest cat (and similar breeds) doesn’t need a high temperature while short-haired or hairless breeds do.
During winter:
If you have a healthy long-haired cat, big-sized or fat cat you most likely won’t need to worry too much about your pet being too cold if you keep your pet indoors. The same if you have a cat with a thyroid condition that makes it less tolerant to heat. Keep the temperature between 60 and 68 if you leave them alone. After choosing a temperature in this range you can adjust it later according to your cat’s behavior. If your cat is rolling up too much try to set the temperature on the higher side, close to 70. Every cat is more or less sensitive to cold temperatures, even long-haired cats.
On the other hand, if you have a skinny or short-haired small cat you need to provide sources of heat in case your cat needs warmness to keep its body’s temperature during cold weather. If you can afford it, keep the temperature between 78 and 80. If you have a kitten, you need to set the temperature on a higher side and have a heated pet bed to keep it warm if needed.
During summer:
If you have a long-haired, big-sized, or overweight cat you may need to leave a temperature about 80 (or below) if your house gets too hot above that temperature. If you can’t afford to leave the air conditioner “on” you can get a cooling pet bed so your feline friend has the chance to cool down if it feels too hot.
If your cat is slim and small or short-haired hot temperature won’t bother it too much. Consider a temperature between 85 to 90, but leaving a fan or a window opened, making sure the air circulates. A kitten will tolerate the 90s much better than an adult cat.
ANALYZING YOUR HOME
Cats have their ways to balance their body temperatures, either seeking heat from different sources at home or trying to reach cold areas to cool down. If your home doesn’t provide these elements for your cat to adapt, it will be most likely that your pet will be too hot or too cold at some point.
When cats feel cold, they try to reach higher locations where the sun hits and heat rises. Does your house have high areas where the sun hits so your cat can jump on to get warm in case it gets a little chilly? Cats like to seek warmness by staying in high places where they can enjoy the sunlight, next to a window. If your cat doesn’t have access to a window, try to get a window perch for your cat. They are easy to install and your cat will have the opportunity to chill, enjoying the sun’s heat without the need for a cat tree or other piece of furniture. It’s very important for cats to see and feel the sunlight, felines are highly sensitive to the sunlight, to the point of showing signs of depression during winters.
Also, if your house has a fully tiled floor make sure to provide enough warm areas where your cat can rest, especially in winters, remember that cats don’t always like to sleep in the same place. Consider a heated pet bed as an option if you have a small, short-haired cat or a kitten.
Think like a cat and you will find ways to provide your pet the elements they need to adapt to the temperature, even if you set the recommended temperature at home when you leave them alone, it is always good to provide your cat extra help in case that temperature doesn’t make your pet feel comfortable.
In summary, together with considering your cat’s characteristics to set the room temperature, make sure your cat has a source of warmness in winter and a cool area in summer when leaving them alone.
Thank you.
Finally, an article that answers the question, “What temperatures do cats prefer?” and not an end around that turns into “What temperatures can they tolerate?”.
Best regards
You’re welcome Rich!
I have an indoor/outdoor Norwegian Forest type cat about 11 lbs. It is 101f in the shade in my garden today and puss adamantly refuses to come inside where it is a cool 78. I’ve picked her up and brought her in twice but she makes such desperate attempts to get us to let her out we give up.
Hello Jean, it seems like your cat is so happy being outdoor that he doesn’t care about the temperature :)
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!
I can FINALLY sleep better from reading an article that finally makes sense.
Sincerely,
Julie (and kitten)
You are very welcome, Julie!
I have concerns it is safe for the cat to be locked in a home with no windows open with temp of 28-30c
I assume you are mentioning Celsius. If the temperature is hot, it’s recommended having a source of air circulating in the room. Hope that helps!
We live on the Texas coast.HOT,HOT,HOT in the summer. Always provide cats in and out with lots of cool water.My two “shop” cats have a pet door to come and go in and out all day.At night in my husband’s shop,where they sleep,I try to keep it at 77-80/Have an ac+a big fan (never aim on cat) and a smaller oscillating one going(also aimed “upward “toward ceiling to help air circulate.(I also add about a tsp of water to their wet food.That helps keep them hydrated.
Hello J. Hoover thanks for sharing your experience. I am sure it’ll help other people whose cats suffer with hot weather as well.
So I adopted a cat and I’m fairly certain he’s a Nebelung. He’s two years old and he’s a healthy cat. He weighs about 9 pounds as well. He meows up a storm for no reason at all in the mornings which is usually around 5 or 6 in the morning so we’ve had to resort to keeping him in the porch with the door closed. We’re not entirely sure if the porch area is insulated or not, so I was wondering if it’s dangerous to keep him there overnight when it reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit and under? He does have a bed inside of a cardboard box with a blanket covering it so it’s not like he’s completely bare. We also keep the windows closed. Thank you!
Hello Andrew. You should provide a source of warmth for your cat at night so he can warm up if he needs to, especially considering he is not a large cat. Do you free feed your cat? he could be hungry. Cats usually want to eat in the morning, between 5 and 6 am.
So just like a previous comment, my cat used to wake me up at 5am and it seemed like it was because of food. I use an automatic feeder and it used to feed her at 6am so I’ve changed the time to 5am so she will stop waking me up in the morning. Now she wakes me up at 4am… is there no end to this cycle haha? I feel if I change it to 4am meal, she’ll then wake me up at 3am..
Cats are mysterious creatures, that’s for sure. All I can think is that your cat wants your attention more than food OR, your cat is cold and wants to sleep with you.
I would think that if you changed the time you feed your cat in the morning back 1 hour and now he was waking up an hour earlier then change the time you feed your cat forward. It probably isn’t an attention thing or it being cold because you changed feeding schedule and cat changed time he woke you up. I would change whole schedule forward. Don’t want to be woken up at 5AM then change feeding to 7AM. Your probably be woken up at 6AM. But I would change every time your feeder feeds your cat an hour forward. But your cat is probably still associating the food/feeder giving it food with you and is just waking you up earlier enough to ‘get up and feed it’s. LOL.
Also, if you don’t have the feeder feeding your cat every meal then you may want to start doing that. Also have feeder feed them when your not at home. This way your cat will stop associating you with food/meals. I did this to my cats and I noticed over time they stopped crying/meowing at me when they were hungry. One of my cats would instead paw at the feeder or run at it and hit it hard. That cat had learned with that model of feeder of she jarred it enough some food would fall out even if it wasn’t feeding time. LOL.
Can i keep my persian cat outdoor in shaded cage?
The temperature at day time is around 35 to 40c
The persian breed it is 2years old
Hi Muhib, I assume that temperature it’s Celsius. That’s kind of hot for a cat. If it’s windy it may not be a problem, if there is not wind or any sort of circulating air your cat will feel too hot. I don’t recommend putting a cat in a cage either.
i am dealing with the same issue but i am keeping my persian cat inside on 2nd floor with proper air circulation and fans on but no AC…. as a human i feel hot up there can u plzz tell me if its suitable for my cat? the temprature in my city is usually between 39-45 C in summers. should i be concerned as my cat is adopted… it’s been a month now but she’s ok for now I’m worried for future?
Hello huizaifa, other than circulating air and fans I suggest you to get your cat a cooling mat, they are made with gel inside that keeps a cool temperature. If your cat for whatever reason is too hot it will lay down there. You need to put your cat on the mat in the beginning for him to know it’s cool in there. Hope that helps!
We have adopted a cat and she keeps us up all night yelling. It is as if she does not want us to sleep so we can pay attention to her. She gets ton of affection and playtime during the day. We were putting her in the garage at night and although she didn’t mind it, we live in FL and I think it is getting too hot. Any ideas? We are really at our wits end. Thank you.
My cat does that sometimes. I think when cats get a lot of attention and love during the day they don’t like the end the fun at night when everybody is sleeping, they feel lonely, especially adopted cats. You have two options: ignore her yells until she figures out it doesn’t work (I don’t like this option, but it works) or take her with you to your bed at night to sleep. Assuming the garage is too hot for your kitty, get her a cooling pet bed, it will keep your cat cool at night. Also, make sure the garage has some sort of circulating air.
Thanks for the very helpful article! My cat is a shorthair petite 2 year old. We have 2 floors, and the second floor is unbelievably hot even with ACs and fans on. Our first floor is always comfortable. We keep the ACs on for her at all times so that she doesn’t overheat, but for some reason she sticks with the overwhelmingly hot 2nd floor. I can’t understand it and i try my best to lure her down to stay on the first floor, but she retreats to the 2nd floor as soon as she can. It’s 100° today and I’m concerned that she stays upstairs. She would come down to the first floor if she were too hot, right? I worry about her.
That’s right, she feels safe and comfortable on the second floor. If she was too hot she would manage to reach the temperature she needs. If you have a healthy cat there’s no need to worry. The average temperature of cats is between 100.5 and 102.5 degrees, way higher than human’s.
My male tabby has a doggie door. He sleeps on the foot of my bed at night. (Creatures from the forest come in to the back yard at night.) In the day, he goes out, runs his route for about an hour, then rotates naps between the shaded concrete back porch and the garage floor. The indoor temp is about 80. The outdoor temp is around 95 in the shade. It just boggles my mind that he would prefer to nap on hot concrete rather than carpet or a cooler bedspread in an a/c environment;.
Your male cat is territorial and prefers taking naps in the porch so he can check on what’s going in the surroundings if he needs to. Plus, cats really enjoy sunbathing in the daytime, it provides the temperature closer to the one of their bodies, which is over 100F degrees. Thanks for sharing!
I have a census outdoor heating pad for my short haired feral cat,it is 34 degrees here tonight could you please tell me what temp to put it on so it won’t be too hot for her and its in a wooden insulated cat house thanks
Hello Linda, even though my article was created for indoor cats, I suggest you keep the temperature of the cat house with a number that will maintain the cat’s body temperature (The temperature of a cat is between 100.5 and 102.5) without the cat using too much of its energy. I suggest a temperature of 70-75 degrees. If the cat house is well insulated this will work. Hope this helps.
We have two four year old tuxedo cats. All was fine until we suddenly have the biggest heatwave ever. They love to be outside on our fenced in deck (they are indoor cats) but temps got to 108 and they still wanted out. I let them out for only five minutes when it was 103 and when brought in they payed on floor under ceiling fan. Air conditioner is also going. Being in heat over 103 I know can be dangerous but until it’s blazing out, how many minutes can you let your cats out before bringing them in. Haven’t read anything on that.
Hello Karen, ideally cats shouldn’t be in a very hot environment without a properly shaded area. I suggest you not let your cats be outside with very high temperatures for more than 5 minutes because even though they may feel OK, they still can be affected by a heat stroke. I suggest you keep your cat indoors when there are high temperatures.
Hello I have a 3 year old Persian so we keep the temperature at 65 at night, however we are bringing home 2 Siamese kitten in a few weeks. Nightly temp dip down to low forties but could be higher by then. What temperature should we keep the house for these kittens.
Hello Roland, kittens should always have a warm temperature since their tiny bodies can’t retain much temperature in their bodies. Try to get a heating pad for their beds.
I don’t understand why anyone would want to allow their sweet cat to go outdoors unsupervised. That is a very scary proposition to me. I have four cats ( I have always had cats as family members ) and they have a nice big indoor patio I built for them. The floor’s surface is brick pavers and the walls are heavy wood with screen windows and shudders. I also installed a ceiling fan in this room. They have furniture, little beds and a cat tree to sleep on if they wish. However, I keep the doors from the indoor patio to the house open 24/7 so that my cats can come inside if they feel too hot. If they are comfortable with the heat they have the option of staying on the indoor patio. The house is air conditioned during the summer and of course heat during the winter months. It never gets too cold here. We are Southern California.
Often they like being on the indoor patio when it is warm outside. They come in at night to sleep with me. I love my babies so all four are welcomed to get in bed with us. We love them dearly and I find sleeping with my cats has been great for lowering my blood pressure and also getting a great nights sleep. Cats are zen masters and with four around me I become a cat myself. This has been great for my health any for sleeping. Cats actually love to sleep and once they are in your bed, the little zen masters go fast asleep.
I say this because my recommendation is to allow your cat to be your guide. They have always guided me in the right direction. And if they meow at you (whatever the time is) it should be okay. They rarely do anything without a purpose.
I recently lost the cat love of my life, Boo, and I will forever mourn his passing. I found him and adopted him in 2011. He was already about 6 years according to the vet. He lived with us for 10 years before he became ill and passed. We did everything possible to push away death and extend his life. He had a great life with us but I sure miss him!
Try to treat your cats very very special. Because they are!
Hi Warren, you are right, allowing cats to go outside unsupervised is risky. Thanks for your comment!