our main coone was lucky enough to have ac, but if the power went out we made sure to give him a really good brushing to get rid of the insulating dead fur and to put ice cubes in his water
We never clipped our cats. Our one can liked to have a damp towel left out for him to lay one. We tended to leave it in the bath tub for him. We also had an other cat that we would wrap a large hard plastic ice pack(we had a couple of them so a few could be left in the freezer and swapped out when the one in the towel defrosted) in a towel and he would lay on that during the hottest parts of the day. We also made sure to either leave ceiling fans or an oscillating fan on in the rooms they spent the most time in during the day. Plus we put out more bowels of water during the summer months so they had plenty of water to drink.
yes, yes. my cat loved to snuggle with a towel wrapped hard ice pack. if you put it on a linoleum or tile floor, it makes the surrounding area a bit cooler to lie on, too.
Thirding this. I had a mama cat (fostering) who had her babies during a massive heat wave. Whenever they were sleeping, she'd go lay on the ice pack - but she'd go right back to them the moment one stirred or peeped.
i wouldn't shave him. the process itself could be traumatizing (which is not good on top of heat stress). also it might mess up ways his body is already trying to cope with the heat. Here are several things i've learned help pets deal with heat (from 15 years as a professional pet sitter):
cool water and lots of it.
and make sure he always has access to sitting in front of a fan. (the air is even cooler if there is a pan of ice in front of it, which also serves as additional water access for the cat, so make it out of clean water)
some cats will also allow you to pet them with an ice pack. I've cared for cats who begged for that once they got used to it, particularly if they were smart enough to figure out the relief came out of the freezer.
also, my mother had a Main Coone who liked to swim. this may very well have been a freak of his own personality and not a breed trait, but if he enjoys being wet, giving him ample opportunity for that would be a better option than shaving him.
Main Coones very much love water! Mine is an indoor cat, so actually letting him get wet is probably not a good idea. But he is constantly begging us to leave the faucets dripping so he can play with the water.
So, I asked over in Cat_Lovers a few months back about the same. I have a Maine Coon as well...she was shedding lots and coughing up hairballs the length of my hand almost daily. Anyway, the general consensus to giving long haired cats a shave seemed to be "well, if she's got mats, go nuts" and little more. I'm sure that lots of people go and give their cats "lion cuts" to keep them cooler, but I wouldn't mess with it. It gets pretty darn hot up in Maine in the summertime too, and if you are running AC your cat might actually get chilled and get sick. Just give kitty a nice, cool place to sleep, add ice to his water bowl when it's hot, and you should be good.
Animal's fur is used for both heating and cooling their body temperature. I shaved my 20 lb. monster a few times and he HATED it! OTOH, I shaved down one of my current cats a few years ago and other than a few clipper bites, she didn't seem to mind (I did her because she was getting horrible fur balls). Try cutting one area first and see how they react-I would start on the belly first. That way, if they don't like it, they don't look all chopped up. If you do shave, I would recommend you do it in the bathroom where you can clean up and contain the fur easily.
If you can get The Furminator, do so. It is the best thing I found for removing the undercoat and dead fur. I also use a boar bristle brush which my cats adore and is also very good at getting a lot of hair.
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Here are several things i've learned help pets deal with heat (from 15 years as a professional pet sitter):
cool water and lots of it.
and make sure he always has access to sitting in front of a fan. (the air is even cooler if there is a pan of ice in front of it, which also serves as additional water access for the cat, so make it out of clean water)
some cats will also allow you to pet them with an ice pack. I've cared for cats who begged for that once they got used to it, particularly if they were smart enough to figure out the relief came out of the freezer.
also, my mother had a Main Coone who liked to swim. this may very well have been a freak of his own personality and not a breed trait, but if he enjoys being wet, giving him ample opportunity for that would be a better option than shaving him.
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If you can get The Furminator, do so. It is the best thing I found for removing the undercoat and dead fur. I also use a boar bristle brush which my cats adore and is also very good at getting a lot of hair.
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