How to Keep Your Cat Safe During the Summer

Many cats love the summertime! After all, with all that warm sun coming in the windows they have plenty of places for cozy cat naps!

But with the summer also comes summertime dangers.

To keep your feline friend healthy and happy this summer, take a look at these tips on How to Keep Your Cat Safe During the Summer!

How to Keep Your Cat Safe During the Summer

1. Preventatives and Vaccinations

Some cat owners believe that if their cat is an “indoor” cat, that means they can skip giving them flea, tick, and heartworm preventative medicine.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth! A cat doesn’t have to go outside to be exposed to fleas and ticks.

They could come into your home via your other pets, on you, or through an open door or window.

And a mosquito carrying heartworm larvae could easily fly inside without you knowing!

So make sure that your cat, indoor or outdoor, is up to date on their preventative medicines.

Also make sure they’re up to date on their vaccinations, especially their rabies shot.

Summer is when animals that are especially likely to be rabid, like bats and raccoons, are more likely to be found wandering near your home.

2. Turn on the AC

Just like dogs, cats only sweat through their paw pads.

If they get overheated, the amount of sweat released through their little paws isn’t enough to truly cool them down.

Blowing a fan on an overheated cat won’t help much, especially if the air the fan is blowing is warm.

Instead, turn the AC up if your cat appears to be getting too hot.

And when you’re leaving the house, don’t turn the AC off. It’d be horrible to come home and find your cat suffering from heatstroke!

3. Watch for Bugs

If you want to keep your cat safe during the summer, you’ll need to watch out for flying bugs that could sting.

To your cat, wasps are just fun things to play with and try to catch.

But in reality, they could lead to a dangerous stinging incident!

4. Watch the Barbecue

A backyard barbecue can be a lot of fun!

But if you’re trying to keep your cat safe during the summer, you’ll realize it could be a potential source of danger.

Ensure your cat doesn’t grab any human food.

Also watch that they don’t decide to eat charcoal or ashes, or play with anything that could become a choking hazard (like little plastic drink umbrellas).

5. Garden Carefully

If your cat likes to wander through your garden, you may want to take some extra gardening precautions to keep your cat safe during the summer.

Ensure that you’re not using any rodent poisons that your cat could ingest.

And if you spray any chemicals, read the instructions.

Many aren’t safe for pets until they’ve fully dried.

Also, double check that you’re not growing anything poisonous to cats, and that nothing poisonous has started growing on its own.

This includes lilies, amaryllises, and tulip bulbs, among several others plants.

6. Plan for Fireworks

Between Memorial Day and the 4th of July, summer is the time for fireworks.

Some people even enjoy setting off fireworks on random summer days “just because.”

If you have a cat, you’ll want to be especially careful during those times.

When a cat is scared by fireworks they can easily get themselves into trouble by knocking into things, getting stuck in a tight spot, or dashing through a door and running out into the street!

In addition to being extra careful, make sure they have pet identification on or a microchip.

What precautions do you take for your cat during the summer?