Conference misery::feline_v1

    It would make sense that the decreased fat in the lite food could cause
    a change in condition of her coat.  But, it has also been really hot
    this summer, so that might be the cause of the shedding.
    
    You can add a supplement to her food that contains Linoleic Acid
    without adding fat I believe.  Check with your vet for a brand name. 
    Linoleic Acid is an amino acid.
    
    Jo

    
    
    	Thanks Jo, I was wondering about that, and was planning on calling
    	the vet to see what they recommended.
    
    	And it's been hot too!  She's been sun bathing on her yacht these
    	past few weeks, adn when it gets too warm, she moves under the
    	canopy.  Quite a life.   :^)

    My cats have been hanging out in the sinks and tubs.  And on the tile
    entryway.  It was so hot in our house last night.  We are in the midst
    of a major heatwave in California, it has been over a 100 for three
    days.  Hard to sleep when it's that hot.
    
    Most houses out here do not have air conditioning since the heat is dry
    and the humidity is very low.  Anyway, last night we set up a box fan
    in the living room window to help cool off the house.  Then Ken got a
    brilliant idea and took the spray bottle that we used on the cats and
    started spraying it in front of the fan and said "hey, now we have a
    swamp cooler!!"  The cats and I loved it!  It was almost as good as
    running through the sprinklers!!
    
    28 locations in northern California recorded temperatures between
    100-116 degrees for the last three days.  Sheesh!  They are telling us
    that this will continue for the entire month of July.  I am really
    worried about my dog.
    
    Jo

    Jo, don't worry about your dog. We lived in Florida during one
    summer with 2 Saint Bernards.  We worried about the heat and
    their "bigness". The vet said the worst thing for them was for
    them to be laying on a cememt floor day after day. (Fortunately
    we didn't have any of them.) He said in the hot part of the day
    they will find the coolist place and veg out there. That is just
    what they did. We did put the fan on the floor at night until we
    went to bed and they loved the moving air. The giant breeds do
    well even in hot climates. You have one big advantage. We had
    bought our dogs down from up north  with their winter coats.
    Needless to day they shed them very quickly. A crockeery type
    bowl of water is best. Put lots of ice in that in the morning
    and it will still be cool by the time you get home. You might
    try a suggestion I found in the Saint Bernard book. When you
    get home take a large towel and put it in the coldest water 
    you can and wring it out some and put it the long way on the
    dog and leave it there for an hour or so. (This is what you
    do for a dog/cat who is suffering from heat stroke.) it brings
    their temperature down quickly, and they LOVE IT.
    
    Stay in the shade and take care of yourselves.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's (who still misses my BIG dogs)

    Thanks for the reassurance about Annie.  I just put a note in Canine
    about her.  I worry about how hot it must be for her during the day.
    She hasn't lost all of her winter coat yet, despite my combing and
    brushing efforts.
    
    I will try the suggestion about the ice cubes in her water bowl
    and also the cold wet towel thing.  I bet she would love that!
    
    Jo

    Jo, can you put an air conditioner in one room?  I have no reasonable
    cross ventilation in my house, but I keep a window air conditioner in
    one room running at low all day on days like this and the house
    is noticeably cooler when I get back at night.
    

    Jo:
    
    We started putting ice cubes in the our cats water dishes yesterday - I
    live in a top flat in S.F. and there was absolutely NO AIR - thank god
    the fog came in last night - but anyway - the ice cubes work great and
    I also wipe my 3 down with cold wash cloths - Pippin - my long hair -
    especially enjoys it - poor babies!
    
    Remember to close all your shades and drapes - keeps the house much
    cooler.  Oh did you see on the news that a part of I.80 melted near
    Fairfield??
    
    Giudi
    (Hot Time In The Summer??)
    

    Barbara -- TK and Nikki love to be rubbed down with damp towels in the
    hot weather.  I also use the towels to get the dirt off their coats
    before bringing them into the house.  They purr and make bread and love
    the attention.  Of course snot-face Kelsey has a fit when it is time
    for his rub-down after being out on his run!  They get dampened and
    then thoroughly combed out.
    

    I cover those plastic blue ice packs with hand towels and then leave
    them all over the house for the cats. The last thing I need is a cat
    with heat stroke (or what may seem like a lesser problem to some of you
    but a big problem to me--a nude cat that only needs 3 points to
    grand!! ;^})
    
    I have an air conditioner that I can't install in my house due to the
    type of windows we have in this house.  They are large, and slide open 
    side to side. They are not wide enough for our air conditioner!  We
    can't afford to get a new one right now.  I talked with Ken about
    advertizing ours for sale (it is old) and then maybe using that money
    to try and get a used one that would fit in our house.
    
    I gave everyone fresh water just before I left today, and then closed
    all blinds and curtains in the house.  Also turned off all lights
    (amazing how much heat a light bulb can put off).
    
    I hadn't heard that about I-80 Guidi.  I can believe it.  It was like
    116 there yesterday I think.  I haven't been able to sleep for the last
    three nights.  It has been so miserable.
    
    Jo

    I've been meaning to ask about the summer shedding. I seem to be
    picking up MORE hair these days, than ever!!!
    
    Also wanted to see whatchall thought of wetting the cats down to cool
    them off. Callie doesn't seem to mind when I get the "kitty" dish pan
    out & fill it w/ water for her (this is ONLY used for clean water for
    the kids, btw). She comes over & drinks some & waits to see what I'm 
    doing. Then I get my hands real wet & rub her down a few times. She
    always cleans herself off, tho. I dunno, I guess she's either thirsty,
    or she thinks the water is dirty!!
    
    Tabitha HATES it!! I sometimes wonder if it's even worth the trouble &
    aggrivation I put her thru. She remembers things for a long time.
    (really. I mean it.) If we do something she doesn't like, she goes
    right back into that shell we've tried so hard to get her out of!
    
    Poor babies......
    
    BoN

    =.9
    
    Yep, a section of the freeway started to "melt" and buckel.  It was so
    hot that I stayed up to watch the news and there were these poor
    construction workers trying to put it back together - with traffic
    backiing up.  I'm going to pick up a couple of small fans on my way
    home tonight - I'm sure my kitties will appreciate them - not to
    mention mom and dad. (or maybe I can put the sleeping bags up on the
    roof and we can all sleep up there).
    
    Giudi

It was 109 in my garage at 18:00 last evening.  Our house was at least that
hot.  I immediately dropped ice cubes in each water dish and got every animal's
head and tummy wet with cool water.  They protested a little, but they also
came alive a bit after that.  I also got my own head wet by taking a shower
and it helped alot.  During this heat, I'm leaving Sadie in the house - it
isn't cool, but it is better than the outside run...I'm afraid the cement
floor on the run would bring the temperature up too high for her.  the cats
and the dog all veg out and sleep most of the day anyway, so it isn't a
major restriction on her activity.

I moved to California to GET OUT OF EXTREME WEATHER...I want to log a protest!
I want the nice cool weather back NOW!!  This is gross!

Hannah said as much last night - she and I were laying in bed sweltering
when she rolled over on her back and hollered at me....obviously saying, "Ok,
enough already!  Make the heat go away!"  I felt so sorry for her.

It seems a bit easier out there today, but when I get home, I'll really know
what is what...I have my fingers crossed for a slightly cooler day.