Generally cats prefer it warm. Especially shorthaired cats with their thin fur love the warmth and like to lie down in the sun. In contrast, longhaired cats with their thick fur prefer to stay in colder places.
Can cats get cold?
Cats can freeze very easily if their fur is too thin outside or even in a cold apartment.
Cats can compensate for certain degrees of cold with their thick winter fur, depending on the cat breed. Especially the connective and fatty tissue protects the paws of your cat from the cold.
Some cat breeds are especially marked for a cold winter and can withstand up to minus 20 degrees in winter. But even a cat that gets regular outdoor access will build up a thick winter coat over time and be able to go outside in the winter without freezing.
Note that kittens under 6 months of age are not allowed out in the snow in winter. Especially small kittens lack the warming undercoat and the fur blanket that protects them from water.
How do I make my cat fit against the cold in winter?
Especially for cats that are outside, you should offer more high-energy food and a litter box.
Make sure you give your outdoor cat enough energy through food in the winter.
Especially outdoor cats in winter need a lot of energy-rich food.
Likewise, you should not put a metal bowl outside for your outdoor cat to feed. This can become too cold for your cat. It also makes sense to give your cat lukewarm water outside, so that it does not freeze in too cold temperatures.
Especially for long haired cats, you should always clean them from snow – or ice clumps, so that their long fur can dry.
To keep your cat fit in winter, for outdoor cats, you should always give them the opportunity to come inside to the warmth through a cat door.
Likewise, it is much more difficult for cats to defecate in the garden in winter. The frozen ground makes it very challenging for your cat to bury its droppings. Therefore, you should always offer your cat an indoor litter box in winter.
If you notice that your cat has a cold and you want to know how best to support it, we will show you in our informative article Sniffles in cats – treatment, causes, dangers.
What temperatures do cats like best?
Cats with short fur feel most comfortable at a room temperature of 20 to 25 degrees and cats with thicker fur at 15 to 25 degrees.
Which room temperature your cat prefers depends on a number of factors and is not easy to say across the board. The following factors play an important role in determining the ideal room temperature for your cat:
Especially young kittens and kitten can not store as much heat as adult cats because of their not fully developed fur. Therefore, young cats require a higher room temperature.
Because of the ratio of body surface area to body volume, fatter cats are much less likely to freeze than thinner cats. Cats that don’t have a large store of flab have a harder time keeping heat in their bodies.
There are some cat breeds that have very thick coats and can handle cold much better than other cat breeds because of their previous life situations. Especially Siberian cat breeds or cat breeds from Norway have it much easier in winter. In contrast, these cat breeds have considerable difficulties at high temperatures in summer.
Cats with thinner fur always need higher room temperatures in winter.
You have always wondered if cats always have green eyes? What it has to do with this phenomenon and many more, you will learn in our great article Have cats always green eyes?
Why do cats love the heat so much?
Shorthaired cats can save a lot of energy by the warming sun, because they lose body heat very quickly due to their thin fur. In contrast, longhaired cats prefer to stay in shady and colder places because of their thick fur.
Shorthaired cats love it when the warm sun shines on their fur. Thus, they save a lot of energy for their body budget.
Often you can observe cats, which let the sun shine on them on the ground and warm them up. Especially short haired cats love it when the sun rays shine on their thin fur. This is also due to the place of origin of the dun cat, which grew up in Africa.
The house tigers were used to cope with hot temperatures from a very early age and lose body heat particularly quickly through their short fur.
The average body temperature of cats is slightly higher than that of us humans and is between 38 and 39.5 degrees. In order to use less energy to maintain body heat, short haired cats like to warm up in sunny places. This allows them to conserve valuable energy.
If you’re wondering how cats can best cool off on hot days in the summer, we explain in our exciting article How do cats cool off in the summer?
On the other hand, longhaired cats tend to lie in shady places or on cold tiles. Longhaired cats originally come from colder regions and are equipped with a thick coat. In addition, they are of the physique more stocky than a short-haired cat. This allows them to store more body heat, so they do well in the cold winter.
Longhaired cats seek out colder places to be able to give off as much heat as possible there.
Summary – Do cats like it warm or cold?
Generally cats prefer it warm. Especially short haired cats with their thin fur love the warmth and like to lie down in the sun. In contrast, longhaired cats with their thick fur prefer to stay in colder places.
Cats can freeze very easily if their fur is too thin outside or even in a cold apartment.
Especially for cats that are outside, you should offer more high-energy food and a litter box. Likewise, you can put a heated cat house outside for your cat. The water bowl should always be filled with lukewarm water so that your cat does not have to drink water that is too cold.
Cats with short fur feel most comfortable at a room temperature of 20 to 25 degrees and cats with thicker fur at 15 to 25 degrees. What room temperature cats like best depends on your cat’s age, breed and stature. Especially thinner cats and younger cats that do not yet have thick fur tend to like it warmer.
Short haired cats can save a lot of energy from the warming sun, as they lose body heat very quickly due to their thin fur. In contrast, longhaired cats prefer to stay in shady and colder places because of their thick fur.