I’m curious how cat owners deal with heat waves. We are currently cat sitting in south-west France with temperatures well above 30 Celsius. The owners requested that we leave the cats inside during the heat wave (they are not allowed outside at nighttime). The cats keep begging us to be let out, but of course we are sticking to the owners’ rules. However, wouldn’t it be fairer to the cats to let them decide where they want to spend the day? There are plenty shady spots on the property plus they could walk back inside anytime.
Keep the curtains and blinds closed, open windows to get a through breeze, turn fans on. What is the owners reason for keeping the cats inside?
It may be fairer, but they are not your cats and the HO gave specific instructions.
To keep them cool, lower all blinds/close curtains to keep the room as dark as possible, turn a fan on, and if possible put an ice pack or bag of frozen peas underneath their bed, or with a towel over it, and leave it where they like to nap. Also make sure their water bowl/fountain remains full.
Cats have a naturally higher internal temperature than humans or dogs, so they can tolerate heat much better than dogs even though they lack the human ability to sweat to cool ourselves. As long as they have darkness, water, and moving air they should be fine.
The owners have the final say. Period.
What you can do (if you have any of the equipment listed) :
1)Fill a large bowl with ice and use an electical fan to move cool air towards the cats or , at least, in the room.
2)Place ice packs, ice, frozen veg, etc. near their resting & sleeping areas
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Keep blinds, etc. closed during the day
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Raise their beds off of the floor
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Add a bit of “tuna juice” to their water to encourage hydration (if ok in their diets)
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If there is a basement or cooler area, encourage (Yeah , right, “encourage” cats to do anything !) them to rest there.
I’d ask the HOs if it would be ok to take them out and watch them in the early morning and late afternoon. Bring them in when it starts getting hot or dark.
I agree with you.
Interesting. No need for frozen peas, we have AC in the house.
No idea and we don’t intend to discuss their rules with them. We have AC in the house.
What’s the harm in saying this very sentence to the homeowners and letting them decide? Put some additional suggestions along with it, such as stated above, only in the early morning or evenings (When it’s cooler… ). See if they will allow it, they want their animals to be happy so let them have a chance to help you get them there.
If you have AC, there is no issue here, other than cats making you batty with their demands (sigh…cats). There is no issue of fairness here.
OTOH, there is no problem bringing this up to the HOs - once - to see what they say.
For the original question - I don’t have AC, but fortunately live in an area that has not (yet) been affected by regular heat waves. We do get the occasional 2-5 days over 90F and even a rare few days over 100F. I do as others suggest - close all windows and pull shades in the morning before it heats up, run fans, and I keep a stack of soaked and frozen clothes in the freezer for both myself and the cat. Cats tend to know how to find the most comfortable spot - my last cat would go sleep behind the toilet when it was hot. YMMV if it’s an orange cat with one brain cell 
You can only make suggestions to the hosts, not change their rules, that wouldn’t be right as it’s up to them since it’s their pets.
Well said, but the cats are not allowed outside during those hours because of traffic. I even sent the owners a video of the cats in front of the door, but they didn’t change their mind.
Interesting. If they’re worried about vehicles, then they shouldn’t be outdoor cats at all. They should harness train them.
If you read my original post, I said we would be sticking to the owners’ rules. That’s not the point. But I have an opinion in this matter, and by addressing the forum, I wanted to see if there are other points to it I might not be aware of. So far I haven’t learned any.
Ok in answer to your original question, I live in the sub tropics in Australia. It gets hot and humid in the summer, mostly for months. Days 30°+ and nights often only drop to 30°. Truly it can be disgusting. Over a span of 35 years and two cats in these conditions our cats were free range essentially. We had no aircon and our particular type of house (Queenslander) was a very open style, many windows and doors to verandas, no screens. Therefore the cats moved as they chose. They would always find a cool spot. A shady damp space in the garden, on cool floor tiles downstairs, in front of a window with a cross breeze, they just worked it out.
I think if cats are trained from young to be fully indoor or harness it’s probably easier, but harder to adjust ingrained habits. Some cats also seem to have a stronger preference for one or the other, just like people I guess. Don’t know if this helps, just my observations.
Thanks, Cathie, exactly my point of view! Cats are such independent creatures. I used to have a cat myself who would walk in and out all the time.
It sounds as if the main reason for your having to keep the cats inside is risk of injury, because of traffic?
Did the listing state they were house cats, or that they go outside?
Possibly the HO should have been more specific in their listing. If they specified the cats go out but have introduced this condition since your arrival - for whatever reason - it sounds like you’re having to deal with the subsequent change to their routine, which is stressing them out.
I agree with you. If they are use to being outside during the day then that is where they want to be. And yes, there are plenty of shady spots. Cats love the sun. I think telling you to keep them inside and having to deal with whining cats is not fair to you or the cats.
The listed responsibilities: ‘Let them out of house and let back in, as they require (we don’t have cat flap door).’ The 30° rule was not mentioned in the WG we received months ago, only in the printed version they gave us at the handover.