Sweltering heat and soaring temps is surely hard on everyone to manage, I feel sorry for the people and pets both in such conditions.
I know that many of you have A/C in your homes which brings huge relief to you and your kitties. ( and doggies too)
But, not all have this avaiable...

Few homes here have A/C - the general mild climate doesnt realy call for it.
In the last bout of hot weather.. my poor cats were just lethargic, finding the coolest spot they could find.. and staying there.
I had fans going, changed their water numerous times per day... but just so hot and stuffy in the house... and those heavy coats sure dont help.
It doesnt ever get "that" hot here.. nothing like what some of you face.

Wondered what extra things you might do to help your babies feel more comfortable through summer?

Mine have fans in addition to the a/c. I think they stay pretty comfortable although David was wondering if we should get them a lion cut just for comforts sake. I actually think that would stress them out more than wearing their coat.

I had to set a fan up for the mommy kittys and kittens. Dr K, told me to set a bowl of ice in front of the fan and this blows cool moist air on them, they loved it, icecubes in their water helps. also you can take a towel or blanket and put it in the freezer for a while and let them lay on it.
Bare floor is the best and if you have a cellar they love it down there. Wash thier faces with a cool wet wash cloth they may fuss but they will like it... you know the little break ice packs used for sprains, they work nice under a blanket or towel or their pillow in their pet beds.

Fran, do you have a basement they could hang out in? Should be quite a bit cooler down there.

I have A/C to keep my spoiled little... sweeties... comfortable. If I didn't have it I'd consider getting them shaved down for the summer.

Debby
ps - the A/C keeps me comfy too

I'm fortunate that I have a good A/C and stone floors in most of the house. I seldom find them on the stone, though -- they like the beds and the sofas and the chairs. We also have celing fans in most of the rooms and they like those. I just make sure they have plenty of water and when Sasha does come outside with me, it is not for long. Yesterday she asked to come in before I made her - unheard of!!!

I think I finally know what the term "blown coat" is, Jazzy is a mere fraction of her normal fluffy size and Jakey looks much smaller too. They literally throw themselves across the air conditioning vents in the floor - they especially like my tile floors. Heat index in Kansas City is 110 today with so much humidity you can't hardly breathe. As long as my kitties are comfortable, then I'm happy too!!!! Stay cool everyone!!!

The hot temperatures we've had the past week
are quite unusual here, so most folks don't
bother with a/c.

The heat doesn't seem to bother the
cats, but Cabot really minds. Sadly he
hates swimming, otherwise he could
cool himself off easily as we do.

I'm in the same boat as you, shamrock. Temperate climate so no A/C, yet hot days still happen. I keep the window open and the lights off to keep it cool, and on particularly hot days I have thrown Kody in the sink and soaked him in cool water. today I just rubbed a little water on his belly, and he started purring.

We don't have central air here -most of the time we don't need it. We do have a couple of window units. I keep the boys in those rooms (have to keep them apart from the girls!). The girls have access to the basement. I also keep the windows shut and the blinds down to shut out the sun. It works very well at keeping the rooms comfortable - along with ceiling fans. I open the windows in the very early morning, but close up before the sun hits the house.

In addition to the central air set at a very comfortable 72 degrees, the ceiling fans are running, blinds kept shut to keep out the blazing sunshine and of course, lots of ice in the water bowls and fountains for my Himmies and Persians. With all that said, most of my kittens are currently sunning themselves in the bay window. This heat wave must not bother them as much as it does me.