Heatstroke and Burns in Cats: Cooling and First Aid

Cats tolerate heat better than dogs, but they cannot sweat except through their paw pads, and cannot pant for long. A cat that has started panting is already in trouble, and unlike a dog it has very little reserve left. Heatstroke kills fast; burns are a local wound with a whole-body risk attached. Both are almost entirely preventable, and both are badly served by the remedies people reach for first.

How urgent is it? Three tiers

• Go now. A temperature above 40°C (104°F), open-mouth panting, drooling, bright red gums, wobbling or collapse, or a seizure. A cat found unconscious in a hot car, conservatory or airing cupboard. Any burn bigger than a coin, any burn on the face, paw, joint or genitals, any burn that is white, brown or charred. Any chemical burn. Any electrical burn from chewing a cable — an emergency even if the mouth looks fine.
• Go today. Sunburn on white ears or a white nose, a small red patch from a hotplate, or a cat that was in a hot room, was panting earlier, and is now quiet and refusing water.
• Watch. A brief touch of a warm surface with a small red mark and no blister. Cool it, photograph it, check twice daily, and go in if it blisters, darkens or weeps.

Heatstroke: how it starts

Heatstroke happens when heat production outruns heat loss and the thermostat fails. Temperature climbs past 40°C, proteins begin to denature, the gut lining leaks, and clotting starts to fail. That is why a cat can look merely "hot and quiet" at 2 p.m. and be in shock by 4 p.m. Classic settings: a car in the sun, a conservatory, a carrier in direct sun, a hair dryer, a flat-faced cat in a warm room.

Signs run in order: fast shallow breathing, panting, drooling, bright red gums, wobbling, vomiting, then collapse. A rectal temperature is useful, but do not delay leaving to find a thermometer.

What to do right now — heatstroke

1. Move the cat to a cool, shaded, ventilated place and start cooling on the way to the car, not on arrival.
2. Wet the coat with cool, not iced, water — belly, armpits, inner thighs, paws and neck. Lukewarm tap water is fine; evaporation does the cooling.
3. Put the cat in front of a fan or an open window and keep the fur wet.
4. Offer small sips only if the cat is fully conscious and swallowing; never pour water into the mouth.
5. Stop active cooling at about 39.5°C (103°F). Cooling further causes shivering, which generates heat and can tip the cat into hypothermia.
6. Drive. Cooling at home is first aid, not treatment: these cats need fluids and blood work.
7. If the cat is unconscious, keep the airway clear and start CPR if breathing stops.

What to do right now — burns

1. Remove the cat from the source. For an electrical burn, switch the power off at the socket before touching the cat.
2. Cool the burn with cool running water for 15 to 20 minutes, starting at once; still worth doing up to three hours after injury. Not iced.
3. For a dry chemical, brush the powder off first, then flush for 15 to 20 minutes. For a liquid chemical, flush immediately and read the label.
4. Do not remove anything stuck to the burn. Cloth, fur or melted plastic stays; the vet will deal with it.
5. Cover loosely with cling film laid on, or a clean non-fluffy dressing. Cling film reduces pain and does not stick.
6. Keep the cat warm: burned skin loses heat fast. No ice at any point.

What not to do

• Do not use ice, ice packs or an ice bath. Ice constricts skin vessels and traps heat in the core, causes shivering, and damages skin.
• Do not rub the cat with alcohol. Cats absorb it through the skin.
• Do not leave a cat in a cold bath unsupervised. Cooling overshoots into hypothermia.
• Do not force water into the mouth of a panting cat; it will be aspirated.
• Do not put butter, oil, toothpaste, flour or human burn cream on a burn. They hold heat in and seal in bacteria. Do not pop blisters either.
• Do not use cotton wool on a burn; the fibres embed.
• Do not assume an electrical burn is minor: fluid can build up in the lungs over 12 to 24 hours.
• Do not leave a cat in a parked car "for two minutes". On a 26°C day the interior passes 40°C within ten minutes.

What to tell the vet, and what happens next

For heat: how long the cat was in the heat, the highest temperature, whether it vomited or seized, and any heart, kidney or thyroid disease. For burns: the cause and time, whether it was electrical, chemical or thermal, the name of the chemical, whether smoke was inhaled, and whether the burn is on a paw, face or joint. Treatment is aggressive: intravenous fluids, oxygen, controlled cooling, and monitoring for clotting failure, kidney injury and brain swelling. Blood work is repeated over 24 to 48 hours because damage develops after the cat cools. Even with ideal care, heatstroke kills a substantial share of cats that reach a clinic, which is why the drive matters. Burns are assessed by depth: full-thickness burns need debridement and sometimes surgery, and electrical burns need a day of monitoring for pulmonary oedema and arrhythmias.

Prevention, which is almost the whole story

Never leave a cat in a car, even with the windows down. Keep one room cool and shaded with water available in summer. Never use a hair dryer on a cat. Test bath water with your hand, keep hotplates and irons out of reach, and tuck cables away. White-eared cats need pet-safe sunscreen on the ear tips and nose. Seasonal risks are covered in care, and heat illness in health.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Call your vet or an emergency clinic.

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