Temperature extremes for kittens

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Wolfie - 22 Jan 2005 06:05 GMT

I'm hoping someone here can help settle a series of disagreements my wife
and I have about our two new 4 month old Balinese kittens. They're going
through a bout of URI right now so we're trying to give them as much TLC as
possible (they're eating, drinking, playing, etc.). We live in an extremely
cold climate so we take great pains to make sure it's warm enough for them.
We usually try to keep the temperature about 72 degrees or so, but
occasionally we'll open the window a bit to get some fresh air in. At what
temperature will the cold be a problem for them? For example, if we have to
drive them to the vet on a cold day, and we take them out to the car when
it's well below freezing and the car is warmed up only to about 60 or so and
warms up to 75 on the way, is this a big problem? Do the few seconds of
extreme cold warrant a very warm car, or is gradual re-heating less
stressful? Thanks in advance.

Wolfie

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M.C. Mullen - 22 Jan 2005 15:08 GMT

| I'm hoping someone here can help settle a series of disagreements my wife
| and I have about our two new 4 month old Balinese kittens. They're going
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
|
| Wolfie

4 months is still on the young side, and as far as I know, Balinese cats
don't have very thick coats (or am I wrong here?)
But I believe that the fresh air in the house should not do them any harm.
But in the car you could wrap them into blankets before you stick them into
the carriers. Since you are driving them to the vet, you might as well ask
for his advice.

If it's really cold in your house you could get a heated bed for them or one
that you can hang on the heaters.
But the cats adjust to the temperatures by growing a thick coat.
Micky, who is mostly outside even in winter, looks like a tuxedo bear at the
moment :-)

HTH

Carola

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Dik F. Liu - 23 Jan 2005 01:28 GMT

>But the cats adjust to the temperatures by growing a thick coat.<

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way with Balinese cats. Balinese cats are
basically Siamese cats that breeders bred to have longhair by taking advantage
of the longhair recessive genes. Therefore, Balinese are single coat cats. This
means that unlike DLH, Balinese won't grow an undercoat to adjust to the
temperature. There are many breeders of single coat cats (korats, for
example.) living in cold temperature. They will tell you that their cats, even
after many generations of breeding, still would not grow an undercoat to adjust
to the cold weather.

Wolfie should consult these cats' breeder about what to do with these cats.

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Wolfie - 23 Jan 2005 06:52 GMT

> >But the cats adjust to the temperatures by growing a thick coat.<
>
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>
> Wolfie should consult these cats' breeder about what to do with these cats.

Thanks for the advice...you're right, they have no undercoat...quite nice to
avoid excessive shedding. But I should have specified this. They seem to
be a bit more susceptible to temperature fluctuations, and I was wondering
if they have any immediate defensive response to sudden cold. By the way,
the vet did agree that the fresh air, even cold air, in the house should be
fine. Anyway, these will definitely be indoor cats, especially in the cold
climate. Thanks again for the responses!

Wolfie

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Dik F. Liu - 23 Jan 2005 18:05 GMT

>they have no undercoat...quite nice to avoid excessive shedding. But I should

have specified this. They seem to be a bit more susceptible to temperature
fluctuations, and I was wondering if they have any immediate defensive response
to sudden cold. By the way, the vet did agree that the fresh air, even cold
air, in the house should be fine.<

I have found that most vets are not familiar with health issues facing minority
breeds such as your Balinese. Your better bet for advice is a Balinese
breeders' newsgroup, or your breeder since he/she knows about the health issues
of this particular line.

At four months old, your Balinese kittens should begin loosing their kitten
coat, no? Also, even single coat cats go through Spring shedding. You might
want to brush them lightly so that when it comes time for you to brush them
during their shedding, they don't freak out.

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