Does she know its dangerously hot?

[CanWeHaveSnow]

Random one...

Cat is 16...
Losing it, peeing and pooing on the floor..
Going onto the work top when the kettle is boiling (never did this in 16 years)

Told No issues apart from being ‘old’

Shes always loved the house radiators and sits underneath them (not touching her as they are to high)

Problem is, we have got a plug in electric heater for the bedroom, that gets very hot to touch....
We have it on for afew hours at night ,
Up till now, no issues, as shes normally down the other end of the house (still under the radiator)

Tonight, she joined us in the bedroom,
But she has sat right up next to the heater, literally burning hot,
I moved her straight away from it and turned the heater off, her fur was very hot to touch,
She was fine, breathing fine, just very u happy that i moved her

My question is, as daft as it sounds
Does she know its hot? Can she still feel it?
Because its such a daft thing to do and she wouldn't normally sit right up against it?

We will ofcourse keep heater / Cat separate

Any ideas?

Shes an indoor cat so no risk of her running into the road etc

#Unhappy that i moved her

Any ideas?

Would she like a heated throw for sleeping on? Lidl had them in recently for £30.

Her risk assessments sound diminished but I had to stop departed boy sniffing gas fire and candle flames when he was alive.

I know of a cat that sunbathed for so long that his ears badly burnt and he basically burnt the tips off. But then humans get sunburnt too so I’m not sure if it’s comparable to your cat’s situation.

I have to stop the cat from walking across/standing on the dog when they’re both on the sofa. For some reason (maybe her eyesight and sense of smell is going) she doesn’t realise she’s doing it and then will suddenly realise and freak out (which then also upsets the dog ).

Sometimes they just need a bit of help I think. She sounds lucky to have you looking out for her.

My cat likes to sit wedged behind our wood burning stove

He's not old - just a bit dim! I have to prod him out with the fire poker much to his horror

@SatsumasOrClementines

I know of a cat that sunbathed for so long that his ears badly burnt and he basically burnt the tips off. But then humans get sunburnt too so I’m not sure if it’s comparable to your cat’s situation.

I have to stop the cat from walking across/standing on the dog when they’re both on the sofa. For some reason (maybe her eyesight and sense of smell is going) she doesn’t realise she’s doing it and then will suddenly realise and freak out (which then also upsets the dog ).

Sometimes they just need a bit of help I think. She sounds lucky to have you looking out for her.

This happened to my white cat. Couldn't get him in the house before work to put suncream on for him as hed buggered off to the pie factory over the back. Came home and his ears were bright red and crusty.

He didn't seem to mind but I was gutted!

My old cat used to climb behind the boiler, which had an open back (dodgy student house) and he came out singed. I thought kids had been throwing fireworks until I worked out where he was going. He did have thyroid problems and went a bit senile, I didn’t know if he was seeking out the warmest spots due to this or was just daft - as he was that even when healthy. Perhaps worth a vet check if you haven’t already

I'm useless with cats but thought I would chip in that this happens with older people!

As we get older we tend to feel cold more for various reasons from changed thyroid functions to moving around less so we tend to seek out heat sources

Older people tend to have fragile skin more prone to burns etc and changes in heat sensitivity/reactions.

Back in the day it used to be fairly common to see older people with burns etc from electric blankets (before they got safer). Usually it was due to a combination of things like heavier sleeping, fragile skin, slower reactions to processing burns and less physically able to move away.
Some of it was due finding it difficult to distinguish between dangerously hot and just warm especially in regards to things that are slowly becoming too hot over time (like your heater)

It's a huge generalisation but I dont see why any of that might not apply to older cats

(I also have to move my young dog out of the sun because he gets to hot but doesnt seem to realise!)

Have you taken your cat to the vet for a check up? My elderly cat had dementia so I wouldn't rule that out.

When I was a child our cat used to regularly sit so close to an electric fire that she had singe marks on her fur, we would smell burning and move her. Fur is a really good insulator so they don't feel the full heat on their skin.

Thank you everyone.

I was thinking maybe that, as shes getting older she cant feel the heat and worried she may not feel it till its to late and burn her skin

Shes a little pain in the bum but we love her

Would she wear a jumper? Maybe she is cold. Our ddog lost weight last winter. Bought her a jumper. Weight went back on. She showed signs of sheer disgust the day we forgot to put it on!!

@Lockdownlovernotfromliverpool

Would she wear a jumper? Maybe she is cold. Our ddog lost weight last winter. Bought her a jumper. Weight went back on. She showed signs of sheer disgust the day we forgot to put it on!!

If I tried to put a jumper on any of my cats I would probably be scratched to death