Cat heating pads?
6So my ancient cats (turning 17, all three of them) are bony old souls, feeling like little, hollow boned birds when you pick them up… One is really underweight (many, many, many vet visits recently) and the other 2 are just old age skinny. In this drafty dump (10+ degree difference between different rooms, drafts move the miniblinds…) they need several warm spots to curl up in.
Any suggestions for good, no auto off, has a large area of heat (the one I saw in person at a pet store had about a 8" square heat pad in a 12"x22" or so pad - stupid the rest of it wasn’t heated), safe for kitties heating pads or beds that won’t break the bank?
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I might be leery about a cat heating pad.
I read that they might bite the cord, heat them too much, have to use in intervals of 15 to 20 minutes. You would have to be home and remember that. Also they might chew materials that it is made of, intestinal blockage.
I think cats, especially frail ones would overheat.
I had a 23 year old cat that loved her covered bed. It did not cost much at all. I think for drafts and not relying on an electric source, this is good. You know they love their privacy and inclosed places.
I roll towels and place in front of drafty windows.
I have an 18 year old cat and she is fat as hell!
Doc says she is just inactive, she does not eat that much.
@Calabama I’ve got one pyramid shaped that is a “cave” which gets used, although once I bought the really fluffy one that is reasonably tight when she lies down is the one that she uses more. I put a throw in the pyramid one so she could have more around her sides and that didn’t seem to matter to her although someone else decided that was an improvement.
@Calabama Speaking about chewing cords. I looked behind the couch in my office (where I allow my bird to roam) and found the cord of my power strip chewed. I don’t know how my bird survived. I can see the neutral and the hot exposed and very close to each other.
@cengland0 Yikes!! That bird got really, really lucky. I used to have the problem of computer power cords being chewed, but not in the last couple of years.
@Kidsandliz Ours is still a chewer. Phone charger cords in particular, which are much thinner and easier to get through.
@cengland0
Amazing! BOTH of you got really lucky!
I had a cat live through biting through Christmas lights, which she could not let go of, I quickly unplugged the lights. She lived a long time but not as long as her aunt, 23.
My cats do not chew cords, thankfully. I have four, 5, 13, 14 and 18.
@pitamuffin My bird likes the telephone cable. The one that goes from the phone to the receiver. Don’t have a photo of how badly he damaged that one but I do have a photo of a network cable he got ahold of.
Isn’t there a non heated cat pad that reflects their own body heat? My first thought was to buy a vintage heating pad… i have one though, and even on low its very hot.
@RiotDemon I had read about those. Not sure how well they work. Any idea? My one that has been to the vet a bunch is always cold - cold ears, cold nose… She crawls into bed with me and lies as close against me as she can (where she is right now). I’d set up an electric heater but I worry about it being knocked over. I have some really fluffy beds that are nice tight fits which she will get into on occasion so that helps. I was hoping to provide an external source of heat when I am gone all day. I do heat up the gel thing I was freezing to put on my foot, and she likes that, but it doesn’t stay warm all that long.
@Kidsandliz I’m not sure. I’m looking online right now. I see the cat heating pad you’re talking about with the 8" square pad inside. That one keeps it 15° above ambient temp and warms to 102° when the cat lays on it. It’s probably the safest option. 8" is probably plenty big to warm up even a big cat. They are on sale at chewy for 15.99.
@Kidsandliz this self heating one gets good reviews.
https://www.chewy.com/kh-pet-products-self-warming-pet/dp/54652?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=K%26H Pet Products&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAiA1uHSBRBUEiwAkBCtzX1OcGCTJMDrtxZyW-yCiGtDAGjy_0GRhzxXvJdicncWu1VyllxzVhoCbmkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
@Kidsandliz
I use a similar sleeping pad when camping. Although it’s no substitute for blazing fire, it does help quite a bit IMHO.
@RiotDemon That’s a good price. Since she and her brother often sleep together at that price maybe I could get that one and then find one bigger both could be on together or one with heat as well. Thanks.
@ruouttaurmind That is useful to know that actually works. Thanks.
@RiotDemon PS the small size is a really good price. Certainly worth trying. Could maybe put it in the bigger cat bed she and her brother lie in together. Then if they seem to prefer it buy more or buy the “prettier” one @lordbowen found to put in another spot she hangs out. I wonder if cutting it to fit in the bottom of the high sided “tight” bed she likes might help her in there.
How about a heating blanket?
@CaptAmehrican Every one I have read reviews about are either auto off after a non-changable number of hours (some as short as 2 hours, one as long as 10, but the complaints there was they got too hot) or will get too hot even on low. That is what I looked into first because they were so big. Also looked into heated throws - all of those were basically auto off after 2-4 hours. I want to be able to leave it plugged in 27/7 and have it sit around 102 degrees (cat temp).
Snugglesafe is a disk you heat in the microwave oven. They come with covers or you can wrap them in an old towel. They stay warm for several hours with no danger of setting fires or chewed wires electrocuting your pets.
@spiralroad Don’t think mine will chew cords, the disk would be a better solution than what I am using in the microwave and when I am home to keep re-heating it would be useful. Thanks.
Many years ago when my 17 year old cat had hyperthyroidism and chronic renal failure, I used a Nikken Kenko PetPad. They claim that the outer material is made of ceramic reflective fibers that has the ability to reflect and emit far infrared rays to produce therapeutic heat. The inside is a pad with therapeutic magnets. While some may think it’s hokey, I do believe it helped my cat live another 2-1/2 years, despite his chronic conditions. When I would find that he was not sleeping on the pad, his health noticeably declined. After I encouraged him sleep on the pad for a while, he perked-up and became playful again. From my own personal experience sleeping on a Nikken magnetic pad, they do seem to draw toxins out of the body. For a cat in kidney failure, that’s a good thing to happen, since the kidneys are no longer performing that function well.
It seems that they have gone up in price since I bought mine. I’m not sure the smaller size is still available, but maybe you can search around and find one at a decent price.
https://tinyurl.com/y7kn8roq
@heartny At $100 for the dog one I was hoping there’d be a smaller, less expensive cat one. Didn’t see a cat one. I’ll have to email them to see there is a cheaper solution. If nothing else reflecting body head on soft padding is worth trying.
Don’t know if this is the same one others have referred to, but it has really good reviews. A friend has two for her cats (who hate to be cold) and swears by them.
https://www.amazon.com/Milliard-Thermal-Reversible-Washable-Maintenance/dp/B00EKL2YL8
@lordbowen Price is sure right to try it. Thanks.
@lordbowen PS always good to have “cat” reviews. (grin).
@lordbowen @kidsandliz When I saw the thread title, I came off of lurk just to mention these reflecting mats. There is even a brand that zips into a tunnel shape, which is even better. My cats hated the tunnel one, but love the flat.
@kidsandliz Just found it clean on top of the dryer. Send me your address to (myMehname)09 @ Gmail and it is yours. I’d rather someone get use from it!
@Pamtha My gosh thank you. After so many years that must have been so hard when your cat died. Email sent.
@Pamtha It just came today. THANK YOU! I have put it under the kitchen table (flat right now) where she likes to sit. So far she hasn’t ventured there to try it out. The other cats have checked it out thoroughly in case of aliens or monsters or something. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you again SO MUCH!
@Pamtha
She finally decided this thing was safe and has settled in under the kitchen table. Thank you again. Haven’t yet put my hand under her to see how warm she has made it using her own body heat, but she hasn’t decamped yet so that is promising.
@Kidsandliz I am so, so pleased! See if she will be interested in it zipped up into the tunnel if it is drafty in that spot so it can radiate around her. Cutie will send derpy head butts to yours now, but Beamer is still a jerk.
@Pamtha I will try that… For now I was going to let her get used to it and mark it as hers. Then I was going to try to make the tunnel once she decided this was safe. Thanks again. Why is Beaner still a jerk? You wouldn’t want her sending head butts back. I just found out she has ring worm that isn’t the usual presentation (which is why for the last 2 months she has been losing hair on her nose despite about $100 of a bunch of different meds. I finally had them culture it (yikes $80 for that) and got a useful dx. Now to hope no one else (including me as I wasn’t all that careful) gets it.
@Pamtha So I tried to zip it up around her. That lasted about 2 min and she made her exit. So then I tried again only left it half way. That is working better although I am not sure she will crawl in on her own so likely I will leave it unzipped for a while and just zip it part way up around her until she is used to that and then see what happens.
Hmm that photo is sideways. Not sure why since the other one was fine.
Maybe a memory foam pad (4" thick or so) with one of those metallic emergency heat blankets under it? Memory foam retains heat so it’s always warmer after a few minutes and the heat blanket can reflect that heat upwards toward the cats? (something soft over the mem foam)
@lseeber My cats definitely prefer soft with their little bony hips. I have had a fleece pillow commandeered by them and I finally gave that one up to them. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Kidsandliz I have two cats that love fleece, they knead it and I swear then suck on it too. Guess it reminds them of their mom.
One of them looks just like this one.
@Calabama A couple of mine do that too. I have one fleece I have given up to them. Pulled threads all over the place. They are like a toddler with their blankie with that fleece throw.
@Calabama Mine does that too. It’s called “wool biting” and is usually due to weaning too early.
@lseeber My yellow cat came from a coworker, barn cat so I do not know about weening her, figured that was why. I got her uncle the year before, I sadly lost him. He had herpes and compromised his kidneys, he hid from me for a few days. Did not know he was sick, such a sweet gentle skinny boy. I held him for hours when he was sick, times before. My son took him to the vet, expecting the best but son called, he was too sick. I still miss my boy.
My pup was weened too soon, mother hunting dog, owner wanted her to stop producing milk before hunting season. She does not like to be alone, I had another lab that was weened too soon, separation anxiety was pretty bad.
I let kittens nurse as long as they wanted to.
I had a dachshund that got false pregnancies when my cat had kittens, she would steal them and nurse them, she had milk. One cat got bigger than her, still nursing, we had to stop that!
I use this one for my moms 22 year old cat. It’s always on, but it’s only at its warmest when the cat is lying on it. It took her s few days to get used to it, but now it’s almost impossible to get her off of it! It doesn’t get so hot that it will burn the cat either. We’re lucky since this cat doesn’t chew cords. But it’s also tucked behind some furniture. My friend also bought one and her cats love it too. We’ve also used the heat reflecting ones, but the cat much prefers the heating pad one.
K&H Pet Products Thermo-Kitty Mat Heated Pet Bed Mocha 12.5" x 25" 6W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000S9M2U4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ECGwAbT9QA45D
@savvysapphire A couple people have recommended the K&H brand. It must be good. I am thinking that, especially since it is hard (and expensive) to keep this drafty place warm heated ones would really help in their most favorite places they usually hang out on the floors and then the reflecting ones on some of the furniture they sit on on a regular basis. Hopefully I’ll have the “problem” of keeping them warm for a bunch more years!! although my one, I think, isn’t going to live to see 18.
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01E9IO87O/ref=mp_s_a_1_11/134-0236067-8085661?ie=UTF8&qid=1515832014&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=heating+pad+for+kombucha
@gregormehndel Thanks for that link. Good price. I could wrap that in a towel.
They make rubber foot warming mats to go under desks. I’m sorry but I’m mobile right now and didn’t check to see if they have timers. This one is 90 watts, 130F surface temp (so you’d need padding on top): floor warming mat
If a closed cat bed like the one @Calabama showed is an option, there are little heaters called Goldenrod dehumidifiers. They are used inside gun safes, the small ones use 8 watts. That would warm the interior of the cat cube, not the surfaces and you’d want to make sure to mount it where the cat wouldn’t touch it or make a little wire cage for it. I have one; it is hot enough to be quite uncomfortable to the touch but would take effort to cause a burn.
@duodec I had about 12 cats at one time and they liked to be outside. The mr made a huge cat house. Four by four feet and four feet tall. Had two carpeted levels. He made a heat box using a 40 or 60 watt bulb, attached it to a hole he cut in the back of cat house, with wire covering hole to keep cats away from bulb. It kept that house so warm, they stayed there even when it snowed, would not come in the house.
@Calabama Our admin at work took care of four ferals for 5 years when our office was in a converted home that still had a back yard. She got a Dogloo igloo type doghouse and put one of the large hard plastic crate heaters in it and some outdoor carpeting. It worked except for the worst days (10 or more below zero) though we had issues with raccoons.
@duodec We usually do not have to worry about temps that low, the lowest I can remember 5. That was very humane of your admin.
I hate to think of all the animals outside, all mine sleep inside, all year.
I live in the country but have no problems with critters, my neighbors dogs are always out.
This is how my 14 year old, Bitsey likes to keep warm. She has always loved dogs.
@Calabama Unfortunately I can’t see your picture. Just a blue question mark box. Is it a photo of your cat curled up with your dog?
@duodec @Calabama I’d be afraid they’d root through the blanket and then get too hot with the foot warmer. Not sure these guys would get into new box. They have their “spots”, although rigging a lightbulb near one of the corners one cat sits in might work.
@Kidsandliz Yes, That is the picture. I kept playing with it, tried it on another sight and it came through. ???
Tried it again here, deleted it, still would not work.
I got this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S9M2TA?th=1 for my super old cat (21 when I lost her last year). She really like it. The heating part of it only filled about half of the cover but it was still enough heated space for my cat.You would probably want to get one of the bigger sized ones if more than one cat will be using it at a time. You can also get just the heating part by itself( https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00KCNUO2O ) if you already have a bed or pad you can put it in.
This one has a nice discount in the warehouse deals (damaged packaging) right now. Both large and extra-large in chocolate color
https://smile.amazon.com/Pet-Products-Thermo-Bed-Heated-Fleece/dp/B00JHK37YA?ref=ast_p_ep&th=1
@metaphore Thanks for all those suggestions. 21 is an amazing age for a cat. That must have been really, really hard when your cat died. I am dreading losing 3 relatively close to each other. I don’t think my little sick kitty will reach 18, the other two might.
@metaphore Thanks for sharing the Smile link. Mine benefits the local high school.
I use the self-warming crate pads over the mattresses in the sleeping boxes I made for the little feral cat colony I maintain, and they sure seem to keep the kitties plenty cozy. Chewy has them in a bunch of sizes. https://www.chewy.com/kh-pet-products-self-warming-pet/dp/54646
@Pony You are the second person who has recommended that - must be a good one! Thanks.
Funny thing… yesterday, I woke up to no heat (yeah… haha). Guy came out, part will take 2 days but it’s under warranty. I have emergency propane heater in the wall in LR. Used about 3 times about 13 yrs ago. So, since it’s quite cold, it’s in use. Well… my cat who hasn’t been able to find anywhere she likes to lay besides on my lap since changing furniture 3 months ago has decided she likes it a few feet in front of that propane heater (which I would have thought was too hot for her). Even lying in the little cat bed there that she has never ever even touched before. Too bad it’s only a very temporary thing, lol.
@lseeber But it might turn into a habit and she might decide she likes the cat bed after all. You might need to move the bed to places she hangs out (besides your lap).
A friend who has old small thin pets (toy dogs) worries about this also.
He got some of those “cave” cat beds, a little bigger than needed.
Bought quilted reflective insulation from home depot and cut it up and lined the beds with it. (Cut with scissors)
Then cut up or folded memory foam bathmats on top of the reflective quilted insulation.
Then heavy fleece throws on top of that.
Put the beds into a corvette and put up partial screen barriers to prevent/minimize drafts.
Inside the draft barriers, use one of those warm oil space heaters that likes like an old time radiator to warm that small area.
That space heater/radiator was the only thing he felt comfortable leaving in full time hr he wasn’t home.
When he is home he turns on heating pads for them.
@f00l Inside a corvette??? Why???
The foam bathmats are a good idea. That would be way cheaper than buying a twin bed pad.
@Kidsandliz
“Corner”. As swipe/typed by a @f00l.
@Kidsandliz Just remember that the quality of memory foam makes a difference as to how well it holds in heat.
With my next chewy.com order I’m getting one of the self heating mats and two of the non heated kitty pads. Those say they attract cats… I’m hoping it’ll minimize the hair on my couch cover.
Well I changed vets. And my cat’s health is improving. She is now eating, gaining some of her lost weight back (she was down to 5 pounds, originally about 12 a year ago), grooming herself again, actually choosing to get off the mat sent to me from this list (thanks again @Pamtha ) - although her arthritis still bothers her and she no longer is willing to jump up on things - and generally behaving like a cat who isn’t going to die soon. i am still having to do sub q fluids on occasion and still make sure she eats enough, but I am no longer having to daily syringe feed her. So now I guess I need to figure out how to come up with the money (nearly 500 for an inhaler that lasts 2 months) for her asthma meds. I guess that is a good problem to have compared to the alternative.
@Kidsandliz Good to hear! Dang on that inhaler price. Have you checked around to see if there is a cheaper alternative?
@lseeber unfortunately nowhere cheaper - yah know patents and all, plus as a cat she can’t use all the different human inhalers, only a limited universe of human meds - which appears to be a limited universe of one unfortunately.
I saw an ad on my instagram last night… a heated floor mat. Some called it a bath mat. I’m going to presume that they don’t get terribly hot. Might be worth a look.
@lseeber As long as it doesn’t go over 102 degrees that might work. On the other hand if it cuts off on its own then it isn’t as useful. I’ll have to check into it.