We love our cats, but we may not always love their behavior. Unfortunately, cats prove harder to train than dogs because of the lower motivation for food. Your furry feline can meet his own survival needs, so training him to stop jumping on you can prove tricky. Luckily, we will show you six easy ways to train your cat so that he stops this painful behavior.

Trick #1: Become a Cat Psychologist

Many people report their cat jumping on their back or on their chest before they go to feed them. Most of the time, when your cat jumps on you, he wants your undivided attention. Your cat may have learned early on that when he performs this action, he creates an interaction with you that keeps your attention on him and gives him what he wants.

If he jumps on you before mealtime, he may do it as a way of showing you that he wants food. Many people talk about this problem at mealtime when they only feed their cat once a day. Your cat may feel starving and desperate for more food. As a result, he leaps onto your back or chest as a way of showing you what he wants. 

Understand the motivations of your cat and take away his reason for doing it. If your cat jumps on you during mealtime, give him multiple meals per day. Cats often eat many small meals per day out in the wild. You will want to feed him at least twice per day to mitigate some of this unwanted behavior. 

Animals continue with specific behaviors because of how it gives them what they want. Change your own behavior and avoid giving your cat what he wants to see if it resolves the problem.

Trick #2: Use Positive Reinforcement

You could define positive reinforcement as giving your cat a reward for desirable behavior. This increases the likelihood that he will continue with those actions in the future especially if you do it enough times. Understand how stopping your cat from jumping on you will take time. You must make it a gradual shift for the cat to adjust to new habits.

Some of the possible rewards to give your cat include:

• Catnip
• Yummy treats
• Grooming
• Petting
• Play

Cats learn best through positive reinforcement, which will make the behavior more quickly ingrained. Especially with one where your cat leaps on your back full of claws, you want to stop this painful behavior as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there’s no quick road, but trying some of these easy tricks can help you to figure out how to best stop him from the behavior. 

Jackson Galaxy has a great video here on how to train your cat using a clicker. Check out the video here:

In case, you found the clicker video interesting, you can buy one here. It comes with a kit that shows you how to use it, and you can use it to stop the unwanted jumping from your cat. 

Trick #3: Interrupt the Unwanted Jumping with a Clicker

One of the ways where you might do this in an environment where your cat jumps on you is by interrupting him before he has the chance to do it. For example, leave the room and enter again, and as you see him preparing, use the clicker. This will hopefully stop him enough to wonder about the noise. Feed him the treat to distract him from the idea of jumping on you.

Keep in mind, you don’t reward him if he jumps on you because it will reinforce negative behavior. 

Once your cat becomes used to this new routine, you will want to reward him only if he acts calmly before you feed him. Never reward a cat for unwanted behavior before because he will do it more often. 

Trick #4: Promote an Environment Where He Won’t Want to Jump on You

You want to make his jumping on your back seem like an undesirable thing to do. Make it so that instead of it giving him what he wants, it will do the exact opposite. 

Expert Information: They call creating an environment that punishes unwanted behavior a remote correction. It has the extra benefit of removing you from the equation as the bad guy. Many times when a cat experiences an unpleasant consequence, it will avoid the behavior in the future to prevent the same thing from happening. 

Let’s take an example of where this may prove effective because it may have less of an effect in cases where he feels hungry. 

Your cat has taken to leaping onto your back and up onto your shoulders to climb onto the refrigerator. Cats love to be up high because it protects them in the wild from predators. While cats are predators, they are also an animal of prey. Being up high allows them to see the potential dangers in their environment. 

How do you stop a cat from using you to climb up to the refrigerator? You provide him with a more attractive alternative. Take what he already wants but shift it in a way that will be less destructive and painful for you. For example, you might put a cat tree nearby where he can see everything from up there. Hopefully, this will make the effort of climbing less desirable because he can do what he wants more easily. 

Redirecting your cat’s energies is often the more effective route over trying to change what he wants. 

Trick #5: Keep His Nails Short

You want to clip your cat’s nails every week-and-a-half to two weeks. The shorter nails will prevent scratches and make it less painful when he engages in this behavior. Unfortunately, stopping a cat from jumping on you in its entirety can prove difficult. You must first understand why he does it and make it less attractive to do. It takes longer to train a cat than a dog. 

Expert Advice: Clipping your cat’s nails differs greatly from having him declawed. Declawing a cat is an inhumane practice that amputates the first joint of your cat’s toes. You should never declaw a cat for any reason, not even if he’s jumping on you. Many health problems can arise over the practice like tissue necrosis, lameness and infection. He also can’t climb to defend himself from predators or scratch with them, making him feel insecure. Clipping his nails, on the other hand, is like if you were to trim your own nails. 

Keeping your cat’s nails short will keep his jumping on you less painful. At the same time, it helps in cases where you’re cuddling with him. I have a cat where when I cuddle with him, he likes to knead with his claws. I keep his nails short to make them less noticeable.   

Trick #6: Know the Situational Triggers—Avoid Them

One guaranteed trick to stop your cat from jumping on you is to understand when it happens. If you can’t stop him from doing it—I offer you a guaranteed alternative. Let’s say that your cat likes to jump on your right before mealtime as the excitement becomes too much for him. 

I’m not saying don’t feed your cat. Instead, change the way that you do it. Take your cat and put it inside another room beforehand closing the door. Fill his food bowl and bring him to his bowl once you have filled up his food. You will never suffer from your cat jumping on you again if he does it for this reason. At the same time, you can try feeding him the normal way later to see if it changed the bad habit. 

In other cases, you have to figure out when he jumps on you and avoid those situations. Let’s take another example where you use the bathroom sink to wash your hair. During this time, your cat likes to leap onto your back and scale up to your shoulders. Close the bathroom door to prevent him from getting in during the time that he would like to perform this behavior. 

Easy Tricks Summed Up

I put together this easy summary of the tricks outlined in the article with a recommendation when to use it so that you can more easily figure out where to start:

Tricks	When to Use It
Trick #1: Pay Attention—Become a Cat Psychologist	Good all-around advice to stop the unwanted jumping. Use it everywhere.
Trick #2: Use Positive Reinforcement	Good for jumping when he’s trying to get your attention. Less powerful for motivational reasons.
Trick #3: Interrupt the Unwanted Behavior with a Clicker	Great to use when you want to change a cat’s behavior through motivation
Trick #4: Promote an Environment Where He Won’t Want to Jump on You	Useful in cases where the environment is the trigger
Trick #5: Keep His Nails Short	Good practice to follow every one-and-half to two weeks.
Trick #6: Know the Situational Triggers and Avoid Them	Good practice in general, but especially helpful when all else has failed. Guaranteed to work when done right.

Reasons for Optimism

As your cat ages, he may grow out of this behavior. Many times, kittens are the most prone to this or climbing up your legs. If you’d like to learn more about how to stop a kitten from climbing up your legs, check out this article here. The enthusiasm of youth often leaves your kitten climbing your legs in search of adventure to the dismay of their cat parents. 

How Do I Stop My Cat from Jumping on Me at Night?

Perhaps one of the more annoying ways that your cat could jump on you, he waits until you fall asleep to walk over the top of you. This wakes you up in the middle of the night and has led to insomnia in some cases. He may also leap from the furniture onto you during these escapades. What can you do to stop this behavior? Usually, your cat does this because he wants your attention. 

Cats are nocturnal, and they will often sleep during the day to hunt at night. Especially if you don’t give him enough activity during the day, he will be full of energy and ready to play at night. This may prompt him to jump on your while you’re sleeping. Stimulate him more during the day to prevent this unwanted behavior. You could also close your bedroom door at night to stop him from coming in—especially if you’re a light sleeper who can’t fall back asleep easily, a quality night’s rest matters. 

Conclusion 

None of these tricks to stop your cat from jumping on you require too much effort on your part. In most cases, you can do them easily. Cats do prove harder to train than dogs, but you can still train them on basic things like this or using the litterbox. The other thing that I love about cats is that they’re far less maintenance than other pets.

One of the things that might annoy the owners of a kitten is when he likes to climb and explore the furniture. I wrote an article about how to stop a kitten from climbing the furniture here. 

You love your new kitten, but he loves to climb and sink his claws into whatever he climbs—especially on expensive furniture. Kittens, even more than cats, have a curious nature that can be hard to curtail. Instead, you need to redirect it.

In the following article, we will look at several things that you can do to stop a kitten from climbing on all the furniture.

Understanding Why Kittens Climb Furniture

In the wilderness, cats climb and leap over long distances. This climbing allows them to avoid danger and hunt for food. Because of that wild and natural instinct, even friendly house cats will climb on furniture much to your dismay. Cats love to hunt birds, and they do this in the trees. Meanwhile, they can hunt rodents from the ground much easier.

Try as you might, you will struggle to fully eliminate this. I know from firsthand experience.

Kittens prove especially difficult to stop their climbing on furniture because of their high enthusiasm for life. You do have strategies that can minimize or contain the damage. I wouldn’t say that you will stop it entirely, however.

Cats will also climb as a way to escape predators. Think of dogs and the first place that cats will climb—they go to either a tree or a fence where the dog can’t reach.

Never Do This to Stop Kittens from Climbing

One of the cruelest and most inhumane actions that you can do to a cat is to take them to a vet to have them declawed. Most vets won’t even consider declawing a cat because of the health implications and how it takes away their natural defense and climbing abilities.

As animals of prey, they feel defenseless and vulnerable on the ground. Cats were made to climb.

If you want to do this to stop a kitten from climbing, don’t have a cat. It’s as simple as that. Either don’t have the cat or get rid of the cat because you’re poorly suited for a kitten. Cats need to be able to climb, and there’s a ton of issues that arise from declawing. Check out this article to learn more about why declawing a cat is so bad and why most reputable vets won’t even think about it.

In contrast to the United States where it is still legal, in Great Britain, they even banned the practice of declawing cats in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. However, even before that, few pet owners would have their pets declawed.

Give Him a Piece Furniture That He Can Climb

Cats do learn, but they don’t always obey. You find that common with them. Instead of scolding him and trying to get him to stop climbing the furniture, you might hand him a piece of furniture that he can climb.

Kittens, because of their questioning nature, climb out of curiosity. They love being up in high places. You’d have an easier time redirecting this curiosity than you would fighting it.

The FEANDREA Cat Tree, XL Cat Tower offers your kitten the perfect space to redirect his enthusiastic energies onto a piece of furniture meant for climbing. The best cat trees promote exercise and a safe place for climbing. Your kitten will also feel safer up high. Kittens have boundless energy and love to play, which makes this the ideal choice.

In case you have any doubts about getting your kitten a cat tree, check out this video of kittens playing in a cat tree:

Along with a cat tree, you will want to provide him with several other suitable and exciting places where he can climb. The goal is to create so many good areas to climb that your kitten doesn’t even think about climbing on the furniture as much. This may not stop it altogether, but your furniture won’t wear down as quickly.

With a cat, you can do your best to stop them, but at the end of the day, you may find it difficult to keep them from doing it entirely. Every kitten and cat wants to climb, so you have to redirect their energy, not squash it.

Place the cat tree near the window so that he can enjoy the outside world. Kittens love to sit and observe.

Try Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone is a pheromone formula that calms your kitten to stop unwanted behaviors like climbing on the furniture. Some of the other things that you can use it for include stopping catfights, reducing tension in the home and it comes veterinarian recommended.

Keep in mind, people have had mixed results with this. It has worked for some people and not worked for others. You might try it if you feel tired of trying to get your kitten to stop.

Use a Spray Bottle?

Treat the spray bottle as the last line of defense for your furniture from the kitten or don’t use it at all. The spray bottle has a few drawbacks that I feel deserve a mention. I wouldn’t call it cruel, but I wouldn’t call it highly effective either. First, it only works when you see your kitten climbing on the furniture. The effect will almost immediately stop him from climbing, but it never stops him from trying again later. Cats were born climbers.

The second danger of the spray bottle comes from its overuse. Eventually, if you overuse it, your cat will stop reacting to it. It won’t have the same effect as before.

With all of that said, a spray bottle offers you the fastest way to immediately stop the behavior of climbing on the furniture. Granted, you want to design a space where your kitten feels more compelled to climb other things because it will go further in the long run.

Some people also don’t like the spray bottle. You have to decide for yourself. Water is harmless and won’t hurt your cat, but some believe that it may not be as effective as it appears. The one thing that I would point out is that it doesn’t stop the behavior. It does stop it for a time, but he will often go right back to it later leading to an uphill battle.

Discourage by Design

Environmental deterrents will go a long way to stopping your kitten from climbing the furniture. Examples include the use of unpleasant smells and textures that your cat dislikes. Cats also tend to not respond well to punishment, which makes discouraging them by design better.

For example, you could place tape the sticky side up so that when your kitten jumps on it, he will learn to avoid it. Cats don’t like sticky things. You could also place a towel near the furniture so that when they try to climb it, they will fall back down.

You can block the furniture to keep your kitten from resting easily on it. This can go a long way to stopping him. A determined kitten, however, will climb the furniture no matter what you do to stop him.

Understand Your Kitten’s Psychology

Most often, kittens will climb the furniture as an act of play and exploration. They may do it because they find that armchair comfy.

Whatever the reasons, you want to make it less appealing to them. Figure out why they do it and offer an alternative. For example, if they snuggle in an armchair, you may want to give them a comfy piece of furniture of their own like a cat bed.

Does your cat climb the furniture to access the view from the window? Move the chair farther from the window and provide them with a better alternative for viewing out the window like a shelf.

You can also use shelves so that your kitten can jump around and play without needing to go on the furniture.

Use a Clicker Device

Your kitten will learn better through positive reinforcement than it will through punishment. Whenever your kitten jumps on the things that you want him to jump on, click the device to give him a treat.

Eventually, your kitten will learn that the clicker means treats. He will try to do the things that give him a treat, and he will hopefully climb less on the furniture that you don’t want him to climb.

Punishment like yelling and the spray bottle usually have the opposite effect—it makes your cat fear you. However, it may prove difficult to get them to understand why they shouldn’t do that because a cat’s brain doesn’t work that way.

Give Your Kitten More Toys

Kittens do things for the fun of it, and if they have taken to destructive behavior, it often happens because of boredom. Give him some toys to keep him from feeling bored. Put a few toys on the floor and see if it will redirect his interest onto the toys over climbing on the furniture.

Some of the suggested toys for a kitten include:

• Ping pong balls
• Sisal-wrapped tubes
• Plastic balls with bells
• Bottle caps

Pay Attention to What Works

Trial and error will help you to figure out what works with your kitten and what doesn’t. Be prepared for a determined kitten that wants to climb. You may need to move him off the furniture 25 times before it works.

Avoid scolding your cat if possible because this often has the opposite effect. Repetition is the key to teaching your kitten not to climb on the furniture. Every cat will have a different personality, which means that some things will work and some won’t.

Training Takes Time

Cats don’t learn as effectively as dogs. You need to train them many times before it seems to go through, and oftentimes, you will find it easier to make what appeals to them less attractive. Take away what motivates them to climb instead of punishing them.

If you enjoyed this article and you’d like to keep learning more about kittens and climbing, check out this article I wrote on how to stop a kitten from climbing your legs. A painful stage in the parenting process for pet parents.

You often wonder why your cat gravitates toward some of the grossest things in the home like your dirty socks and sweaty shoes. Whenever you come back into the home, you find your cat going nuts over your socks. What is it that makes them seem so obsessed with dirty socks?

Why do cats like dirty socks? Cats live in the world of scent and he likes your socks because of the concentrates pheromones in them. Socks have a concentrated scent on them even more than your other clothes. It smells bad to humans, but your cat likes it because he enjoys your scent. Cats communicate with their sense of smell.

If you’d like to see a more in-depth explanation about why your cat likes your dirty socks, keep reading.

Claiming Your Socks, Claiming You

Again, cats communicate through their sense of smell. By rubbing their cheeks up along your socks, it adds their own scent to your scent, which creates a communal smell. You might think of this as a group scent that cats can use to identify each other. Humans don’t have strong enough noses to smell group scents.

Your socks carry a strong odor that smells more like you than anything else in the home. By doing this, you can think of him as saying, “We’re family.”

Beware of changing the socks out and removing them from his reach in his view. Your cat will feel confused and hurt by your actions. Think of it like when you go to shake someone’s hand and they refuse. That would give the same feeling to your cat.

You could a pair of socks out to keep your cat feeling content even when you’re not around.

A clean sock has less appeal to your cat because of how it doesn’t have the same odor. Your cat sees dirty socks as an object of his affection due to the smell. Think of this as a sign of love from your little buddy.

Do They Do This After You Come Indoors?

If your cat appears to go crazy over your socks upon you coming inside, they may do this for a couple of reasons. First, especially if it was hot outside, you sweat in your socks and create a stronger scent. Your cat will love that.

The other reason your cat may do this has to do with his fascination with the scents in the outdoors. Especially if he has never experienced the outdoors, he will smell a host of odors outside that he has never experienced before, which intrigues him.

The final possibility comes from your cat restaking his claim on you as you come back from outside. He wants to create the communal scent with you. Especially if you played with another cat in the outdoors, they want to make it clear to other cats that you belong to them. Cats behave territorially, and they often will only tolerate each other.

Pheromones and Cats: They Love It

Cats identify their owners more through their scent than even through sight. How interesting is that? Pheromones release through the sweat on one’s body. Since humans have a high concentration of sweat on their feet, they also have a high concentration of pheromones on their feet. This passes along into your dirty socks and makes the cat go wild for it.

When your cat smells your scent, he will feel comforted and safe. Leaving a pair of dirty socks for him can become a source of comfort. Shoes operate in the same way to attract cats in that they contain the pheromones to bring the cat closer to you.

Along with your dirty socks, cats also feel attracted to your dirty underwear. As gross as it may seem, you can learn more about the reasons for it here.

Sense of Smell and the Vomeronasal Organ

You may not realize it, but cats have an extra organ that helps them smell more. This extra olfactory organ has the name vomeronasal organ. It sits at the roof of their mouth. Whenever your cat uses this organ, you can usually tell because of how he wrinkles his nose, opens his mouth wide or he sticks his tongue out.

Some of the other creatures known to have it include:

• Big cats
• Lizards
• Snakes
• Horses
• Dogs

Many times, cats will use it whenever they smell something that they haven’t smelled before. Have you ever seen your cat do this with your dirty socks? It may be that you picked up extra odors on it that your cat finds interesting.

Doing This Makes Him Feel Confident and Secure

Cats mark their territory around the house to feel more confident about themselves. If you’re lucky, they simply grab a pair of your dirty socks and rub themselves up against it. If you’re unlucky, they will pee at every window, every nook and cranny to show themselves as the dominant cat.

Marking your territory through scent is a feline behavior that you will never stop your cat from doing. Instead, I would recommend learning how to channel it harmlessly. If he can’t do it harmlessly, he will do it by urinating. They live in the world of scent. My gray little weird one marks his scent through licking things like windows—that’s better than urination, so I’ll take it!

Scent markers, especially outside, will serve as a form of navigation.

Cats and Dirty Socks: Try This Fun Experiment

The next time your cat rubs himself up against your dirty socks, grab a clean pair and put it alongside him. Does he seem as interested in the clean pair of socks? Many people report that the cat will be more interested in the dirty pair.

However, I have a cat that likes the smell of clean laundry, and he often propels himself toward that as well. It depends on the cat.

Understanding Cats and Their Love of the Dirty!

Cats love dirty things because of the odor that comes from them. If your cat appears attracted to your dirty socks, it most likely has to do with the strong scent coming from it. He loves the smell because he can smell you in it. Contrary to popular belief, cats aren’t quite as aloof as they appear. In fact, they dislike being left alone for longer than three or four days.

After bringing home a cat, you want him to feel as happy in the home as possible. You may have heard the cat’s ancestors once inhabited the deserts of northern Africa and think that he can handle high temperatures. However, you don’t want it too hot for him either.

What temperature is too hot for cats? Cats have higher body temperatures, so they can handle temperatures in the 90-degree Fahrenheit range without a problem. Keep in mind, how well they handle the temperature will depend on age, fur type, health and humidity. What feels comfortable to humans won’t feel too far off the mark for cats.

If you’d like to learn more about what temperature is too hot to keep your cat safe, keep reading as we further elaborate on the subject.

Watch Your Cat on Hot Days

For extra safety, keep a close eye on your cat on hot days. Because cats used to dwell in the deserts, they can handle hotter weather. Still, you anything over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and you may want to monitor your cat.

I’ve seen my gray cat bask in the sun’s rays even 90-degree weather, which blows my mind.

When you watch your cat, you will want to know the signs of heatstroke to keep him safe.

Several of the signs of heatstroke in a cat include:

• Panting
• Bright red gums
• Pale gums
• Increased heart rate
• Breathing distress
• Restlessness
• Drooling
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Once you stabilize your cat’s temperature, he requires no further treatment. With that said, don’t be surprised if it takes from two to three days before going back to normal. It may take several days before signs of organ damage develop. If he continues to act strangely after two to three days following a heatstroke, take him in to see a veterinarian. The sooner, the better.

Is 80 Degrees Too Hot for a Cat?

In fact, 80-degree weather would be the perfect temperature for a cat because of how they like it hot but not too hot. Like humans, we want to feel a comfortable temperature. Rarely will 80-degree Fahrenheit weather pose a risk to your cat.

The one exception to this rule is obese cats, heavy fur cats and elderly cats over the age of 11. Still, 80 degrees wouldn’t pose a problem to most cats like how it wouldn’t to most humans, cats even less so because of their desert ancestors.

If you’d like to learn more about cats in the desert, check out this video on the desert sand cat of Saudi Arabia:

As a family member of the cat family, it gives you an idea as to the temperature extremes that cats can endure.

With that said, cats can handle the heat better than the cold, but as our pets, we want to ensure their survival. In the wilderness, this safety net doesn’t exist, which forces them to push themselves as far as they can. I wouldn’t advise that for a house cat unaccustomed to such things. Also, house cats are slightly different from sand cats.

If you’d like to learn more about whether cats prefer the heat or the cold, I wrote an article about that here.

Is 90 Degrees Too Hot for a Cat?

Generally speaking, I would say that the lower 90 degrees Fahrenheit wouldn’t pose a problem, provided there’s no humidity.

With that said, you want to start watching your cat once the temperatures climb into the 90-degree Fahrenheit range because of how it can start to cause issues for cats with underlying health problems.

Many humans start to feel uncomfortable in the upper 80s, and cats are similar. They may handle a little more heat than humans with grace, but you don’t want it too hot for your cat either. I would recommend keeping your cat indoors for days that go over 95 degrees Fahrenheit to keep him safe. It may not be a problem, but most people want to protect their cats.

Interesting Trick Cats Use to Stay Cool

Cats have a little trick to stay cool that some humans may not realize. When a cat feels too hot, he will often roll in the shady part of the dirt to cool off. Many times, you will often see them laying on cool dirt on hot days. They seek cool surfaces to lie in, which includes tile or stone.

If you found that interesting, then you may want to check out some of the other reasons that your cat rolls in dirt. I wrote about that here, and you have some other fascinating reasons for this feline behavior. Check it out!

How to Keep Your Cat Comfortable on Hot Days

On the truly hot days, where the temperature rises to over 90 degrees, I would recommend bringing your cat indoors to prevent heatstroke. Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather outside. However, you have several things that you can do to keep the temperatures stable.

For example, you might put a cat fountain out like the Cat Water Fountain Stainless Steel Drinking Fountain. The advantage of a drinking fountain comes from the fact that your cat can take advantage of moving water. Cats prefer this because of how this water has less likeliness to have dangerous bacteria in it.

Cats often get their water from their prey, so they don’t drink water that much, but you can take advantage of this by providing them with wet cat food. On too hot of a day, they may drink more water than usual.

What Temperature is Best for Your Cat?

The perfect temperatures depend on each individual cat’s comfort level. I have known cats that would seek the hot garage in 85-degree Fahrenheit weather. At the same time, I’ve seen cats that prefer colder than that because of thick fur. The best temperature hovers around the same that humans prefer. Anywhere from 72 to 82 degrees would be fine.

Even in air conditioning of 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, your cat will do fine as long as you provide him with warm spaces for when he feels cold. The only exceptions would be the breeds that don’t have fur or little fur.

Another thing that you can do is pay attention to his favorite hangouts and add extra shade to the location to keep it cooler.

Keep him in an area where air conditioning or ventilation will cool him off when needed. Like humans, the cat will naturally seek this out if he feels too hot.

Expert Tip: If you suspect that your cat has suffered a heatstroke, I would recommend taking him in to see a veterinarian as soon as possible. The sooner you respond to a heatstroke, the better. This prevents long-term bodily damage. Stabilizing his temperature as quickly as possible is also a must for survival.

What to Know About Keeping Your Cat Cool with a Fan

I’d like to highlight this especially for cases where you believe that your cat might be in the grips of a heatstroke. Don’t put him in front of a fan to cool off. Running the fan without the AC won’t do much for your cat because their body differs from humans.

Fans work on humans because it evaporates the sweat off our skin. Instead of sweating on the skin, cats sweat primarily at their paws. Because of this, fans won’t work on them in the same way that it does for humans. If you tried to put your cat in front of a fan to cool him off, it may not have a strong enough effect to make a difference.

How Do Cats Keep Cool in Hot Temperatures?

Heatstroke in cats remains relatively rare in comparison to dogs, but it still happens. Many cats know how to keep cool and because they have a higher body temperature, it doesn’t pose as much problem. We already spoke about how they roll in the dirt and use the dirt to keep cool on hot days, but they do other things as well.

One example of their method being to cool themselves off through grooming themselves. Because cats sweat differently from humans, they use grooming as a way of cooling off on too hot of a day. It works in the same way that human sweat cools us off.

You may also notice how your cat drinks more water during this time, and he may disappear for a period. In temperatures that rise into the upper 90s and above, your cat may take longer naps and exhibit less activity. This inactivity keeps their body temperature lower, and they often sleep in shady locations away from the sunlight.

Should You Shave Your Cat?

In the hotter temperatures, you may think to shave your cat to keep him cooler. His fur, however, has insulating properties that lets him maintain body temperature even in warm weather. Because of that, I wouldn’t recommend that anyone shaves their cat. Not only do they look pitiful, but it doesn’t have the impact you hope for.

What to Do Instead: Instead of shaving your cat, you may want to brush his fur coat frequently. This removes the excess undercoat that contributes to overheating on hot days.

How Do You Know if Your Cat is Too Warm?

To know if your cat feels too warm, stay observant especially on days where the temperature rises above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If he begins to display signs that he may be overheating, you may want to take him someplace cooler like indoors with air conditioning.

If you take his body temperature to monitor it, keep in mind that cats keep a normal body temperature of between 100.4 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than humans. Anything over that, however, and your cat either has a fever or he may be overheating. You want to get him someplace to control his temperature better to avoid heatstroke.

You want your cat to feel cozy in the home, but you may not know when he feels cold. Especially during the colder months, you worry that he might get too cold. Luckily, cats can handle temperatures as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit for a short time and would do fine with a warm spot in the home in most cases.

How do I know if my cat is cold? To tell if your cat feels cold, feel the tips of his ears, tail and nose. If any of those body parts feel cold, your cat is cold. Your cat will also give you signs of being cold like shivering, seeking warmer spaces and crouching down to take up as little space as possible.

If you want to learn more about this topic and explore how to handle it, keep reading because we will give you further information.

Why the Tips of the Body are a Sign of Your Cat Being Cold?

Lower blood circulation causes these peripheral body parts to feel colder than the rest of the body prematurely. Their body may feel slightly colder in this region already, but if you see a huge difference, you know that your cat feels cold.

The tail, the ears and the nose all show you signs. I’d say that the easiest one to check would be the tail or the ears. The tail is easiest because my cat will twitch his ears when you feel them.

Warning: Don’t Use This to Check if Your Cat is Cold

I have seen misguided cat owners use the fur of their cat to see if their pet feels cold. I wouldn’t recommend this. The reason behind it being that the fur gives you a poor indicator of if your cat feels cold.

The fur differs from the cat’s skin, and your cat may go well into hypothermia before you realize that you need to raise the thermostat.

Check out this video to learn more about the signs your cat may display when he has hypothermia:

What Would Be the Ideal Temperature for Your Cat?

Cats don’t differ all that much from humans. What feels comfortable to us will feel comfortable to them. Now, cats do have a slightly higher body temperature than humans, but they feel comfortable mostly in what we feel comfortable in. If you feel cold, then your cat feels cold.

If you’d like to learn if cats prefer the heat or the cold, I wrote about that here.

The ideal temperature for a cat would be around 72 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Expert Kitten Tip: Keep in mind, kittens may need warmer temperatures of between 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Kittens need warmer temperatures because of how their smaller body doesn’t hold the heat in as well as a larger cat.

Looking at the Symptoms That Your Cat Feels Cold

If your cat shows any of the following signs, he may need warmer temperatures:

• Shivering
• Looks for warm place
• Keeps body crouched
• Fur stands up
• Lethargic
• Breathing rate slows

You must pay attention to the signs because of how hypothermia can kill your cat fast once it sets in. Cats that do any of the things listed above show that they need warmer temperatures. Especially if you feel it as slightly cold yourself, your cat likely feels even colder.

Unfortunately, your cat can’t tell you that he feels cold. You need to pay attention to the signs, or he could freeze to death.

Dangerous Temperatures to Cats

Anything consistently under 45 degrees Fahrenheit can pose a danger to your cat because of how this desert creature isn’t used to the cold temperatures.

Now, I’m from Minnesota, and I’ve seen farm cats endure very cold temperatures before, but cats also know how to seek warm spaces. That doesn’t always mean that they will be safe, however. Too cold temperatures aren’t safe for your cat.

How Cold is Too Cold for Cats Inside?

Like humans, every cat will differ on what feels comfortable to them. Cats have a normal body temperature of between 100.4 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. I would say that anything between 72 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit will feel comfortable to your cat.

Be aware of the cat breed as well because cats with a thinner fur may prove more susceptible to cold indoor temperatures. Long haired and fat cats can often handle colder temperatures than a thin furred cat like the Sphynx. In fact, if you like the home colder, I wouldn’t advise getting one of these cats because it would be cruel to them.

What if I Like It Cold Inside the Home?

I know many people who like to have the temperature lower in the home. In most cases, your cat won’t feel too bad about colder temperatures. Just pay attention every once in a while to see that he doesn’t feel cold.

The biggest thing that you can do for cases like this is to find spots where your cat can warm up. For example, my sister has a cat that likes to warm herself on the TV cable box.

You could keep an area of the home filled with blankets and warmer things for the cat. A soft and warm cat bed is another way to keep your cat comfortable. The BODISEINT Modern Soft Plush Round Pet Bed for Cats gives you one example of a bed that would feel comfortable to cats in the cold weather.

You could also try the Best Friends by Sheri OrthoComfort Deep Dish Cuddler. The advantage of this one is that it is a self warming bed, which goes well in the winter months for the colder states.

Heated Cat Beds: What to Know About Keeping Your Cat Warm

Before you buy a heated cat bed, beware of what you buy. Cats have thin skin, and they can burn easily. Several types of heated cat beds exist on the market like:

• Enclosed
• Semi-enclosed
• Donut shaped
• Old-fashioned heating pads

Cats, being an animal of prey as well as a predator, often feel most comfortable with their backs leaning up against a barrier. Pay attention to the personality of your cat. You don’t want to buy a self-warming bed only to have it sit in the corner vacant.

The safest heated beds for your cat are the non-electric beds. Instead of using electric, they will reflect the cat’s body heat to make the bed feel warmer.

You may want to elevate the bed since heat rises, and he will feel more comfortable at a higher elevation.

Try Feeding Your Cat Extra Calories

Especially during the colder months, your cat may benefit from extra food in his dish. Animal behaviorists believe that creatures in cold weather burn through more calories. The other advantage of feeding your cat more is that he puts on weight so that he feels more comfortable in colder weather. However, you still don’t want it too cold because your cat can get sick.

Should You Put Clothes on Your Cat to Keep Him Warm

You have an ongoing debate with people who believe there’s no harm in cats wearing clothes and some who believe that it is bad. I wouldn’t dress your cat up to keep him warm because most cats don’t like this. While it may keep them warm, they panic with clothes on them.

They don’t understand clothes in the same way that humans do, making it cruel. Many cat owners do put clothes on their pets, but I wouldn’t do it. The only exception would be if you have a Sphynx cat, and you like it cold. Even then, however, I still find it cruel, and I wouldn’t advise it. Better to simply get rid of the Sphynx cat.

The Cat is Cold When He Always Wants to Cuddle

Does your cat always seem cuddly? While it might seem like a part of his personality, it may also be that your cat feels cold. Chilly cats often huddle together as a way to keep warm. Cats who seem permanently fixed in your lap may mean that they feel cold, rather than have a cuddly nature.

Is Your Cat Older? He Might Get Cold Easier…

Cats over the age of 11 may have a special susceptibility to the cold temperatures. Their body fails to function as well as the younger cats, and the cold temperatures may give them stiff joints. Having a warm bed is especially important for older cats because it can relieve the joint stiffness and pain.

If You’re Cold, Your Cat is Cold

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out if your cat is cold. Unless you’re the type who doesn’t get cold easily, you can use yourself as an indicator. Otherwise, pick out someone who gets cold easily, and use them as an indicator for your cat.

If they feel cold, you can bet that your cat feels cold. Now a little cold may not be a bad thing, but you don’t want them to feel perpetually shivering in your home. Your want your cat to feel comfortable.

Don’t Overthink It

Think of your friend who chills easily. Cats are basically that friend. They chill easier than others and need a slightly higher temperature to feel comfy. That said, even temperatures between 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit won’t harm your cat.

Cats have learned how to adjust to cooler temperatures. You can tell if your cat feels cold based on some of the things that we listed above.

You want your cat to feel comfortable in the home, but you don’t know if he likes hot or cold. Generally speaking, cats prefer the same temperature that humans do, but they do have a slight variation to it that you may want to be aware of. 

Do cats like the cold or heat? Cats, once desert animals in northern Africa, usually prefer the heat to the cold due to their genetics. This is one of the reasons that you often see them sunbathing even on hot days. With that said, they still seek shadier and cooler spots on days that reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Keep reading because we will look at the ideal temperature for your cat and what you can do to make your cat feel comfortable no matter what the temperature.

What Temperatures Do Cats Feel Most Comfortable In?

Cats feel the most comfortable in temperatures between 72 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Your cat has a consistent body temperature from 100.4 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything over 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit shows that your cat displays signs of a fever. Keeping the temperatures between 72 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that your cat feels comfortable.

Expert Tip: Your cat and what temperature he feels most comfortable will depend on his personality. I have had longhaired cats that had no problem with my air-conditioned home. At the same time, I had another cat that would often seek the garage all summer long even during the peak heat season in July. Like humans, what feels comfortable may somewhat depend on the personality of the cat.

Because of the higher body temperature, cats can appreciate the heat even a little more than humans. I’ve often looked at my cat on a hot day to see him bathing in the sun and enjoying himself. At the same time, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the sun’s rays.

Generally, cats will do fine even at lower temperatures for short periods, but you wouldn’t want them out in the cold for too long because it can potentially harm them. However, I’ve known plenty of outdoor cats even during the colder months of the winter that did okay. Oftentimes, the cat will seek a warmer shelter like under the home or in a barn.

The breed of the cat plays a role as well. For example, the Norwegian Forest Cat can handle cold temperatures better than some of the other breeds like the Sphinx and Siamese cats. 

How to Tell if Your Cat Feels Cold?

Want to know of a cool way to tell if your cat feels cold? Feel the tips of his ears and if his ears feel cold, it means that your cat feels cold. You may either want to raise the temperature, or you may want to give him a blanket. 

Some people feel the fur, but it can prove more difficult to tell if your cat feels cold in comparison to the ears. You can also look for other signs like your cat gravitating toward warmer locations like the radiator or a cable box. You will also notice how they often gravitate toward the warmest room in the home especially during the winter months. 

Anything consistently under 45 degrees Fahrenheit may prove too cold for your cat, and you will want to move them indoors if possible. Temperatures between 50 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit would be fine in most cases, but you wouldn’t think of it as ideal. 

If you feel uncomfortable because of the cold, you can bet that your cat will feel uncomfortable too because of his higher body temperature. 

Your cat may compress or huddle his body to take up as little space as possible when cold. You may see him shiver in cold temperatures. When feeling warm and comfortable, he will usually have his body sprawled out. 

Do Kittens Prefer Warmth or Cold?

Kittens will especially need warmer temperatures, and in fact, they need a higher temperature than adults. Even in normal temperature settings, your kitten may suffer hypothermia because he can’t retain his body heat as well as an adult cat. Especially beware of kittens under the eight-week mark because of their inability to regulate their body temperature. 

You can help a kitten to regulate their body temperature with warm blankets. If possible, try to keep it even warmer than what you might like. For example, kittens prefer temperatures between 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for those eight weeks and under. Smaller animals have a harder time retaining body heat.

Expert Tip: While kittens may dislike too cold of temperatures, you should take caution with too hot of temperatures as well. Anything over 97 degrees Fahrenheit would be too hot for your kitten. Think of it this way—choose a room temperature warm for you but still bearable. 

Kittens will do fine in an air-conditioned room as long as you provide a blanket or somewhere warm that they might nest in. 

Factors That Can Impact Temperature for Your Cat

Some of the factors that can have a negative impact on the temperature of your cat include:

• Type of coat
• Thickness of coat
• Weight 
• Medical conditions
• Age

To find the perfect temperature, you must consider the type of cat and what they seem to prefer. Underweight cats and those suffering from a medical condition may have a special vulnerability to the cold that you want to factor in. 

Beware of hairless breeds because the lack of fur will make them more susceptible to cold temperatures. Don’t buy a Sphynx cat if you keep the air conditioning up too high. The match would be terrible unless you are willing to keep the air conditioning minimal in the home. You could also lay out a wardrobe of sweaters, but in general, we would find it better to get a longhair breed for those who like air conditioning. 

Beware of Dampness in the Home

Most cats hate water—my gray furball being no exception. Why do they hate water, however? Wet fur takes a long time to dry, and it feels uncomfortable. Especially after being exposed to the cold, it can put them at risk of being sick. Many reasons exist for why cats hate water, but going back to the cold temperatures, you must keep your kitten warm if you decide to give them a bath. 

I kept mine wrapped in a towel until he dried off completely.

I wouldn’t recommend giving them a bath in most cases because cats prefer to groom themselves. The act of grooming doesn’t pose as much risk to their body temperature. Exposure to cold air and wet fur often leads to hypothermia.

Dampness in the home poses another danger—respiratory problems. Mold and allergens can trigger allergies in cats susceptible to this danger. 

Hypothermia in Cats

Not treated quickly enough, the consequences may prove tragic. Veterinarians define hypothermia in cats as anything below 100 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to act fast if you believe your cat is in the grips of hypothermia. 

Some of the signs that your cat has hypothermia include:

• Violent shivering
• Ears, paws and tail noticeably colder
• Lethargic
• Breathing rate slows

If you see your cat experiencing these symptoms, move him to a warmer area immediately. You might wrap him in a towel or blanket to keep his body temperature regulated. Warm water bottles can help with warming him up, but make sure that it isn’t too warm. Don’t use electric heating pads since it can burn your cat even on the lowest temperature setting.

What if Your Cat is Too Hot?

Hot temperatures usually prove less problematic than cold temperatures. Still, anything over 97 degrees Fahrenheit may be too much heat for your cat. Cats do better in the heat than dogs, but you may want to take them indoors for temperatures over that amount. 

Signs that your cat may be experiencing heat exhaustion include:

• Panting
• Lethargy
• Restlessness
• Vocalizing
• Grayish or dark red gums
• Rapid heartbeat
• Increased body temperatures

If your cat displays any of those signs, it may need immediate care. A cat that feels too hot will do their best to seek out shady locations or cool spots. Reduce the cat’s stress as well to bring him under control because stress can bring on heat exhaustion. 

You can learn more about your cat being too hot and what to do about it here: 

Some cat breeds may have greater vulnerability to overheating. Himalayans and Persian cats have a much higher risk because of the extra hair. Not only will they experience susceptibility to heat, but they may experience vulnerability to humidity because of how they can’t regulate their body temperatures. 

In some cases, your cat may roll in the dirt as a way of cooling off from the heat of the sun—dust bathing—common in many animals. I wrote about that and some of the many reasons that they do that here.

Cats Prefer the Heat

Because of their genetics that go back to the northern deserts of Africa, cats prefer the heat. Still, anything over 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and you may want to keep your cat indoors to avoid heat exhaustion. Cats have a higher temperature than humans, but like most animals, you don’t want anything too hot because of how it can be dangerous to most animals.

You love your kitten, but he has taken on an undesirable habit where he climbs up your legs using his claws. Your pain does little to stop him from doing this behavior. In some cases, you must endure this behavior until the kitten grows older and grows out of it. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons that kittens do this.

Attention-Seeking Behavior

Your cat may climb up your legs to seek attention. A lot of cat owners report this happening while they cook a meal or go to feed their kitten. He wants your attention for food. Especially if the kitten discovers how certain actions bring him what he wants, he will continue doing it.

If you know what the kitten wants, avoid rewarding him for climbing your legs. In the case of attention-seeking, ignore him altogether.

Learn how to identify attention-seeking behaviors and weed them out of the kitten. Beware of how some behavior may relate to a medical condition that your kitten has. You may want to consult a veterinarian in some cases.

Keep His Claws Trimmed

Kittens who climb your leg may take time before they learn not to do this behavior. As such, you will need to exercise patience and wait him out. In the meantime, keep his claws trimmed to ensure that it doesn’t feel as painful when he climbs your leg.

Nail trimming is an effective solution much better than de-clawing a cat, which is a cruel practice that should be banned everywhere. Cats need their claws to defend themselves, and they also use the scent glands between their paws to add scent to the things they scratch.

Without their claws, it can lead to tissue necrosis or lameness. Never de-claw a cat. Ethical vets won’t even consider this practice.

On average, you will want to trim your kitten’s nails every 10 days to two weeks. This differs from declawing. Afterward, you will give your kitten a special treat to have it associate this activity with more enjoyment.

Use Pet-Friendly Alternatives

Cats have an instinct where they want to climb things. That often leads to them climbing your legs when they see no alternatives. You might add climbing or scratching posts to your home and give him areas where he can climb. Try this 53-inch multi-level cat tree. It includes a scratching post as well so that kitty learns early on to scratch on appropriate surfaces.

Teach your kitten the most appropriate things to play with at this age, and it will last a lifetime.

You want him to associate fun with things that won’t hurt you. Distract your kitten away from negative behaviors that will have no benefit. You either want to distract or redirect his behavior.

Look for Leg-Climbing Triggers

You want to better understand the moments where he will attempt to climb your leg. For example, does he do this while you cook in the kitchen? In that case, he may want food. You can distract him away from that behavior by feeding him before you start cooking.

In other cases, your kitten will climb your leg because of how he wants your attention.

Beware of this trigger because of how if your kitten learns that climbing your leg gets your attention, he will do it more frequently. Instead, you want to do your best to ignore it.

Other signs that your cat wants your attention include biting you unprovoked, knocking objects off shelves, jumping up to your level and meowing loudly.

Expert Tip: While it may be hard, especially when he’s putting his claws into your skin, you want to do your best to ignore him so that he doesn’t continue with the behavior.

Shake a Penny Can as the Kitten Runs up Your Leg

First, you must understand when the trigger happens. Once you know when it will happen, keep a penny can on hand and wait for him to try climbing your legs. Once he starts to sink his claws in, shake the penny can.

You will want to pick up the kitten and pet him afterward so that he isn’t afraid of your legs.

However, this can stop him from continuing with the behavior. Some people have also applied a bitter apple chewing deterrent to stop the kitten from climbing the legs.

Leg Climbing: An Unwanted Kitten Phase

Keep in mind, the leg climbing may only prove an unwanted phase that they will grow out of. Especially if you teach them not to do this, they will stop doing it eventually. You could make a yelp to indicate how it hurts when they do that.

Kittens who do leg climbing probably don’t realize how it hurts you. Especially given their penchant for climbing at that age, they will climb anything that they see as possible to climb. They haven’t learned how climbing your leg hurts you. However, most cats will learn this with time.

Cats go through many phases in growth from behavior to size. The timeline of kitten phases include:

• Week 1 to 3 — Kitten opens his eyes
• Week 3 to 5 — Walking and using the litterbox
• Week 6 to 8 — Socializing and first vaccines
• Week 9 to 12 — Weaning and cat skills
• 3 to 6 months — Ready for adoption or neutering
• One year — No longer a kitten

This timeline shows you a general growth period of what to expect with your kitten. Especially during the walking and socializing stage, your kitten will be prone to climbing up your leg.

However, they usually grow out of this on their own, especially if you redirect them to other habits. Around the six-month period, you can usually expect them to grow out of it, depending on the cat, and many grow out of it after two months. Most people who go through this don’t even realize how common it is among kittens.

Wear Thicker Jeans

Many cat owners say that wearing thick jeans will help you through this stage. Most report it as less painful as long as you wear the right clothing. Thin pants are usually the worst. Wearing thick pants will help, and you can take other active measures to keep the kitten from climbing your pants.

Thicker jeans can also help for the stage where your cat takes to attacking your feet and legs. Unfortunately, this is another painful stage that your kitten may pass through at some point.

Never Play with the Kitten with Your Hands

You don’t want to play with a kitten using your hands because it teaches him how it doesn’t hurt your skin. This will worsen him climbing your legs because he won’t see it as painful.

Use a toy wand or something that will get him to jump around and play. The issue of playing with a cat with bare skin is that they won’t recognize how this hurts later. That will cause them to do more things like that, and you want to lessen it rather than make it more common.

How do you stop a kitten from climbing on you? Most cat owners report redirecting the kitten’s behavior as most effective in stopping them from climbing. Climbing on people is common behavior for kittens, and luckily, they usually grow out of it after two months.

Why does my kitten try to climb me? Your kitten may try to climb you because of how it wants attention. This undesirable behavior is luckily a phase that your kitten will grow out of in time. Gently lift the kitten away from your legs as it attempts to climb. Doing this enough times communicates a message.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article highlights some of the reasons why your kitten may climb your legs. Be careful not to show affection or give him too much attention after he climbs your legs, or you may be inadvertently encouraging him to climb your legs.

Cat behavior is a fascinating subject full of strange habits. We may not understand why our cats do the things that they do. If you’d like to learn more about cat behavior, check out an article that I wrote here about “Cats Licking Windows: The Psychology behind It.“

While typing away at the computer, I remember looking over at my cat by the windowsill to find him licking the window. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing, and after a while of watching him, I decided to ask the veterinarian if he was okay. Here’s what I learned…

Why do cats lick windows? Your cat may lick windows to drink the condensation off the glass. Even if you give him plenty of water, your cat may like the water on the window better because of how it tastes fresher than the water stagnating in a bowl and the glass feels cool to his tongue.

If you’d like to learn more about this phenomenon behind cats licking windows, we invite you to keep reading because we will cover some of the other reasons that your cat may be doing this.

Understanding Cats and Water: The Reason behind the Window Licking

Your cat doesn’t drink much water because cats were originally desert creatures and evolved without the need for much water. In fact, your cat only requires 3.5 to 4.5 oz of water per 5 pounds of body weight.

Most of the moisture that a cat receives comes from its prey with high water content. That’s one of the reasons that you can give your feline wet cat food, and it will give him most of his daily requirements in water. If you’re interested in wet cat food, try Friskies Oceans of Delight. It mimics their natural environment better so that kitty feels more at home.

Even licking a window for condensation will give him some of the water requirements that he needs. To be clear, cats still need water, but they have a low thirst drive in comparison to other animals.

Why Would a Cat Drink Water off the Window Rather Than in a Bowl?

Out in nature, stagnating water goes against your cat’s wild instincts to drink it. Stagnant water hides parasites like Giardia, a single-celled protozoal organism. Worse, Giardia is a zoonotic disease, which can spread to cats and humans who get it from their cats.

The symptoms of Giardia include severe diarrhea and stomach cramps. Symptoms of Giardia can persist for weeks.

Due to these dangers, cats often seek water from other sources first before they drink from the stagnant water bowl. If you want to know of a healthier way to give your cat water, you might check out the Catit Senses 2.0 Flower Fountain. It offers running water. Cats find running water irresistible because of how this water has a lower risk of parasites, and it tastes fresher.

Your cat may lick the condensation off the window as a resemblance to in nature where they might take the water from the morning dew. Cats will often use different drinking sources in the home, and they prefer water away from the food bowl. This may be because of how cats smell the food next to it and see it as contaminated.

Licking the window is a fresh source of water unlike that in a water bowl.

Licking the Window for the Cold and Texture

Cats have been known to do this with other surfaces to lay on, such as on sand. I wrote about that here if interested in learning more about that. Your cat may like the feel of the cold window and the smooth texture of it on his tongue.

Some textures like sticky surfaces, heavy plastic and aluminum foil are all surfaces that most cats don’t like. Your cat has sharp senses, and he may increasingly feel the texture even better than what humans might.

Cats don’t understand glass or the texture, which may fascinate them and cause them to lick it. In addition, if you have ever felt the tongue of a cat, you understand how it differs from human tongues. They may experience the texture of the glass in a way completely different from how we would experience it.

Perceiving Something on the Window?

Cats and humans have the same number of cones in their eyes at three cones, but humans can see a broader spectrum of color than cats. The number and distribution of each cone vary. With that in mind, your cat may lick the window because he perceives something that isn’t there due to the light passing through it.

Most cat experts have observed that cats appear to be nearsighted, which means they can’t see objects from afar. They can’t focus on anything less than one foot ahead of them, but their whisker may help them to feel the glass of the window even if they can’t see it clearly.

Licking the Window to Chase Bugs

Bugs often go toward the natural light on a window because they perceive it as a way to get out. Cats will go after the bugs on the window because they see it as a hunting opportunity, and cats love to hunt. In terms of food value, bugs don’t present much value to cats, but their natural instincts tell them to hunt.

During the hunt, your cat may discover the interesting texture of the window and decide to lick it in response. If he likes it, he may continue licking it.

Will Licking Windows Harm My Cat?

You shouldn’t worry too much about your cat and this behavior because it shouldn’t cause too much trouble. This depends on the window cleaning methods, however, and you will want to abstain from using dangerous chemicals on your windows.

Expert Tip: Beware particularly of commercial window cleaners because products like Windex will contain solvents and ammonia. A small ingestion of it can cause throat, mouth and stomach irritation. It could also cause vomiting.

If you find that he licks the windows a lot, you can switch to something like a vinegar or water mix. Many people report good results with it. An older home may pose an additional danger because of how it may have lead paint. Many houses before the 1980s used lead paint.

Cat Licking Windows: Symptoms of a Bored Cat

Anyone who has been around cats for any length of time understands how cats don’t need much reason for the things they do. Licking the window may simply show you the latest in your cat’s experiments around the home.

They may also lick for fun because they enjoyed the attention given to them from it. To give you other examples of what cats might do when bored, it includes:

• Chewing on socks
• Knocking things off shelves
• Repetitive behaviors
• Overgrooming
• Overly aggressive with other animals

How to Stop a Cat from Licking Windows

Considering how this behavior won’t harm your cat, it may be better to ignore it. Training cats isn’t the same as training dogs. As long as you teach them simple things such as using the litterbox, you won’t have much for problems. However, the second you try harder things, you may find that you have an uphill battle ahead of you.

If you wanted to get your cat to stop licking windows, you might find that you will have more success if you redirect his energy toward another endeavor. You replace the behavior with something else while encouraging better habits.

Also, understanding the reason for him licking the window can help you to stop the behavior. For example, if he licks it for the condensation on the window, a common reason for many cats, you might provide him with extra water sources. Many cats like to drink from multiple water sources.

You might put a water bowl next to the main window that he licks. Along with that, you can close the blinds or pull the curtains to keep him from licking the windows.

Disorder Causing Your Cat to Lick Windows?

In some cases, your cat may lick the window because of a disorder known as pica. This behavioral urge compels cats to try to eat inedible things. Dogs can also have this disorder. I once knew a dog that would eat pop cans all day long. If you didn’t give him pop cans, he would start nibbling on you.

Mild cases of pica may mean that the cat sucks or licks inedible objects. You may see him do this with objects attached to the window. In severe cases of pica, the cat will consume the object.

Some of the other symptoms of pica besides window licking include:

• Listlessness
• Vomiting
• Drooling
• Diarrhea
• Oral ulcers and redness
• Constipation

You may want to treat your cat by taking him to the vet because severe cases of pica can kill.

In most cases, you don’t need to worry about your cat licking the window, but this shows you the one example of when it may be more serious.

Here’s a video demonstration of what pica in cats will look like from Jackson Galaxy (the stars from one of my favorite shows of all time):

Possible Smell on the Window?

In some cases, your cat may like the smell on the window. This could come from what you used to clean it previously. To give an example, cats feel naturally attracted to bleach. Cats have a highly developed sense of smell, and some cat experts believe that bleach and chlorine mimic the smell of pheromones in cats. This triggers a hormonal reaction in cats.

While most people clean the windows by diluting the bleach, you may want to switch to a cat friendlier cleaning solution if he’s licking the windows. If this was the case, you will want to encourage your cat to drink water as a way of diluting it.

Plastic Windows: Secret Reasons

Your cat may lick the windows because of a beef tallow-based lubricant. Many cat experts believe that the cat’s strong sense of smell makes it possible for them to detect a faint fatty smell on the window, and they may lick it for that reason. They could be licking the window because of this.

Plastics, in fact, in general, may be a cat favorite because of the many foods found on them. For example, plastic shower curtains may contain cornstarch. You may think that cats wouldn’t like cornstarch, but many cat foods like Fancy Feast and Meow Mix.

Expert Tip: The canned cat foods don’t contain cornstarch, which some pet owners may like. The reported digestibility of starch is between 40 to 100 percent, but it can prove problematic for cats with a corn allergy.

Another reason that your cat may lick a plastic window is the same reason that they love bleach. Plastics contain chemicals that may mimic the pheromones that cats experience. While one cat may have no reaction, another’s response is to lick the plastic.

Will His Tongue Get Stuck to the Window?

Especially in the winter season, you may have experienced getting your tongue stuck to the pole as a kid. Will that prove a danger with your cat licking the window?

Overall, you shouldn’t worry too much because the inside of the home isn’t the same as the outside. This happens because the saliva sticks to the frozen surface and freezes as well. However, it happens more commonly on metal than glass. While windows do have some metal on them, cats most commonly lick the glass, rather than the metal.

If you live in a climate with cold temperatures, you may still want to consider taking precautions.

Cats Licking the Window Blinds

Along with licking the windows, cats will sometimes lick window blinds as well. The licking can calm them down because the licking process feels relaxing. Your cat may also lick windows for the same reason. It calms them down.

Why do cats lick curtains? Cats may lick the curtains for several reasons, but it may have something to do with liking the texture of the fabric. Something in the curtain may have also awakened his feline instinct. Sometimes bugs hide in curtains.

Why do cats like windows so much? While it may seem boring to us, cats may find this activity more interesting because of the many strange things outside. Indoor cats will especially find them interesting for the strange things outside.

Conclusion

Sometimes the reasons why a cat does things can seem mysterious, but they often have fascinating purposes for it. We have to remember how cats think differently from us since we’re not the same animals. Licking the window has reasons that we as humans may not fully understand. On top of that, they may smell things on the window that we can’t. Cats have up to 14 times a stronger nose than what we do.

If you liked this article and would like to check out others, check out an article I wrote here on why cats roll in the dirt.

Your cat runs out of the house and straight to a patch of grass outside for a good long roll. “What on earth,” you laugh to yourself as this peculiar feline continues to roll around in the grass.

Why do cats roll in grass? Cats like to roll around as a way to put their scent on things. He might choose grass because it feels soft and comfortable. You may see that your cat also likes to play on the grass. The soft green blades of grass feel great on the paws.

If you’d like to learn more about why cats roll in the grass, keep reading because we will cover this topic in depth.

Rolling Spreads His Scent

Perhaps the chief reason behind why a cat rolls in the grass is to spread his scent around. Rolling around in the grass and dirt spreads his scent around on the ground. This warns other cats that he owns this territory. Upon journeying far from home, your cat may use the grass as a scent marker to find his way home.

Did you know a cat can smell his own litterbox from 2 miles away? He uses that to navigate.

Cats have 200 million odor sensors in their nose, which gives them 14 times the smell of humans. They can smell many things that we cannot, and they use their nostrils to live in the world of scent.

They Like the Smell of Grass

We don’t want to pass this off as definite truth, but cats love exploring new scents. Speculating from that knowledge, it could be that cats roll in it because they love the smell of grass. The sweet, sharp scent of someone mowing the lawn feels intoxicating to humans. Who knows how cats feel about it.

As we can imagine, cats would smell this on an amplified level from our own. The smell of freshly cut grass is known as green leaf volatiles, which is a mixture of oxygenated hydrocarbons.

In fact, he may like the smell of freshly cut grass so much that he rolls in it to put the smell on him. Cats like the smell of grass so much that outdoor cats often smell like fresh-cut grass because they roll around in it so much.

Playing in the Grass

Be around cats for long enough in the outdoors, and you will see how they love to play in the grass. He may roll in it simply for the fact that he likes it.

If you’re interested in learning why cats roll around in dirt, I wrote another article about that here. You have many of the same reasons for him rolling in dirt as what he would grass. However, grass may feel more comfortable to him. Have you ever sat down on a patch of dirt? Now think about how you sat on a patch of grass and how much more comfortable it felt.

Beware of This When Your Cat Rolls in the Grass…

Cats may roll in the grass, but they’re also known for eating grass when close to it. Some researchers believe that this may expel parasites through the increase of muscle activity within the digestive tract.

Normally, them eating grass wouldn’t pose many problems, but you should beware of pesticides and weed killers used on the lawn. You don’t want your cat eating the blades of grass.

In some cases, your cat may vomit after eating grass. Don’t panic because this is normal. Some even believe that he does this intentionally.

Conclusion

Cats roll in grass largely because it marks their territory. While some may not care for the texture of grass, others will love to roll around on it. Still, others may prefer the warmth of concrete. I wrote about cats rolling on concrete and some of the reasons here.

If you’re interested in why they roll on their back and bite when you touch their belly, check out the article I wrote here. You’ll learn a lot about cat behavior.

You cleaned the litter box earlier to see your cat coming into it. However, he’s not doing his business, he’s rolling in it. In fact, the clean litter box seems to make him more hyper than ever before.

Why does my cat roll in the litter box? Cats live in the world of scent and the strongest location of scent exists right in the litter box. When you go to clean his litter box, this removes some of the scent. For that reason, your cat may be rolling in it to return his scent to the litter.

To learn more on why your cat rolls in the litter box, stay tuned because we will cover this in depth and learn a little about cat psychology.

Building a Scent Masterpiece: The Litter Box

We think the litter box smells bad, but we don’t have even half the smell sensors of cats. Believe it or not, cats can smell their own litter box from a mile away. They may use this as a scent marker to find their way home. Sounds interesting? Keep reading.

Some cat behaviorists such as Jackson Galaxy, the star in My Cat from Hell, says that when a cat poops in the litter box, he marks the location with his scent. Believe it or not, this scent makes the cat feel more confident in himself.

If you have an insecure cat, you might add a couple of extra litter boxes around the home to put his scent around the home. For some people, that may not be an option because they understandably don’t want the poop smell. However, this can go a long way to curing insecure and destructive cat behaviors.

Letting your cat build his scent masterpiece makes him feel like he owns his territory. Many times, people put odor control litter in the litter box, and this takes away part of your cat’s sense of ownership. In fact, it can do a lot of harm to him. Cats live in the world of scent with their 200 million odor sensors.

Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t regularly clean the litter box. However, cleaning it so that it keeps some of his scent can eliminate some undesirable behaviors.

Rolling in a Clean Litter Box

Luckily, your cat does this with a clean litter box. You should never see a cat rolling in a poopy litter box because it could indicate health problems. Cats are clean creatures, and they find many of the same things gross that we humans find gross.

Rolling in clean litter helps your cat to put his scent back into the litter box. Obviously, you need to clean the litter box. or he won’t poop there. Kitty will choose less desirable locations. However, I would advise not using strong household chemicals to clean it. In this way, some of the scent remains in his litterbox, and he won’t feel as strong of an urge to roll in it and put his scent back into it.

The rolling adds his scent to it. Litter is a porous substance, and it holds in the scent better because of this.

What are Scent Markers?

Previously, we mentioned how your cat can find his way home from a mile away using his litter box. It acts as a scent marker. He may roll in it to use it as a scent marker.

In the cat world, scent markers get used in specific locations to communicate with other animals. The least desirable form of scent marking is when a male cat urinates to mark territory. However, this is an insecure form of scent marking.

Another form is simply rolling in the dirt for a scent marker. I wrote about that and some of the reasons they roll in the dirt here.

Cats are territorial creatures, and the box provides him with a sense of comfort. It says to all others that he owns this location. With multiple cats in the home, you will want to give each their own litter box because this prevents problems.

This can stop your cat from rolling in the litter. He’s trying to tell the other cats that he owns this space.

Other Reasons He Rolls in the Litter Box…

Now that I covered the main reason that your cat rolls in the litter box, I would like to cover some of the lesser reasons kitty might be blessing the litter box. In the cat world, you should understand how nothing is random. However, cats often do things for multiple reasons. Let’s cover some of them.

Scratching an Itch

Depending on the type of litter, it may help him scratch an itch. Cats can’t as easily reach certain places to itch themselves. Because of that, they may resort to rolling on uneven surfaces like kitty litter or concrete. I wrote about cats rolling on concrete here.

You can also buy him a scratching post, such as Coching Cat Scratcher Cardboard Cat Scratch Pad. This can help your cat to roll on the cardboard, rather than in the litter box for scratching those difficult to itch locations.

Dust Bathing

Your cat may roll in clean litter because it provides him with a form of dust bathing. It’s similar to the reasons why he might roll in dirt. He can dust bathe in this way. In addition, when he goes to clean his fur, he will consume healthy bacteria that can help him with digestion.

Beware of if your cat begins to eat dirt or litter, however, because this could indicate health problems with his digestion system. He’s trying to put the bacteria back into his gut to aid digestion. You may want to take him to a vet.

Dust bathing in the litter box becomes especially common when cats don’t have access to the outdoors. They can’t roll in the dirt, so they might use the litter as a substitute. When a cat doesn’t have access to this, they will dust bathe wherever they have access to a place for it.

Because Litter Box Rolling is Fun

When my cat does this, I’ve never seen a happier cat. I don’t even want to ruin his moment. He looks like he’s having a heyday. Your cat may be rolling in the litter box because he likes to play in it. That will make it a hard behavior to root out, but changing the characteristics of the litter may help.

How Do You Stop the Cat from Rolling in the Litter Box?

Unless he’s rolling in a poopy litter box, I wouldn’t consider this behavior particularly harmful to your cat. However, if you find it disturbing, you have a few things that you can do to stop his litter box rolling.

First, change the litter type. This becomes especially helpful if he’s dust bathing in it. You want it very different from the current litter. Look for a litter that doesn’t give off a lot of dust. Make the change slowly because you don’t want the cat to protest and boycott the litter box for other locations.

Let’s give an example of how to change the litter type. If your cat’s litter is pellet litter, change it to sandy litter. If it’s the other way around, do it the other way. This works because it may change what originally attracted him to roll in the litter.

Switch the Litter Box Size

Large litter boxes especially have a problem with cats that like to roll in it for dust bathing. You might buy a smaller box to keep him from enjoying a good roll. Keep in mind, however, this may mean that you will have to clean it more often.

Small and covered litter boxes may stop the behavior, but you should watch out for one thing. You need to clean a covered litter box more often because the scents can get trapped in the box. While this may sound like a good thing, it could become too strong and stop your cat from using it altogether. Clean it more often to keep kitty using it.

Use Scent Markers around the Home

Litter boxes aren’t the only scent markers around the home. The cat bed, for example, serves as another scent marker. Scratching posts serve as another scent marker because he has scent glands between his claws. When he scratches at the post, it marks the area with his scent, which may stop him from rolling in the litter.

Add extra scent markers around the home to keep your cat’s scent throughout the home. It will give him confidence. You can’t change your cat from marking with his scent. However, you can stop some of the less desirable scent-marking behaviors.

Is it normal for cats to roll in their litter box? Cats may roll in the litter box as a way to get their scent back into it. Consider it normal cat behavior, and usually, they do it with the intention of using their litter box as a scent marker. Basically, it helps them to mark their territory. It can also help them to navigate.

How can I get my cat to stop laying in the litter box? To keep your cat from laying in the litter box, provide him with more attractive options. For example, cats love high perches or places where they can climb to look down on their territory. This gives him a better spot than the litter box.

Conclusion

Overall, this isn’t a harmful cat behavior, and I wouldn’t worry about it. Unless he rolls in dirty kitty litter, then it’s time to find a solution. Most cats, however, would be revolted at the thought of rolling in dirty kitty litter.

The one exception to this rule is kittens. Kittens haven’t yet learned what is gross and what isn’t. Because of that, they may start out rolling in the used litter box as a form of play. Luckily, he will quickly learn that there are better ways to have fun.