Dear Critter Corner: My cat has always spent a good portion of her time outside in my yard, but I am a bit concerned about the rising temperatures outside now that it is summertime. She seems to always want to go outside and will constantly meow by the patio door when I am not engaging with her. Do you have any tips on how I can keep her entertained during the day if it is too hot outside or ideas of how to keep her cool while she is outside?
Now that summertime has come around, it is very important for us to keep an eye on our pets when they are outdoors for a prolonged period. To start, you can look around your yard and try to create more shaded areas that your pet can duck under to escape the heat. It would also be great to place more water stations around the yard so that they are easily able to access fresh water during their outside time. You can place a couple of ice cubes into their water bowls, and this can also serve as a type of enrichment for them! I would then suggest continuing to watch the forecast predictions and encouraging your pet to stay indoors during the hotter times of the day.
Providing more enrichment indoors could be very helpful with keeping your indoor/outdoor cat entertained while they are inside. During the hotter time of the day, I would suggest giving your cat a couple of extra short play sessions throughout the day. This will help with draining some of their physical energy and allow them to rest during the time they are normally outside. You can also make a couple of frozen treats, which could be as simple as spreading some wet food onto a silicone lick mat and then freezing it until you are ready to give it to your cat!