DEAR JOAN: I know that dogs sweat through their tongues and panting, but do cats do the same?
I’m worried about my Maine Coon, Toby. He’s about 3 years old but ever since I’ve had him – a couple of years – he likes to find the warmest spot in the house to stretch out. In the winter, that hot spot is in front of the fireplace. He gets so close to gas flames, I’m afraid he’s going to burn himself.
Is there something wrong with him? Should I stop using the fireplace? He never seems to react to the heat. I’ve never seen him panting.
— Maria J., San Jose
DEAR MARIA: Cats and dogs sweat in much the same way, but not in the way you think.
Dogs don’t sweat through their tongues. Panting allows a dog to quickly take in a breath of air, humidify it and breathe it out. This has the effect of cooling the dog from the inside out.
Cats also use panting to regulate their body temperature, but like dogs, they sweat through glands on their paws. The most telling sign that a cat is sweating is that he’ll leave damp footprints behind. In addition to panting, they also will lick their fur, letting evaporation cool them down. They’ll also seek out cool spots, such as relaxing in a sink.
As for Toby’s obsession with the fire, he’s not a pyromaniac, or at least I don’t think he is. Let me know if he starts playing with lit matches.
Cats have a higher tolerance for heat. Their normal body temperature is 100 to 102 degrees, and because we don’t keep our houses that hot, they often crave a little extra warmth. They’ll seek out a sunny window, a beam of sunlight or a hot stove or heater.
The heat can also be comforting, like us curling up in a warm blanket with a mug of hot chocolate.
You need to keep an eye on him, when he’s in front of the fire, but cats aren’t masochists. They become uncomfortable, if temperatures climb above 100 degrees, so if Toby feels too hot, he’ll move.
Signs that Toby might be getting too hot include restlessness, panting, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and collapse.
DEAR JOAN: One of your readers expressed concern about contracting rabies from an opossum.
Opossums have a body temperature range of 94 to 97 degrees, which is too low to harbor the rabies virus.They tend to be healthy little critters that protect us from Lyme disease by eating hundreds of ticks, as they wander through our yards every evening.
Please assure readers that opossums are beneficial and harmless.
— Joanne Lenigan, Pleasanton
DEAR JOANNE: Opossums are beneficial and harmless, and compared to other common garden visitors – raccoons, squirrels, gophers and rats – they do the least amount of damage, if any.
However, opossums are not completely immune from rabies. Their body temperature, which is lower than most other mammals, keeps the rabies virus from taking hold, but in rare instances, it does.
Opossums are awesome. They also have some immunity to venomous snake bites, bee and scorpion stings and the botulism toxin.
Animal Life runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
