Cats in Cold Weather: Engine Bays, Hypothermia and Frostbite

Quick answer

In cold weather the useful check is done with your hands: ear tips, paw pads, tail tip, and whether the coat is damp underneath.

Most cold-weather injuries in cats are not caused by the cold. They are caused by what a cat does about the cold. A cat looking for warmth climbs into an engine bay, a tumble dryer, a shed, or onto a heat source it cannot get off.

The cold itself matters most for the animals with the least reserve: kittens, thin or elderly cats, cats that are unwell, and any cat that gets wet. And the biggest winter killer of cats is not the temperature at all. It is antifreeze.

• Bang on the bonnet and sound the horn before starting a car in cold weather. Cats sleep on warm engines.
• Check the drum of a washing machine or tumble dryer before you close the door, every time.
• Suspected antifreeze is an emergency within minutes, not hours. Do not wait for signs.
• A shivering cat that stops shivering is getting worse, not better.
• Warm a cold cat gradually and never with direct heat against the skin, because contact burns are common and are hidden by fur.

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Antifreeze kills cats, and by the time it looks serious the antidote no longer works.

Ethylene glycol, in radiator coolant and some screenwash and de-icers, tastes sweet and a very small amount is enough. It is converted in the body into crystals that destroy the kidneys. Cats often look drunk and wobbly first, then appear to recover for a while, and then go into kidney failure a day or two later. There is an antidote, but it has to be given early, before the damage is done. If there is any chance your cat has walked through, licked, or drunk from a puddle of coolant or a leak on a driveway, phone a vet immediately and go, even if the cat seems completely fine.
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Never put a direct heat source against a cat, and never leave one where a cat cannot move away.

Hot water bottles, heat pads, wheat bags and radiators cause contact burns in cats, and fur hides the damage until days later, when the skin hardens, blackens and comes away. The cats most at risk are the ones least able to move: elderly, arthritic, sedated, recovering from an anaesthetic, or already too cold to react. Always wrap a heat source in several layers of towel, always leave an unheated area the cat can choose instead, and never leave a cat shut in with a heat source it cannot escape.
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Decide in 60 seconds

Where cats actually get hurt

Car engine bays and wheel arches.

A recently driven engine stays warm for hours and a cat will climb up into it. When the engine starts, the fan belt and moving parts cause crushing, degloving and burn injuries that are frequently fatal.

Before starting a car in cold weather, bang firmly on the bonnet, sound the horn, and check the wheel arches. It takes five seconds. Do this every time in winter, not only when you suspect a cat is around.

Tumble dryers and washing machines.

A warm drum with soft bedding in it is exactly what a cat is looking for. Cats have died in both. Check the drum before you close the door, close the door when the appliance is not in use, and look again before you press start.

Ovens, hobs and log burners.

A cooling hob, an oven door left open, a stove that is still hot, and open fires all cause paw and belly burns. Cats will sit closer to a heat source than is safe, and long-coated cats singe their fur without appearing to notice.

Heat pads, hot water bottles and wheat bags.

Covered in the danger block above, and worth repeating because it is the injury that owners cause by trying to help.

Sheds, garages, greenhouses and outbuildings.

A cat slips in while a door is open and is shut in, sometimes for days. Check before locking up. If a neighbourhood cat is missing, offer to check your own outbuildings, because this is one of the most common reasons a cat disappears and comes back thin and dehydrated.

Under and behind things.

Under parked cars, behind wheels, and inside recycling bins and skips. All of these are warm, sheltered and dangerous.

Cold itself, and who it hurts first

Kittens.

A small body loses heat quickly relative to its size, and newborn kittens cannot regulate their own temperature at all in the first weeks. A chilled kitten becomes limp and quiet, and it stops digesting.

That last point is the one that matters practically: a cold kitten must be warmed before it is fed. Milk given to a chilled kitten sits undigested in the stomach, and that causes further harm. Warm gradually, over a period rather than in minutes, and only then offer food.

Elderly and arthritic cats.

Less body fat, less muscle, and less ability to get to the warm place. An arthritic cat that used to sleep on the top of the boiler cupboard may now be lying on the floor in a draught because it can no longer jump there. Provide warm resting places at floor level.

Thin and unwell cats.

Cats with kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, heart disease or cancer have less reserve and often less insulation. So do cats recovering from anaesthesia, which is why practices warm them so carefully.

Wet cats.

Fur insulates by trapping air. Wet fur does not. A cat that has fallen in a pond, been caught in heavy rain, or been bathed loses heat far faster than the temperature alone would suggest.

Hairless and thin-coated breeds.

Sphynx and similar breeds have no coat to trap air and genuinely need a warmer indoor environment.

Recognising a cat that is too cold

A tightly tucked loaf with the tail wrapped around the body is a cat conserving heat. On its own it is normal. Combined with dullness, cold ears and a reluctance to move, it is not.

Feel the extremities.

Ear tips, paw pads and the base of the tail. Cold ears and cold paws on a cat that has been indoors in a warm room are a warning.

Shivering, and then not shivering.

Shivering is the body generating heat, and it is a normal early response. A cat that was shivering and has stopped, while still feeling cold and looking dull, has deteriorated. This is one of the most misread signs in cold injury.

Level of response.

Slow, quiet, reluctant to move, not reacting normally to you, weak, or stumbling.

Breathing and heart rate.

Slow and shallow breathing in a cold cat is a late and serious sign.

Gums.

Pale or grey rather than pink.

Muscle stiffness.

A cat that feels rigid and moves stiffly is severely affected.

Temperature.

Normal for a cat is commonly cited as roughly 38-39C, or 100.5-102.5F. A vet will measure it accurately. Do not wrestle with a struggling cat to get a reading at home, because the struggle costs more than the number gains you.

Warming a cold cat without causing harm

Phone a veterinary practice first. Severe hypothermia is treated with warmed intravenous fluids and monitoring, and warming a severely cold animal too quickly can cause its blood pressure to drop dangerously.

Move the cat somewhere warm and out of any draught.

Raise the room temperature rather than aiming heat at the cat.

Dry the cat if it is wet.

Towel firmly but gently, changing to dry towels as they become damp. Getting the water off matters more than any other single step.

Wrap in warm dry towels.

Warm a towel on a radiator or in a dryer, check it against the inside of your own wrist, and wrap the cat with the head clear.

Use indirect heat only.

A covered warm water bottle placed alongside the wrapped cat, never against skin, and never so hot that you would not hold it. Leave a cooler area the cat can move toward.

Warm gradually.

Slow is correct. Do not use a hairdryer aimed at the cat, do not immerse it in hot water, do not put it in front of a fire or on a radiator, and do not rub vigorously to generate heat.

Do not feed or give fluids to a cat that is dull or unresponsive.

The swallowing reflex is unreliable and inhaled food or liquid causes pneumonia. A bright, alert, mildly chilled cat can be offered a small amount of its normal food.

Do not give alcohol, and do not give any human medication.

Both are dangerous. Alcohol widens surface blood vessels and increases heat loss, which is the opposite of what is needed.

Take the cat in regardless.

A cat that has been genuinely hypothermic needs assessment even after it has warmed up, because the underlying reason it got cold, and the damage done while it was, both need looking at.

Frostbite

Frostbite affects the tissues furthest from the core: the tips of the ears, the end of the tail, the paws and the nose.

Early on the skin looks pale, grey or bluish-white and feels cold, hard and waxy, and it is usually not painful because the area is numb.

As it warms, the area becomes red, swollen and painful. Over the following days it may darken, and severely affected tissue eventually blackens and separates. The full extent frequently is not clear for a week or more, which is why a vet will not amputate anything immediately.

Do not rub or massage the area. Rubbing frozen tissue causes further mechanical damage.

Do not apply direct heat. No hairdryer, no radiator, no hot water. Numb tissue cannot feel a burn.

Do not rewarm if the area could freeze again before you reach help. A thaw-refreeze cycle causes worse damage than staying frozen.

Warm gently with body-heat water or warm packs over a wrapped cloth, and only if you can then keep the cat warm.

Do not apply creams, ointments or antiseptics, and do not bandage tightly.

Do not give painkillers from a cupboard. Rewarming frostbite is extremely painful and needs veterinary pain relief, and human painkillers are toxic to cats.

Preventing the winter problems

A carrier and dry bedding kept together, and a written record of weight and appetite. Cold weather is when both get used.

Warm resting places at floor level.

Especially for older cats. A covered bed, a box lined with fleece, or a bed in a draught-free corner. Cats prefer enclosed spaces in cold weather because a small space holds their own body heat.

Bring outdoor cats in overnight in cold weather, and provide a cat flap they can use rather than making them wait at a door.

Water that does not freeze.

Outdoor water bowls freeze, and a cat that cannot drink becomes dehydrated, which in an older cat with kidney disease is genuinely dangerous. Use a deeper, wider bowl, move it into a sheltered spot, and check it twice a day. Never use a metal bowl outdoors in freezing weather, because a wet tongue can stick to it.

Outdoor shelters for community and feral cats.

Raise the shelter off the ground, keep the entrance small and turned away from the wind, and fill it with straw rather than blankets or hay. Blankets absorb moisture and then freeze. Straw stays dry and traps air.

Wipe paws after walks on treated ground.

Rock salt and chemical de-icers irritate pads and are swallowed during grooming. A quick wipe with a damp cloth removes most of it.

Store antifreeze and screenwash sealed and out of reach, clean up spills immediately, and check your own car for coolant leaks.

Feed adequately.

A cat spending time outdoors in the cold uses more calories to maintain its temperature. Monitor weight rather than guessing.

Keep grooming going in long-coated cats.

Mats trap moisture against the skin and destroy the coat's insulation exactly where the cat needs it.

What never to do

Never wait to see whether a cat that may have contacted antifreeze becomes unwell. The window in which the antidote works closes before the cat looks ill.

Never place a hot water bottle, heat pad or wheat bag directly against a cat.

Never rub, massage or apply direct heat to suspected frostbite.

Never immerse a hypothermic cat in hot water, or use a hairdryer to warm it.

Never feed or syringe fluid into a cat that is dull, weak or unresponsive.

Never feed a cold kitten before it has been warmed.

Never give alcohol, human painkillers or any human medication to a cold or injured cat. Paracetamol is lethal to cats.

Never assume a cat that walked away from an engine bay is uninjured. These injuries are frequently internal and the cat's shock response masks them for a while.

Never leave a cat shut in a room with a heat source and no way to move away from it.

Never use blankets or hay in an outdoor shelter. Straw is the material that works.

When to get help

Most cold-weather harm to cats is preventable with five seconds of checking before you start a car or close an appliance door.

Go immediately, out of hours if necessary, for any possible antifreeze contact, a cat that is cold and dull or unresponsive, a cat that has stopped shivering while still cold, pale skin on the ear tips or tail, any involvement with a car engine, or a cat found trapped in an appliance.

Go the same day for a cat found shut in an outbuilding, a cat with reddened or swollen paw pads after walking on gritted ground, a burn from any heat source, or a kitten that has been cold.

Book within the week for an older cat that has started sleeping in unusual low places, which often means it can no longer reach its warm spot and has undiagnosed arthritis.

Tell the practice what the cat was exposed to and for roughly how long, whether it was wet, what its gums look like, whether it is shivering, and whether it has eaten. If antifreeze is a possibility, say so at the start of the call rather than at the end, because it changes everything about how quickly they will want you there.