Have you ever wondered why cats crave heat?
Any cat owner knows that their feline friend will always gravitate toward a heat source. That can be a sunny window seat, a computer keypad, a lap or any part of the body which is enjoying a Hotteeze heat pad - on a cold day. Or even when it isn’t cold at all.
Cats’ geographical origins have been extensively studied and traced back to a section of the Near East, stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. All domesticated cats originate from one of five tribes of ancient ancestors who were greatly valued by settlers in the region for helping them keep down the rodent populations in their grain store. 13,000 years ago, your pet’s distant relatives were happily making a very good living in a very hot climate.
Nowadays they usually have to work a lot less but still put serious effort into finding ways of replacing that intense heat. A cat’s natural body temperature is 102F/38.9C - significantly warmer than that of humans, which is 98.6F/37C. They are classified as “homeotherms”, which means they like to maintain that temperature at a constant rate, always balancing heat leaving and entering their bodies. In fact, their fur coat plays a vital role in this because it acts a little like mulch on a garden - providing protection from extreme heat and cold.
This explains why they can often wind up in a cupboard or happily enclosed in a cardboard box when it’s not even cold out. Letting them share your Hotteeze heat pad always goes down well! If you’re nursing a cramp or a back-ache or any of the many physical ailments that respond well to heat therapy, you may find that your cat finds you particularly attractive.
I often use a Hotteeze heat pad to keep my cats’ anxiety levels down on a trip to the veterinarian, by placing one under the blanket in the cat-carrier (it’s best to keep a nice soft fabric between the pad and the animal - just like when you stick one on top of a layer of clothing). They’re also perfect to help comfort a cat who is recovering from a urinary infection - they enjoy the feeling of warmth on a tender spot just the way we humans do.
So share the warmth from your heat pad with your feline family members and they’ll soon be snuggled down and happily dreaming of the Mediterranean.
