10 hints and tips to tackle winter weather with your cat

Winter brings with it freezing temperatures and icy winds, as well as long, dark nights and disruptive weather conditions. The coldest season of the year can be challenging enough for us to deal with – yet, for our cats, winter poses several significant risks. Those risks include health issues related to cold conditions, antifreeze poisoning, and poor visibility near roadways. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to support your feline friend to stay safe and healthy through the tough winter months!

Let’s explore hints and tips to help you tackle the wild winter weather with your cat…

Navigate to specific hints and tips for caring for your cat during the winter months:

• Setting up a cosy space.
• Keeping them indoors.
• Adding extra litter trays.
• Drying their coat after wet weather.
• Providing an outdoor shelter.
• Checking outbuildings for feline visitors.
• Monitoring their health.

Set up a cosy space for them

Our feline friends feel the cold, so, it’s important to keep them warm. 

The best way to make sure your cat stays warm is to set up a special cosy space for them in your home. While younger, older, and poorly cats are most susceptible to cold conditions, every cat deserves a place of their own to enjoy safety and warmth.   

Although a standard cat bed is a great starting point, to create a wonderfully cosy space you could: 

• Add a few soft blankets to their sleeping space.
• Move their cosy bed to a warm room (keeping them away from fireplaces).
• Slip a pet-safe microwaveable heat pad underneath their blankets on particularly cold nights.   

Also, please ensure your cat’s cosy space is free from draughts – to help your feline friend stay warm and comfortable.

Top tip: Let sunlight through windows, to increase warmth and cheer your cat up on cold days!

Some cats prefer a covered sleeping space in order to feel cosy. So, you might want to create a special ‘DIY den’ around their bed, using carboard boxes or old towels draped over a clothes airer.

Try to keep them indoors while it’s dark

Longer, darker nights are as much a part of winter as snowy, icy conditions. Unfortunately, longer, darker nights that are mixed with bad weather can lead to poor visibility.  

It can be challenging to encourage outdoor cats to stay indoors. However, it’s worthwhile keeping your outdoor cat indoors when it’s dark, to lessen the risk of accidents caused by poor visibility around roads.  

Here are a few ideas of ways you can support your feline friend to feel content and comfortable while staying indoors…

Encouraging exercise 

To help your outdoor cat adjust to spending extra time indoors, you could encourage them to exercise as a way to develop more of a positive association with being inside. Check out our article all about exercising an indoor cat for inspiration! 

Boredom breaking

Another way to assist your outdoor cat in acclimatising to being indoors is to introduce them to activities that offer some mental stimulation. The outside world is packed with fascinating textures, sights, and sounds that can excite your cat’s senses and ignite their natural instincts. By engaging in activities such as training or introducing your cat to puzzle games, you’re gifting them the chance to exercise those natural behaviours they’d usually enjoy while adventuring outdoors. 

Top tip: Visit our cat training and behaviour guides to discover our advice on the best ways to train your feline friend! 

Enhancing their indoor environment 

Cats are curious creatures. Therefore, it can be difficult to keep your outdoor cat inside overnight or when the weather’s bad through the winter months. Enhancing their indoor environment could support your feline friend to feel more at home indoors, by engaging their senses and enchanting them with fun, new experiences. 

A few of the ways you might want to enhance your cat’s indoor environment include:

• Creating climbing frames around the house to fulfil your outdoor cat’s desire to climb as they would outside, e.g. on trees and fences.
• Adding scratching posts around your home to encourage your cat to exercise natural scratching behaviours.
• Introducing cat-safe plants to your feline friend’s indoor environment – such as cat grass or catnip – that inspire your cat to use their senses.

Put litter trays indoors

For many cats who like to venture outdoors, the thought of staying inside – even in wintry weather conditions – could be unappealing. Outdoor cats may dislike spending more time indoors if they don’t feel comfortable toileting indoors. 

By setting up one litter tray per cat in your household, you might help them feel happier to stay inside during the winter months. 

So, you can support your outdoor cat to feel more comfortable indoors by making sure each litter tray is:

• Easy to access.
• Cleaned daily.
• Located somewhere quiet, away from their food and water dishes.

Dry their coat if they get caught in the rain or snow

Sometimes, cats who enjoy adventuring outside can refuse to settle indoors. Thanks to the unpredictability of winter weather here in the UK, it’s likely your feline friend will get caught in the rain, hail, or snow if they spend time outdoors. 

In order to keep your cat feeling cosy during the winter months, thoroughly dry their coat when they return home after venturing outside in wet weather. 

Remember: You’ll need to make sure your cat’s microchip details are kept up to date; especially if they venture outdoors. 

Provide an outdoor shelter

Outdoor cats who hate spending time indoors should have a safe outside space available to them, where they can find warmth and shelter from wintry weather conditions.  

Whether you opt to build your cat a custom outdoor shelter or set up a space for them somewhere safe, e.g. in a weatherproof garden shed, their shelter will need:

• A comfortable bed containing blankets or towels they can curl up in.
• To be easily accessible, with a slightly open door that allows them to wander in and out of the shelter freely, yet doesn’t invite too many draughts.
• Constant access to clean, fresh drinking water; you’ll have to check your cat’s drinking water isn’t iced over when temperatures dip below freezing. 

Check sheds, garages, and outbuildings daily

During winter months, outdoor cats are likely to search for shelter wherever they can – which means they could end up sleeping in any type of shed, garage, or outbuilding.

To prevent feline friends from becoming trapped in sheds, garages, and outbuildings, it’s worth checking any outdoor shelters on your property for cats on a daily basis. It may also be helpful to neighbourhood cats if you speak to your neighbours and ask them politely to do the same.   

Important: Make sure you check around your car before driving as well, in case a cat has curled up underneath it for warmth.

Monitor their health

Keep an eye out for health issues arising or worsening in cold weather, for example:

Arthritis

As you’ll know if you or a loved one has arthritis, the condition can worsen in cold weather. Should your cat have arthritis, you’ll need to take that into consideration when winter arrives. 

While we always recommend discussing your cat’s specific needs with their vet, here are a few strategies for helping your arthritic cat feel more comfortable when it’s cold:

• Provide cosy beds with plenty of padding in warm locations around the house.
• Place boxes or pet-safe steps beside furniture your cat likes to climb onto.
• Keep your cat inside when temperatures start to drop. 

Visit our article about arthritis in cats for more information about managing the condition.

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is the result of a cat’s body temperature dropping to dangerously low levels. In cats, hypothermia can be caused by exposure to cold temperatures and/or spending time outside in wet, windy weather. 

Therefore, it’s essential you know the signs to look out for to protect your cat from suffering the life-threatening effects of hypothermia.

Symptoms of hypothermia include:

• Cold ears, paws, and/or nose.
• Shivering (which stops when they’re severely cold).
• Pale gums.
• Weakness.
• Lethargy (severe lack of energy).
• Confusion.
• Loss of co-ordination.
• Slow breathing.
• Collapse.

Please call your vet straight away if you’re concerned your cat might be suffering from hypothermia.

First aid for hypothermia in cats:

• Towel dry your cat if their coat is wet.
• Loosely wrap them in a blanket.
• Try to encourage them to drink lukewarm water.

Gradually increase the temperature around your cat as you travel to the vet in a car – warming your cat up too quickly is dangerous.

Important: Don’t use a hot water bottle or heat pad for your cat, due to the risk of burning their skin.

Antifreeze poisoning

The main ingredient of antifreeze (ethylene glycol) is sweet-tasting, which can make it appealing to cats. Sadly, whether they drink antifreeze, step in it, or get any of it on their coat, a cat is in danger of poisoning.

Signs of antifreeze poisoning in cats can appear within 30 minutes to 12 hours after coming into contact with it, and can include symptoms like:

• Drooling.
• Depression.
• Vomiting.
• Refusal to eat.
• Wobbliness.
• Lack of co-ordination.
• Increased thirst.

If you suspect your cat is suffering from antifreeze poisoning, please rush them to a vet immediately.

Don’t forget that you can speak to the vet experts over at Joii Pet Care at any time, from anywhere, to get advice on caring for your cat during winter. 

For access to further information and inspiration as to ways you can support your feline friend throughout every chapter of their life, visit our cat advice guides!