I'm setting this up as a space for discussion for those of us in the US going through this brutal heat wave, and for general tips, advice, and questions for all things hot weather care for feral/stray community cats. Seasoned caregivers especially, feel free to share any tips or tricks you've learned for coping with the heat! It's always helpful to hear from others who've been through this before, or that experience hot weather like this regularly.

Quick things you can do to help in the heat:

• Provide access to shady or sheltered spaces to get your cats out of the sun. Be mindful of the paths cats tend to take when navigating between your feeding area, shelters, etc.. Direct sunlight on pavement will make it uncomfortable, if not painful, for cats to walk across during the day. Temporarily re-position your bowls and shelters to shaded areas where possible to minimize their walking distance on hot surfaces.
  • Tip from u/darkpsychicenergy: "if trying to create shaded areas, try to go for layers of shade (with large air gaps in between). The top to layers to deflect and absorb heat and the lower layers to make the shade deeper and cooler."
• Be diligent about refreshing your water bowls to ensure the cats have clean, cool water available at all times. Deep and narrow bowls will have less surface area and are ideal for slowing evaporation if you aren't available during the day to check on them.
  • Run your hose for a couple of seconds to make sure cool water is flowing through. Water left standing in the hose throughout the day can get hot.
  • If using a gravity waterer, the reservoir can be loosely wrapped with reflective bubble foil insulation to help keep the water supply cool.
  • For those with hose hookups, there are also stainless steel or plastic self-filling bowls available that can be a great option throughout summer.
  • In hot weather, water bowls can be prone to mosquito larvae and algae growth, particularly when exposed to sunlight, so be sure to check on them regularly no matter what you're using.
• Feed wet food for additional hydration if the cats are around to eat. Be mindful of leaving excess food (wet or dry) out in daylight where bugs will be drawn to it or where it will spoil faster in the heat.
  • Flies, wasps, hornets, etc. tend to be drawn more to wet food than dry
  • To deter ants food bowls can be placed in a larger dish, then filled with water to create a moat around the food bowl. This may not last long in extreme heat, check often. An alternative option is to smear a small amount of Vaseline or apply a small amount of food-grade diatomaceous earth (use sparingly as it's hard on the lungs) around the base of the bowl to keep them from crossing.
• Stashing frozen bowls, water bottles, damp towels, etc. in resting areas can help keep cats cool. Misting the ground with a hose can also provide some short-lived relief via evaporative cooling. This won't last long in direct sunlight and will be less effective in high humidity, but can help keep shaded areas extra cozy. Cats may also be drawn to damp soil for resting as well, especially if there's plant cover providing shade.
• Insulated/styrofoam shelters can still work to keep the heat out, though they may need to be modified from a winter/cold weather setup:
  • A light-colored exterior will help reflect sunlight, rather than absorbing it if shelters aren't able to be fully shaded throughout the day. If building a new shelter, opt for the lightest white, gray, or beige plastic tote you can find; otherwise you can wrap your tote in light-colored material (like a white tarp) to achieve the same effect. I have a mix of light gray and navy blue tote shelters and while the gray plastic does still get warm, it's not nearly as hot as the blue ones will get out in the sun.
  • Leaving an airgap in between the shelter exterior and inner insulation will more efficiently keep hot air out by minimizing convection. Insulation should be well-sealed with no leaks or drafts for this. Using a styrofoam cooler inside your tote can be an easy way to set this up.
  • A second entrance can help keep it cooler by increasing airflow or allowing for a cross breeze. Raise it up off the ground or move it to a grassy spot to keep it from absorbing heat from underneath.
  • If you're concerned about using straw for bedding in high temps holding the cat's body heat, there are cooling beds and mats that may fare better, but be mindful about frequently checking on them often as mold growth is still a concern with any type of fabric.
• If trapping cats for any reason, be extremely mindful of trap placement during high temps. Place traps in cool, shaded areas. Do not leave traps unattended and bring the cat indoors immediately once trapped.

Additional guides and resources:

• Top Tips to Help Community Cats in Extreme Heat | Alley Cat Allies
• Summer Weather Tips for Indoor & Outdoor Cats | Alley Cat Allies
• Protecting Community Cats from the Summer Heat | Animal League
• Protecting Cats During Summer - ALLEY CAT RESCUE
• Guidelines for TNR During Extreme Temperatures | Iowa Humane Alliance
• How are yall keeping your ferals cool? | r/Feral_Cats (additional discussion)
• Heat Wave & Hot Weather Discussion [Megathread] : r/Feral_Cats (2025 Megathread)

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Recognizing heat exhaustion and heat stroke in cats, from PetMD:

>Heatstroke in Cats vs. Heat Exhaustion

>Inflammation caused by heatstroke sets off several reactions that affects every major system of the body, causing the breakdown of essential proteins and enzymes. This puts the cat at risk of organ failure and potentially death.

>If your cat is experiencing heatstroke, contact a veterinarian immediately.

>Heat exhaustion is an early stage of heatstroke, when the cat’s temperature is approximately 103–104 F. Recognizing the signs of heat exhaustion and acting quickly can prevent heatstroke in cats and tissue damage.

During heat exhaustion, a cat may:

• Seek a cooler area, such as a tile floor or a shady spot
• Pant
• Start to drool
• Develop sweaty paws
• Drink more
• Groom themselves to cool off
• If you notice any of these signs, immediately do the following:
  • Move your cat to a cool, air-conditioned area.
  • Place a slightly cool, damp towel on your cat’s back. If your cat allows, place a damp towel under their belly. Rubbing cool water on the paw pads and ears will also help with cooling.
  • Offer your kitty cool water to drink; some cats may like ice cubes.

Signs of heatstroke in cats include:

• Rectal temperature greater than 104 F
• Disorientation
• Reddened gums
• Vomiting, which may contain blood
• Diarrhea, which may contain blood
• Pinpoint spots of bleeding on the skin, whites of the eyes, gums, inside of the ears, and belly (petechiae)
• Labored breathing and wheezing
• Panting
• Seizures
• Collapse
• Inability to walk or stand up

I know it's not often easy to monitor and treat feral/community cats, but heatstroke is a medical emergency and requires prompt veterinary treatment for their best chance at recovery:

>It's important to start brief cooling at home (such as applying cool damp towels and water to the ears and paws), but head directly to a veterinarian for emergency care.

>What are the long-term effects of heatstroke in cats?

>Depending on the severity of heatstroke when first evaluated, some cats can recover without major long-term complications; others, unfortunately, may develop kidney or liver failure.

>These cats can have complications associated with heatstroke side effects. This includes bone marrow dysfunction, neurologic issues, and clotting disorders.

Neighbor's cat Wirt scoping out the garden umbrella I put out in the patch he likes to nap in during the day

Hey there, just wanted to give a quick update on the community rules here now that the subreddit is starting to get more active again. I don't want to make things too complicated, so I'm adding an umbrella rule to cover disruptive comments. Previously the sub rules only covered post content and there's been some tension of late regarding calls for cats to be kept inside which are at odds with the purpose of this subreddit. So, the new updated rules are as follows:

r/PartTimeCat Rules

#1 Cats only

Posts should be about cats; no memes, jokes, or anything else that's not about part time cats.

#2 Part time only

Posts should only be about part time cats; a cat that stops by for a visit, maybe even mooches food and scritches, then goes back home. This is not the subreddit for posting about your full time cats, or cats that never leave. Exceptions may be made in cases where your full time cat has become someone else's part time cat.

#3 Original content only

We want to see your part time cat, not someone else's! Content must be original. Karma farmers will be banned without hesitation.

#4 Be kind, stay on topic

Keep comments relevant to the post and to this community. We're here to celebrate the part time cats that have worked their way into our lives. Personal attacks, derailing posts, or general debates about cat ownership practices or unrelated arguments are not allowed here.

^(Pictured is neighbor's cat Wirt who wanted belly rubs,) ^(not) ^(to stay still for pictures.)

Neighbor's cats checking in through the kitchen window.

Tore down my 2020 GCP due to a blocked solenoid valve, just replaced the old aluminum boiler with a brass one and thoroughly cleaned and descaled the grouphead and solenoid. After reassembly, the water flow through the grouphead with brew switch flipped is finally, thankfully, normal again.

But: there is now a steady water drip leaking through the solenoid and out of the grouphead when the machine is on and coming to temp. As the boiler reaches brew temps, the drip turns to a steady puff of steam. Flipping the brew switch on results in a violent release of steam and water splatter before settling into normal flow within about ten seconds. So it seems like the plunger within the solenoid is not seating properly and water is being forced through as pressure builds in the boiler.

I've tried back flushing with cafiza, flipping the steam switch on and off repeatedly to toggle the solenoid, and running another course of descaler through just to be safe. I've also taken the solenoid apart again twice to make sure everything was clean and seated properly. If anything it's leaking more now after all of that.

Any ideas? Struggling to find anyone with solenoid issues like this, everything coming up in search is about no flow, blockages, etc..

It's gone untouched for weeks and my neighbor's cats have finally (thankfully) deemed it acceptable.

Been working on getting one of my subreddits organized to begin adding new moderators (coming with its own set of challenges since I've been acting as a solo mod for most of my time there). Was excited that the new Mod Guide and Training Queue features launched around the time I started really looking into it, but I'm finding the training queue in particular to have frustratingly limited practical value because the main post removals I've wanted to highlight and explain in more detail through it were deleted by the OP shortly after they were mod-removed.

The training queue omits the poster's username and access to the direct post or their profile so it's already fairly anonymized. But when the post is user-deleted, the entire entry is changed to "[deleted]" with a note that "Post was deleted by the user and is hidden from the training queue." When thinking about what posts to add to the queue, I'm finding that it's more helpful to rationalize when and why posts are removed from this subreddit rather than approved, but the way the training queue works means that attempting to include more extreme or clearcut examples will likely just result in the entry being wiped at some point by a savvy user scrubbing mod removals from their profile. I'm better off just taking a screenshot then, though that's less convenient for incoming mods than using a built-in tool like this.

Any chance for a middle ground for retaining user privacy while preserving the educational value of the post? Or at least something like an option to draft a dummy post to add to the queue? As it is, my motivation to write up an explanation on any post being added is dwindling when it can be wiped from the training queue at any time, with no notice.

Editing to add: Imgur gallery to demonstrate