How do we keep Kitty warm for a few days?

How cold is your house? I would think that the warmth of the house would be just fine for the cat.

Get a space heater.

Our house isn’t terrible, but it’s pretty chilly, especially at night. Probably going into the twenties this week. A space heater’s a big fire risk, so we’ll probably avoid that.

@sliceswiththings Not a good one, and not any more than an electric blanket. Just keep it away from curtains and other things it could set on fire.

Cats have a nice fur coat and she would do fine in the house. If the temp is above 50 she will be just fine. I know how you feel about her because last night we were hit with a blizzard and we have a rescued cat that lives inside and outside. He has a doggie door he uses but we locked him in last night. The temp this morning was 6 below zero and that is really cold.

Good call.

But in your house it wont be in the twenties right? That would freeze your water lines.

I wouldn’t use either of those things, especially the space heater. Too much opportunity for kitty to knock it over and possibly cause a fire. Do you have a fleece blanket or two that you could leave where she likes to lay? Our cats love fleece blankets.

Why would it be under 50 in your house? I’m not criticizing, just confused.

@tedibear Most space heaters come with a sensor that shuts it off the second it’s knocked over or picked up. Plus, cats just don’t want to knock them over, they get that they’re really hot.

It’ll be under fifty because I just woke up and haven’t turned on my brain yet:) Good call, but we’d still like to keep it a little warm for her.

I get that you really care especially with her being as old as she is. I had a male cat that lived to be 24 and he lived inside and outside but I really think she will be fine for a couple of days.

I have used this type and brand of space heater, set on low when I’ve neede to heat a room while I’m gone. The Kitty can sleep close to it, and if there is nothing close by that is sensitive to heat, it should be safe. It has a thermostat built in so it doesn’t get too hot.

I second the idea about fleece blankets. Cats love them, and they retain heat well, so she’d be able to nest in them if she were feeling chilly.
If her favourite snuggle-spot isn’t in the sunshine, I’d put a blanket somewhere that does get sun. That way, she might curl up there to warm up during the day.

It is in the 20’s here this week too, and I am only going to be gone overnight, 24 hours, give or take a few.

My two cats are young and they will stay inside with the thermostat set around 62–64.

I would think keeping your heat on a modest temp. and maybe leaving a heating pad on in her bed or basket should be fine.

Older cats that have lost body weight do require extra warmth.

Besides, don’t you want to come home to a warm house yourself?

How about a pet-safe heated bed? They’re sold at PetSmart. Seems to be designed for constant use, and it’s chew-proof.

No central heat? I’ve left a heating pad on for a week with no problem.

If she sleeps in a cat bed, you could get a big box and cut a hole in the bottom front of it so she can get in and out and put the bed inside the box with blankets under it and make sure there’s a soft furry blanket in the bed itself. Put her litter box and food and water near the box bed so she doesn’t have to travel too far to get to them. I suspect that she would mostly want to sleep anyway while you’re gone.

Leave your thermostat set at 62 -65 and you’ll be fine. If you turn it off, you will burn up energy getting the house back up to a liveable temperature again.

I am with @BarnacleBill here. Unless you have a wood stove, there is no excuse for your house to be too cold for a well-fed furry animal to survive. When my old house was without power and heat for five days, it got down to near-freezing and yet me, my wife, and our cats (one of whom was geriatric) had no issues staying warm at night.

Under normal circumstances, we would turn the heat down to around 60 when we left for work; low enough to save on propane but not so low that the furnace would run all night and most of the next day trying to get back up to 68–70. (When it’s -20 outside, it is hard to keep a place warm and nearly impossible to actually heat it up.)