A big chunk of ‘Merica has been sweltering this week, and New York has been no exception.
Tuesday was supposed to be the most brutal of the brief heat wave, but Wednesday felt the most oppressive to me, like walking through a hot soup and having no choice but to “drink” it until you can escape to the air conditioned indoors again.
The temperature was in the high 90s with a heat index of 104 thanks to the humidity. That’s the real killer: while I don’t envy parts of the southwest that see temperatures of 100+ more frequently, summers here are marked by disgustingly sweaty weather. Humidity reached 99 percent on June 2, and this week we’ve had spikes of 80 percent and higher.
As bad as it is for us, it’s worse for our furry little pals. For them it’s like wearing a jacket you can’t take off.
The Budster has been shedding like crazy the past few weeks, and I’ve been brushing him to help him get rid of that excess fur — and prevent it from “decorating” the place.
On Tuesday I decided to open the door to the balcony, mostly to see how he’d react. He loves the balcony, which offers cat TV, the opportunity to soak up the sun and take in new scents and sounds.
But with the sweltering temperature, Buddy approached the door to his beloved balcony with caution. He stepped outside, paused for a second or two, gave me a disgusted look, then turned right back around and padded inside, where he recovered from his ordeal by lounging.
Life’s tough for a cat.
The little dude may be following Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter, because the look he gave me strongly suggests he thinks I can control the weather.
“It’s unacceptably brutal out there!” I imagine he’s thinking. “Fix it, human! Do I have to verbalize everything, or can you be a proper servant and anticipate my needs ahead of time?”
Of course we’re talking about a cat who refuses to set paw outside unless it’s a balmy 65 degree minimum, preferably between 73.5 and 76 degrees. No rain, no cold, definitely no snow, and no excessive heat!
Thankfully the heat broke, and today we’re forecast for a balmy 75. Cue the Sir David Attenborough voice: “But there’s a problem! A tomato plant has appeared on the balcony, and even though Buddy’s a meowscular tiger who shows no fear*, tomatoes and their vines are poisonous to him.
On the off chance that we’ve got some readers who don’t have cats, would anyone like a tomato plant?
* Buddy exhibits no fear except when it comes to rustling paper bags,vacuums, Swiffers, brooms, music intended for cats, sudden movements, floppy fish toys, loud vehicles including but not limited to trucks, outdoor animals who make scary noises, and certain kinds of cheese. But other than that, he’s totally fearless.
Pain In The Bud 
Buddys fearlessness is awesome. The feline world stands in awe of his casual disregard for anything fearful to mortal cats (apart from that extensive list) LOL
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Yes, just a short list, practically nonexistent. In fact, all this time I thought he hides behind my legs when he gets scared, but I realized he’s just got my back in case anyone tries to sneak up. So brave.
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Thankfully, most people leave ac on that goes on and off while people are out of house.Not cold just comfortable temp. Animals can get heat stroke. I get scared for my garden cat. He goes off to find shady spot or sleeps on the leaves in the shade. I leave fresh water any chance i get when home because even his water was warm on those days.
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Poor little guy. It was really bad this week. Maybe some ice cubes in his water bowl? It’s good that you give him fresh water as much as possible.
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What i do is put cat bowl with water in freezer every night. That bowl of water will melt and stay cool for few hours. Yes. Will also do the ice cube thing. But he is out and about in peoples gardens trying to stay out of sun. I wish i could afford what my friends had for thier ferals. Air conditioned cat house but people tell me he will survive.
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Bowl in the freezer is a great idea too. I’ll try that with Bud in the next heat wave.
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Oh Buddy! We all know that you are a fearless meowscular tiger and that Big Buddy is just making up these things he alleges that you are afraid of!
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I stand accused of sullying the brave reputation of Buddy the Fearless. A grave allegation, indeed!
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Dastardly deeds for sure!
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I’ve grown tomato plants and the cats never seemed to be interested in chewing them.
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I was gonna ask you about that, since you’re the plant expert around here.
After what happened last time when he got really sick, I’m paranoid about stuff like this. Never did find out exactly what the cause was, but chances are he ate something he wasn’t supposed to.
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Well, if you want to grow that lovely little gift you could wrap netting around it to ensure Buddy doesn’t get curious. Cheap on Amazon, I just got a roll of it as a squirrel deterrent. (Little punks are digging in one of my pots and ate all the flowers/buds/fruit off my one pepper plant. Furry-tailed rat bastards. LOL.)
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This looks like a good solution, thank you!
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Why did it give a Kindle logo??? Let me know if you need me to send you the link via email.
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That’s weird. It worked when I clicked on it, but I see the Kindle logo now too.
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It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to cats nibbling on things.
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We have tomato plants in the garden, and the visiting cats ignore them totally…unless, of course, there’s a bee on pollinating duty, in which case they spring into hunting mode. Cats, eh?!
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Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him. Your Malteser and Caramel are streetwise cats who seem to know what’s dangerous.
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Buddy feels he is being prudently cautious. After all, he only has nine lives.
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That’s true. One can never be too careful around paper bags, brooms and suspicious toys.
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You live in New York City and you don’t have an air conditioner?
In the last few years, I have started to get heat illnesses so I stay indoors with the AC on all the time here in Minneapolis. And I take Vitamin D pills.
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I have one and unfortunately it’s been on constantly this week. The temperature in the low 90s is one thing, but the high humidity amplifies it.
The thing with Buddy is that he won’t go outside unless it’s mild out…or he’ll go outside with me and then go right back in. It’s funny because as soon as the heat hits him, he can’t get inside fast enough.
Guess we can’t judge cats though, they must get really uncomfortable with all that fur.
Good idea to take Vitamin C. I’ve been taking a multivitamin again these last few weeks, trying to make sure all bases are covered.
Stay cool!
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Not Vitamin C, Vitamin D.
I don’t go outside much since I’m always indoors with the AC.
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