When the temperature is very low, cats with relatively poor ability to regulate their own body temperature need to wear clothes, such as Sphynx cats, short-haired cats, elderly cats and pregnant cats. Owners can dress them to keep warm. However, under normal circumstances, there is no need to dress long-haired cats. They will grow downy fur to keep warm in winter, and generally there is no need to dress them indoors. Below, the editor will mainly introduce the impacts of dressing cats.
I. Whether Cats Need to Wear Clothes
Generally speaking, cats can wear clothes, but wearing clothes will affect their activities and make them feel restricted. Cats are agile and can always react quickly and dodge swiftly when in danger. However, when dressed, their alertness will be reduced to some extent, interfering with their free movement and making them clumsy. So most cats don’t like wearing clothes.
Moreover, dressing cats is also likely to cause harm to their skin and fur. Therefore, if the temperature is not very low, there is generally no need to dress cats. Owners should decide according to the breed and physical condition of their own cats. Sphynx cats have relatively poor cold tolerance. When the temperature is very low, owners can consider dressing them. But if you raise long-haired cats, generally owners don’t need to deliberately add clothes for them, especially indoors. When cats feel cold, they will find a relatively warm place to stay, like under the quilt. If owners want to take cats out and it’s cold and windy outside, it’s best for owners to take good measure for the cats before going out, put the cats into a carrying cage, and put warm blankets, warm packs or thin towels and other warm items into the cage. If the wind outside is very strong, it is recommended that owners choose a carrying cage made of airtight and windproof materials to prevent the cats from being hit by the cold wind.
In addition, if it’s cold and cats need to wear clothes to keep warm, owners had better choose clothes mainly made of comfortable and warm pure cotton materials and try to avoid using fabrics that are easy to generate static electricity, such as chemical fibers and knitted sweaters. And the clothes must fit well. Owners need to buy clothes of appropriate sizes according to the size of the cats to avoid discomfort caused by clothes that are too tight or too loose.
II. The Adverse Effects of Cats Wearing Clothes
The reason why it’s not recommended to dress cats is that on the one hand, cats don’t have the necessity to wear clothes, and on the other hand, dressing cats is likely to cause some discomfort. Therefore, owners had better dress cats as little as possible. When it’s cold, use electric heaters or other heating devices to raise the indoor temperature to keep the cats warm or keep the cats warm separately. However, if it’s Sphynx cats or cats with very poor physical condition, when the temperature is lower than a certain level, owners can dress them because these cats have relatively poor ability to regulate their own body temperature and to prevent them from getting cold when they go to places without heating. If it’s healthy long-haired cats, generally owners don’t need to dress them indoors. The main adverse effects of cats wearing clothes are as follows:
1. Reducing Sensitivity: After cats wear clothes, their behaviors and activities will be restricted to some extent, which is likely to affect their daily behaviors, such as making them slow in movement and unable to walk properly. In severe cases, it may also cause stress reactions in cats.
2. Causing Problems Such as Skin Allergies, Itching and Hair Tangling: If the fabric of the clothes is not suitable, after cats wear the clothes, the frequent friction between the clothes and the skin may cause skin allergies and itching in cats. To reduce the possibility of these problems, owners had better choose natural fabrics such as pure cotton and pure wool for cats as much as possible. However, it’s also not recommended to let cats wear such clothes for a long time to avoid problems such as static electricity on the skin and hair tangling.
3. Making Cats Anxious: Cats will not be used to wearing clothes. In this situation, they may feel restless inside. Moreover, cats are born with the habit of licking their fur. Wearing clothes will affect licking the fur, and cats may also feel restless because of this.
In general, cats can wear clothes, but when owners dress cats, they should consider whether there is a necessity for them to wear clothes. If cats are not cold, owners had better not dress them.