Kitties and Warm Places!

[All Creatures Great And Small]

Do your kitties seem to find the warmest places in the house, too?
Especially now that fall (well, winter in Wisconsin) has brought colder weather, I find the kitty sleeping directly next to (and sometimes blocking) the heating ducts. He also loves finding a bright patch of sunshine to lay in during the day. My mom has always had an electric space heater in her apartment when the weather cooled down, and all of her kitties have laid right smack in front of it, to the point that their fur is HOT to the touch. (Mom always said the kitties were "cooking" in front of the heater.) For her black boy kitty, Phil, she even has to put the space heater on IN THE SUMMERTIME occasionally because he just loves to cook. My (RB) girl kitty used to sleep on top of the clothes dryer whenever it was running - I even opened up the electrical panel and disconnected the buzzer on it because it scared her (and me, too - LOUD!)

My cats have a "hangmat" ; This is something you can hang on a radiator ! Now that the central heating is on , the mat gets so comfortably warm . My Cats Inka and Maya just love it in there ! As a matter of fact , they love it SO much , that they agree to sleep in there TOGETHER !!:D SOOOOOO cute ! I took a pic of it and will post it as soon as possible . Maya is my 8 months old calico and Inka my 8 weeks old longhaired kitten . OOOooo , I love them so much ...:rolleyes: :) :) :)

[Barbara]

Filou the Abyssinian cannot sleep warm enough. He has also this kind of radiator hammock in the bathroom (where I keep it always warm because I am freezing easily, too) but he also likes cooking on top of the radiator.
And in the night he comes under the covers (only in autumn and winter) and sleeps under my knees -most of the time he uses my husband's knees which is nice of him as I have problems with the resulting "contortionist sleeping" as somebody called it in the other thread that started with Jen's cat pix.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Edwina has always been a little odd this way (okay...she is odd in a number of ways...) but she is not a sunbather or heat seeker. She likes body heat and sleeping on fluffy things that help her conserve her own body heat. Of course....maybe it is because our heat vents are at the top of the wall rather than the bottom....

[Cataholic]

I love the cold weather because the cats become heat mongers. I wish I had a radiator with a basket thingy on it like Lut...maybe she could describe it a little more, and I can make a fake one!

[catland]

Last night we even had a fire in the fireplace, just for the kitties. We brought the computer chair out into the livingroom and put it front of the fireplace. At first, big Sid was sitting on the chair, which really caused Jan to feel put out because it is HER chair. After getting her a box to sit on (because she is way to dignified to sit on the floor like a common cat), she settled down. Then Sid left and she was able to reclaim her thrown until she got too hot and had to move away to cool off. Too funny.

At one time Sid returned,and even Joxer came in to join the crowd, but this was just too cozy for Sidney's taste, so he moved on.

It's fun to see just how warm they allow themselves to get.

[jenluckenbach]

Winter, you say. My cats sleep on the third floor, the hottest place, in the sun, in the middle of the summer!!!
As soon as it cools off and the blankets come out, the non-lap cats start showing up to sit with you. It' amazing how popular you are all of a sudden.
Our Bear (RB) used to sleep so close to the heater we thought he would go up in smoke one day.

[Barbara]

lut, regarding Cataholic's question I am wondering whether these radiator hammocks exist only in Europe? In general there are so much more nice pet things in the US? I think it is difficult to describe what it's like although it is easy with the metal frame inside and something like a pillow case outside.
Anyway: cats love it really!

[Cataholic]

Lut and Barbara- I was just trying to imagine how the contact with the radiator doesn't get to hot...do you mean radiators that stand up- or do you mean floor radiators- what we call registers...I have one very talented sister who could probably make the fabric part...I am just wondering about the metal part. I think I could put something over the floor register...my cats want to be as comfy as their european cousins!!!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Tubby absolutely adores the sun coming in. Peanut could care less about it. :rolleyes:

But Peanut is funny, she knows where the heating ducts run under the floor and she will lay wherever they are, even if it's in some oddball place like the middle of the floor. But then, a few weeks ago when it was starting to cool off, but then we had 1 or 2 really warm days, when we turned the A/C back on she went and sat right in front of the register, as if to say "Whew, I was just burning up in this fur!" Now that it's cooler at night, she joins me in bed again, whereas all summer long she won't come in the bed for nothing. So these days I often fall asleep with a kitty warmer on my stomach. And Terry wonders why I haven't put the down comforters on the bed yet - who needs 'em when I've got Peanut and Tubby! Tubby is always down by my feet, even if the A/C is out and it's 90 degrees in the house. I guess he really likes the heat. :D

[neko1]

My abyssinian tama cannot get enough heat. At night he sleeps on the stove because the pilot lights are always on and its nice and warm up there. When I am home he sleeps on me and I sit with the electric blanket on high covering me and him. During the day the poor thing attempts to sit on the baseboard heaters, but he can only fit one side of him on it so he's got one side on and one side standing on the carpet and he tries to go to sleep like that. Pumpkin sleeps in the cat bed and cookie and neko sleep together next to the heaters. they all love when I bring out the electric blanket, sometimes I will get all 4 of them on me. oooh so warm!!

[wayne0214]

Recently I purchased one of those "log burner heaters" for the house. I placed a box fan in front of it, about 3' away and the fan circulates the heat all through the house. Any way, many of my furkids will lay on the couch in front of the heater. Also, on sunny days I will open up the south-side blinds and let some of them sleep on the windowsil. Since I have gotten big Otis, who sleeps with me on he covers every night, the others do not come onto the bed like in the past, except Fawn. Yet, in the mornings they will pester me to get up and feed them their special breakfast meal. This is usually about 4:30 AM.

...........wayne

[All Creatures Great And Small]

ariesrising, PLEASE post more kitty pictures - your cat is adorable! What a cute nose!

[The Cat Factory]

My big boy Peppurr loves to sleep on the Furnace Vents in the winter!!

[Barbara]

Originally posted by Cataholic
Lut and Barbara- I was just trying to imagine how the contact with the radiator doesn't get to hot...do you mean radiators that stand up- or do you mean floor radiators- what we call registers...I have one very talented sister who could probably make the fabric part...I am just wondering about the metal part. I think I could put something over the floor register...my cats want to be as comfy as their european cousins!!! :
Cataholic, as I am not good in describing 3-d things I saw that I got a picture for you: the frame is made out of aluminium tube and the case from teddy fur. The frame is made of 3 parts, the upper ones where it hangs at the radiator can be turned flat- this is how you take it out of the case when you wash it.
The picture is here:
http://www.schecker.de/shop.php?gruppe=427
If you send me a mail with your fax number I can draw the construction and fax it to you!

[neko1]

Here's Tama "hugging" the radiator:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid37/pbaa014c76b6db0f7623a6cd2ba3b5cec/fd1e5fa1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid37/p1907f8e6ce0c524191c9cbb83983178b/fd1e5fa6.jpg

[Barbara]

Oh Tama, that's gorgeous!! LoL

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | -Zippo-| | -

I let my cat have my pillow but Soon I needed one and went out to buy her own. She didn't like the black pillow so I had to buy her a navy Blue pillow that now she sleeps on everynight. I came home one day she it was on the middle of the floor by the heater....hum... I wonder how it got there??? Im still lost to this day.

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | -Zippo- | -

Im sad... :( My zippo kitty SO cute but I can't put one up. I have one where she's chew 'en on her Food Bag and it's adorable. ^^.

[Cataholic]

ZPC- keep trying to post the picture. Go to Cat General, and there are lots of instructions in there...

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | - Zippo- | -

K. Thanx!

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | -Zippo- | -

How do you get 'em under this Text? Like where it says zippo then queen of the univers and all things that go WOOF? Sorry :D I wanna know.

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | -Zippo- | -

O looky there's my kitty! ^^ Im happy now. I got it to work. :D :D

[Cataholic]

I think you mean my signature bar...where the five tuxes are. I had to ask bari_d to help me...she is a real sweetheart. But, I see that you got your avatar to post already, so I bet your on the right track!

[Zippo_Punk_Cat]

- | -Zippo- | -

Yep! ^^. Im good noiw I guess. I like the pic on the side for now.

I cannot believe this hammocks do not exist in the USA !??
You have so much items there which are not available here !

I have a great pic of maya in her hammock . I hope this helps a bit ! It is indeed a metal frame , covered with soft fabric . It can be hanged over a radiator like the one on the picture !! if you succeed in making this on your own , WAW !!!

of course , this here looks like a good place to be too : http://www.cindydrew.com/cats/free/kittenhammock.gif

[Barbara]

Lut, I have sent Cataholic a drawing of the construction. It looks that she cannot use it because many houses do not have radiators but only a grid where the heating comes from (the warmth is distributed in the house by tubes and comes out through the grid) -this could be the reason. Thanx for the pic: I am a horribly bad photographer. My husband is a great photographer but up to now only analogue. I try to push him into digital (we have hundreds of splendid analogue photos) but the decision is too important for him to be taken easy;) ;) ;) ;) Maybe Christmas time will help;)
One picture of Filou in his hammock was published in The Literary Cat Calendar 2002 (Der literarische Katzenkalender) but unfortunately it's just analogue.

[yumyum6970]

Everyone is talking about the cold weather. I wish it was cold here. It was in the high 60s this weekend. :(
We have our first fireplace this year in our new home and I can't wait to try it out and see what the kitties do to it.

[Cataholic]

YumYum...my cat Tex LOVED the fireplace where I used to live. He would lay sooo close to it and absolutely BAKE~but, remember, ashes, sparks, etc..can ignite!

[Cataholic]

This morning, as I was doing the final count before leaving, I couldn't find Alabama...and with her, she could be literally ANYWHERE in the house...the fridge, dryer, closet, bathtub..so, here I was searching under the bed, the table - calling and calling. I went down to the basement- and felt someone looking at me..there she was- ON TOP OF THE FURNACE!!!!!

Oh Cataholic , I hope that your furnace was not on ???:eek: :eek: :eek:

[catland]

Last night, Jan was sitting on top of the water heater. She was nice and toasty.

the fun never ends.

[RICHARD]

my body temp runs pretty high (i was always getting in trouble
for sitting in a chair and leaving it too HOT for the next person)
so i have the pleasure of having the cat climb on top of me during the night and start to do the kitty-paw-kneading-thing.

he starts at my feet and works his way up to the shoulders.....it makes for interesting dreams.

[Cataholic]

Originally posted by lut
Oh Cataholic , I hope that your furnace was not on ???:eek: :eek: :eek:

It was...but I think that is ok. The furnace I have is really large and old. It measures about 1.5 metres by a little less than 1 metre. It gets warm on top, but doesn't seem to get HOT!

I see I was right with the cat hammock thingy, it sits on the side of the older fashioned radiators. But, that would still work for those places that have a window over the floor register. We don't have them, but I wish we did! I do have a window seat one, that you hang off of the window sill (do you understand what a sill is?), and the cats sit in it. But, yours is much better....

[Vio&Juni]

We have our central heating starting only Saturday, starting September we used a room heater. Juni was cooking herself in front of it. Now, she's on the radiator as long as she can bear it, they are really hot. After that, she lies on the couch with two paws (the ones near the radiator) hanging down between the couch and radiator. She looks like Tama.
I saw that Lut's picture (or was it one of C&K?) with the hammock long ago, I thought I could make one. Our radiators are perfect for this kind of hammock.

[smokey the elder]

My parents used to have a house with a wood stove. They had two cats, Tiger and Ebony. Ebony, who's still with my mom, is a huge Maine Coon who will be about 13 in Feb. He used to lay UNDER the wood stove (it was on legs) and his coat got too hot to touch! On a cat special on PBS years ago there was a cat who liked to hang out in a blacksmith shop and supervise.

[Barbara]

Originally posted by smokey the elder
On a cat special on PBS years ago there was a cat who liked to hang out in a blacksmith shop and supervise.

I've seen that one too -it was not only hot but very loud in there but the cat had it all under control.

[Vio&Juni]

I just remembered how Naomi used to like hot places.
I used to bake (not anymore, trying to stay fit, and cakes don't really help keeping a certain weight). Once, after I took the apple pie from the stove, I left the stove open to cool down. Then my sister found out she's going to have guests and she decided to roast a chicken, so... she lit the fire. The moment she wanted to close the door of the stove, Naomi jumped out, smelling awfully. She was absolutely black and almost invisible in the stove. She burned her fur a little and she was stinky for some days. Now, we always check if no cat's in there :D

[sasvermont]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid39/pe233fb45bcce37af9f96c77ad174a4dd/fd0d7aa7.jpg
This is Graemer. When they were younger, they would both fit on the top of the AMP, now only one will fit. This photo was taken last spring.
:D

[lailamara]

SAS at least your two stand up to each other. My Bodhi is such a wuss he never fights with Maya about anything. She shoos him out of where he's sleeping, she eats his food and rules the roost with a velvet paw. ( me included) I wish he would put her in her place every now and then with a well placed nip or two.:mad:

[sasvermont]

My two Abys are evenly matched, I must admit. Graemer is much more tolerant of guests in the house etc. but he really goes after Miley from time to time. She hollers every chance she gets, and comes running to me. I usually catch Graemer mid-air as he is leaping on top of her, running from room to room, under chairs etc..... I let them do the chase/bite/run/nip thing for awhile, then I stop them. Yes, Graemer has been known to fight Miley for the warm spot, and WIN! The monitor is one of their favorite "fight spots" ....But Miley holds her own most times. Miley is a spoiled, whiney baby and Graemer is a bit of a bully. A tie game most of the time.

Gabe stays out of the fights. :rolleyes: