Gidget Beats the Heat

My outdoor year-old cat, Gidget, is all black, and while her coat is short, she absorbs the heat much more than Herman and Opie who are orange and white. I've noticed Gidget tries to keep to the bushes, but the Mid-South is known for some deadly summertime temperatures, and I've worried she might stroke out.

So, one day I casually ran a damp cloth over her back. She wasn't sure she liked it, but the second time I did it, she "got it."  Through the past weeks when temps were over 100, I took a pan of water out to her and soaked her, literally soaked her. Now she will lie on her back and let me rub water onto her tummy, her throat and face, and even her arm pits!

Below are photos from her most recently "bath."

And...if the soaking doesn't cool her off completely, she enjoys the comfort of

 my air conditioned laundry room. This cat is no dummy.