Most of us are used to the extremely hot conditions that the Australian summer serves up every year. While we have the luxury of air conditioning and summer clothing to help us keep cool, our feline friends are not so lucky.

With a nice fur coat on their backs, cats can find it difficult to stay cool on hot days and can really feel the heat.

Fortunately there are a few things you can do to help. For example keeping them inside out of the heat is a good place to start, while making sure you provide plenty of cool, fresh drinking water (even with some ice blocks) which will help keep their temperature down.

Cats regulate their own body temperature on hot days by remaining as inactive as possible. Your cat may spend most of the day sleeping or lazing around trying to keep their temperature down. Your cat will be ready for plenty of fun later in the day or evening when the sun loses its sting!

If you are travelling with your cat be sure to NEVER leave it unattended in the car. Cars can quickly heat-up to temperatures exceeding 70 degrees, which can be fatal.

If you must take your cat with you, be sure to take plenty of drinking water with you and keep the air conditioning on. Try and keep your cat in a shaded spot in the car and consider not travelling during the heat of the day usually between the hours of 10am to 3pm.