Heatstroke in a dog or cat: what to do
Rescue guide · Last reviewed
Short answer
Heatstroke is one of the few animal emergencies where what a bystander does in the first ten minutes genuinely changes the outcome, and where the intuitive response — ice, ice water, a cold bath — makes things worse. Cooling has to be fast but not violent.
The second thing worth knowing is that heatstroke is deceptive. An animal that has been cooled often gets up, drinks, and seems fine, while the damage to its kidneys, gut lining and clotting system continues silently. A meaningful number of heatstroke deaths happen many hours later in animals that appeared to have recovered. Cooling is first aid, not treatment.
In a city like Mumbai the commonest victims are street dogs with no shade, dogs shut in parked vehicles or on unshaded terraces, short-nosed breeds, and any animal made to walk on hot tarmac in the afternoon.
How to cool an animal with heatstroke
You will need: Shade, or anything that casts it · Plenty of room-temperature water — not iced · A fan, a piece of card, or a car's air conditioning · A towel or cloth
- 1
Get it out of the heat immediately
Move the animal into deep shade or indoors, onto a cool hard floor rather than onto grass or a mat. If it is a dog shut in a vehicle, getting the vehicle open is the emergency — a car interior in the Indian sun reaches lethal temperatures within minutes, and a closed vehicle is not survivable for long.
- 2
Wet the whole body with room-temperature water
Pour or sponge tepid water over the entire animal — back, sides, belly, the inside of the thighs, the armpits, the paws and the ears. Soak it properly rather than sprinkling. Room-temperature tap water is exactly right; it does not need to feel cold to you to be cooling the animal.
- 3
Never use ice or ice water
Iced water and ice packs make the blood vessels in the skin clamp shut, which traps heat inside the body and slows cooling down instead of speeding it up. Very cold water can also cause shivering, which generates more heat. Tepid water plus moving air beats cold water every time.
- 4
Keep air moving over the wet coat
Evaporation does most of the cooling, so a fan, an open car window with the air conditioning on, or someone fanning with a piece of card roughly doubles the effect of the water. Keep re-wetting as the coat dries. Do not cover the animal with a wet towel and leave it — a towel left in place traps heat.
- 5
Offer small amounts of water only if it is fully alert
A conscious animal that can hold its head up and lap may drink small amounts of cool water by itself. Do not let it gulp a large volume at once, and never pour water into the mouth of an animal that is drowsy, collapsed or fitting — it will go into the lungs.
- 6
Get to a vet while you keep cooling
Heatstroke is a veterinary emergency even when the animal perks up. Call ahead, say it is heatstroke, and keep cooling in the car with the windows down or the air conditioning on. Tell the vet how long the animal was overheated and what its temperature was doing, if you know.
- 7
Stop actively cooling once it is comfortable
When the animal is breathing more easily and no longer panting frantically, stop pouring water and let it rest in the shade. Cooling an animal past normal drops it into hypothermia, which is its own problem. Keep it out of the heat and keep it still.
Do
- Use room-temperature water, and lots of it, over the whole body including the belly and inner thighs.
- Keep air moving over the wet coat — evaporation does most of the work.
- Get the animal to a vet even if it seems to recover fully.
- Say on the phone how long it was overheated, and whether it collapsed or had a fit.
- Keep cooling on the way to the clinic.
- For a street dog, put out shade and a water bowl that is refilled — it prevents the next case.
Do not
- Do not use ice, ice water or ice packs. They trap heat in the body and slow cooling.
- Do not pour water into the mouth of a drowsy, collapsed or fitting animal.
- Do not leave a wet towel draped over the animal. It traps heat unless it is constantly replaced.
- Do not let it gulp a large volume of water at once.
- Do not assume recovery. Organ damage from heatstroke shows hours later and is often what kills.
- Do not make it walk, and never exercise or walk an animal that has overheated.
How to recognise heatstroke
- Frantic, noisy panting, and in a cat any open-mouth breathing at all — cats do not normally pant.
- Drooling thick, ropey saliva.
- A tongue and gums that are bright red, or brick-coloured, or turning pale or bluish as it worsens.
- Unsteadiness, stumbling, walking as if drunk, or collapse.
- Vomiting or diarrhoea, sometimes with blood in it.
- Confusion, unresponsiveness, muscle tremors or a seizure.
- Skin that stays tented when pinched up, and gums that feel tacky — dehydration alongside the heat.
Which animals overheat first
- Short-nosed dogs — pugs, bulldogs, boxers, Shih Tzus — which cannot cool themselves efficiently by panting.
- Any animal shut in a parked vehicle, even briefly, even with the windows cracked.
- Street dogs in areas with no shade and no standing water, especially on tarmac and concrete.
- Thick-coated and dark-coated animals, and puppies, elderly animals and overweight ones.
- Animals chained or penned on a terrace, balcony or roof with no shade through the afternoon.
- Any animal with an existing heart or airway problem.
What prevents it, in a city
Almost all street heatstroke is a shade-and-water problem. A refilled bowl in a shaded spot outside a shop, a gate or a building entrance does more good across a summer than any single rescue — and a bowl that is in the sun by noon is not much use, so where it sits matters.
Walk dogs early morning and after dark, not in the afternoon. Test the tarmac with the back of your hand for a few seconds: if it is too hot for you to hold there, it is burning paw pads.
Never leave an animal in a parked vehicle in India, for any length of time, with the windows open or otherwise.
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Open the rescue helplineFrequently asked
How do I cool down a dog with heatstroke?
Move it into shade, soak its whole body — back, belly, inner thighs, armpits, paws and ears — with room-temperature water, and keep air moving over the wet coat with a fan or by fanning. Re-wet as it dries. Offer small sips only if it is fully alert, and get to a vet while continuing to cool.
Should I use ice or ice water on an overheated dog?
No. Ice and iced water make the skin's blood vessels clamp shut, which traps heat inside the body and slows cooling, and very cold water can cause shivering that generates more heat. Room-temperature water plus moving air cools an animal faster and more safely.
My dog seems fine after overheating. Does it still need a vet?
Yes. Heatstroke damages the kidneys, gut lining and clotting system, and that damage keeps developing after the animal has cooled and appears to recover. A significant share of heatstroke deaths happen hours later in animals that looked fine. Cooling is first aid, not treatment.
What are the first signs of heatstroke in a dog or cat?
Frantic noisy panting, thick ropey drool, and a bright red tongue and gums, progressing to stumbling, vomiting, confusion and collapse. In a cat, any open-mouth breathing is already serious, because cats do not normally pant. Gums turning pale or bluish means it is advancing.
Can I give an overheated animal water to drink?
Small amounts of cool water, only if it is fully conscious and can hold its head up and lap by itself. Do not let it gulp a large volume, and never pour water into the mouth of an animal that is drowsy, collapsed or having a fit — it will go into the lungs.
How long can a dog survive in a parked car in India?
Not long at all. A closed vehicle in direct sun climbs far above the outside temperature within minutes, and cracked windows make very little difference. Never leave an animal in a parked vehicle for any length of time. If you find one shut in a hot car, getting the vehicle opened is the emergency.
How can I stop street dogs getting heatstroke in summer?
Put out water bowls in shaded spots and refill them through the day — a bowl that sits in the sun by noon is little help — and leave shade accessible where dogs already rest. Across a summer that prevents far more cases than any individual rescue.
This guide covers containment and transport first aid only — the same advice rescue groups give over the phone. It is not veterinary treatment and does not replace a vet. Any injured, sick or orphaned wild animal should be handed to a registered rescue group or a veterinarian as soon as possible.