As a kid, I was very fond of this cartoon called tom and jerry about a cat and a mouse. At times in that show, the cat was sitting inside the refrigerator and I used to ask my mom,” mom, is it real? Can a cat be inside a refrigerator and not die?”.
My mom never gave me an answer but if you have ever wondered the same thing while watching your pet or some tv show that is, ‘what is with the cats and the refrigerators?’.
I may be able to help you with that. Keep going and you may find the answer to this cat mystery.
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Why Do Cats Like To Sit In The Fridge?
On a hot summer day, do you ever just open the freezer to feel the cool air on your face to relieve yourself of the heat.
But that’s not why cats like the fridge, they like being warm so they don’t go in the fridge for the cool sensation.
Cats are fascinated by the fridge as they substantially associate it with food.
When you open the fridge, the aromas of the food spread around, and cats, having a very strong sense of smell, detect it and make the connection between the fridge and food.
Once they get an idea that they might get good food from the fridge, they start hanging around the fridge. Not just hanging around they might even try to get in.
Cats are foodies without a doubt. They love eating and lazing around, so how far they will go for their food is what you’ll see, it is just a matter of time till you see all its actions.
Your cat may be going inside the fridge because it may have a fever, generally the body temperature of cats is around 100℃, so it is very high already, it may go inside the fridge to ease its fever.
You’ll likely observe other symptoms in your cat if it is running a fever. Other symptoms may include fatigue, and lethargy among others.
If the cat sees you taking out something edible i.e. edible for the cat, from the fridge it would try to find a way to get to it.
Can A Cat Open A Fridge Door?
You may be surprised to hear about all the things your cat can do if it wants something. The extent to which it can go might truly surprise you and leave you questioning your judgment.
If you think your cat will not be able to open the fridge door so you store food in there, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Cats can open a fridge door if they want to get something from inside it or if they find that something interesting is present in it.
They are smart creatures but also stubborn. You should never undermine their ability.
Pet parents that I come across, tell me all the time about the shenanigans their cats put up, which shocks them to no ends.
They could never believe it when they find their cats in unusually high places or inside the freezer.
Cats are unpredictable and you can never tell with them, so if your cat has not yet opened a fridge door don’t underestimate it, because it can do much worse than that.
Why Is My Cat Meowing At The Fridge?
Meowing is a way of expressing dislike for cats, so it is probably trying to tell you that it does not like something that’s inside the fridge.
If you are feeding the cat something and it does not like it, it meows at the place you store it, so if you store the food product inside the fridge it will meow at the fridge to show its dislike of the particular food or food item.
They may also meow to show you that they need something. If they like something and they may see you, putting something they like in the fridge they may meow at it to show that they want it.
Meowing is a way of communicating for cats, they use it as a tool to convey the message of liking or disliking something probably food and food items they don’t like.
How Long Can A Cat Survive In The Fridge?
A cat can survive inside the fridge safely for around 19 hours according to the experts.
But you cannot predict it because some cats have stronger immunity and will to fight, while some don’t.
Here take the instance of this cat, which was reported by Fox News that in Oklahoma city there was a cat who survived four weeks inside the fridge, with minimal food and water.
There are a lot of factors that decide how long can your cat survive inside the freezer. Immunity, availability of food, and willpower decide how long a cat can survive inside the fridge.
There is very little to no air inside the refrigerator, so if your cat accidentally locks itself there you may hear its labored breathing or wails from inside the fridge.
If your cat does not collapse due to the lack of air, it may catch hypothermia. Cats are huge fans of heat and warmth, they are always trying to find warm places and trying to keep themselves warm.
Inside the refrigerator, it’s cold, though not as cold as a freezer but still cold. The temperature is enough to give a cat fatal hypothermia.
Another deathly cause that could affect your cat would be starvation, a cat can survive only for so long without food and water. Lack of nourishment might kill them. If it does kill the cat it would leave it malnourished and you’ll have to nurse it back to health.
But there has been more than one anecdote from fellow pet parents of how their cats would purposely go inside the fridge and not make any sound. There also have been stories of cats being alive after being in the refrigerator for weeks.
So if you have a cat that can open a fridge door and if it gets lost you should try looking inside the fridge. You may find it there because nobody ever has any clue what a cat is up to and what it may do.
How To Keep A Cat Out Of The Refrigerator?
The lack of air inside the fridge could kill your cat so you need to find ways to keep them out of the fridge, or else they might accidentally end up in a self-destructive state.
Here are some things you can do to keep your cat out of the refrigerator:
Covering food:
The smell of food is the main thing that attracts the cats, if you cover the food the cat may not catch a very strong scent hence it would not be able to guess from where it is coming.
Stealth:
You have to be really sneaky if you have something that you feed your cat and put inside the fridge, never let your cat know that you store it there. Once the cat knows it is in the fridge it will try to get to it.
Childproof locks:
cats aren’t very tall and also cannot open locks, so you can try childproof locks as they would keep your cat out of the fridge.
Tapes or foil:
If you see your cat and notice that it has a particular way of opening the door and getting in, you can put double-sided tapes on spots it comes in contact with.
When this tape would stick on their paws and it would annoy them to no end and they will eventually stop going there.
You should always keep an eye out for your cat as it may not even make a sound sometimes it is stuck inside the fridge. It may just hide out there, not wanting to be found but it could be very harmful to the cat and also life-threatening. So you should make sure the cat is not gone for a long stretch of time.
Frequently Asked Questions?
Why does my cat like sitting inside the fridge?
Cats like small spaces like cabinets and boxes, if the cold inside the fridge does not bother the cat it is very likely that it might like the small cramped space in there.
What to do if the cat gets stuck in the fridge for a few hours?
If a cat is stuck in the fridge, it probably might be very cold and would be prone to catch hypothermia. The first thing you should do is get your cat warm and feed it something. After a few hours if the cat still seems sick you should call the vet.
How to keep food from the fridge away from cats?
Cats like the fridge because to them it’s a source of food. If you cover the food before putting it in the fridge it would minimize the odor and also not let the cat know that something of interest lies in there.
Summary
Cats have a different fetish for the refrigerator. They like the top of it because it gives them the feeling of being indispensable. They like the inside of it because they associate it with food.
They make the connection between food and the place of its storage, that is the refrigerator and find ways to get into it.
They are also smart enough, that they learn how to open the door of the fridge and get in it. But that could be harmful.
Cats may know how to open doors and get in but they may not know how to get out and get stuck there. If you don’t find them in time they may even get killed.
So try to keep your cat out of the fridge. You can do this if don’t let the cat know that, the things it likes to eat are stored in the fridge.
Can you manage to be this stealthy and do that without being noticed?
