大熱天里，人會流汗，狗會呼哧呼哧地喘氣，但是貓好像卻沒什么反應。難道是貓不怕熱？其實貓也有自己的散熱方式，只不過和你想的不太一樣。

When temperatures rise, humans sweat, dogs pant, and cats ... don’t move enough to overheat? Well, partially. Cats, who need to maintain an internal body temperature of 101°F to 102°F, have several methods for keeping cool in sweltering weather.

氣溫上升時，人會流汗，狗會喘氣，貓呢？好像對高溫沒啥反應？其實，并不是完全沒反應。貓需要保持38.3度到38.9度的體內溫度，在悶熱的天氣里也有幾種給自己降溫的方式。

It’s a misconception that cats sweat through their paws to cool themselves off. As summer wears on you might see moist paw prints, but as veterinarian Kimberly May told The Washington Post, “any secretions there or from their nose, mouth, or tongue are not for sweating; they’re for protection and moisture and are insufficient to cool the blood.”

有一種錯誤觀念認為貓通過爪子流汗來給自己降溫。在夏日里你可能會看到潮濕的貓爪留下的印子，但是據獸醫金柏莉·梅告訴《華盛頓郵報》說，“貓的鼻子、嘴或舌頭的任何分泌物都不是流汗，而是起到保護和濕潤的作用，不足以給血液降溫。”

Instead, cats recreate the sweating process—which works to cool humans via evaporation—by grooming themselves regularly. The saliva from their tongues acts like sweat that cools their body when it evaporates—which is why you can also help cool your cat down by using a damp washcloth to lightly wet their fur. In extreme weather, cats will also pant, but unlike dogs who pant regularly to keep themselves cool, a panting cat is a sign of more dangerous over-heating or other serious disease.

事實上，貓通過定期舔自己的毛發來達到流汗般的散熱效果。人類通過汗液蒸發來給自己降溫，貓的舌頭分泌出的唾液在蒸發時也可以給身體降溫。因此你也可以用濕毛巾擦一擦貓的身體，輕微潤濕毛發，來幫助你的貓降溫。在極端炎熱的天氣下，貓也會喘氣，但和狗不同，狗在熱天里經常喘氣是為了涼快，而喘氣的貓則意味著過熱或其他嚴重疾病的危險。

And if you’re tempted to shave your feline friend to help keep him cool—don’t!

如果你有給貓剃毛降溫的沖動，千萬別這么做！

"Fur acts as a thermal regulator to slow down the process of heat absorption,” James H. Jones, an expert in comparative animal exercise physiology and thermoregulation at the University of California at Davis, told The Washington Post.

加州大學戴維斯分校比較動物運動生理學和體溫調節系的專家詹姆斯·H·瓊斯表示：“毛發相當于減緩吸熱過程的體溫調節器?！?/p>

Fur coats are highly evolved—in the winter they keep animals warm, but in the summer, they work both to protect delicate skin from the sun and slow dehydration (Jones notes that, according to research, shaved camels fared worse in the deserts than those with their fur intact).

動物的毛發經過了高度進化，冬天給動物保暖，夏天則保護脆弱的皮膚不被日曬，并減慢脫水速度。瓊斯指出，研究發現，被剃毛的駱駝在沙漠里沒有毛發完好的駱駝那么皮實。

But even with these methods for keeping cool, cats also rely on the perks of domesticity to stay comfortable. So even though they evolved from wild ancestors and are able to tough it out, leave the A/C (or a fan) on for your cats when you go out, and make sure to leave them plenty of water.

即使有這些降溫方式，貓也需要待在舒適的室內環境里。盡管它們是從野生祖先進化而來的，也能夠忍受炎熱，但是在你出門時還是要給貓開著空調，并確保給貓留下充足的水。

英文來源：Mental Floss

翻譯&編輯：丹妮