I recently got a cat, and with summer just getting here, what is the best temperature to keep the house at, for the cat's comfort?
I'm asking because I would like to leave the place at 75 like I was doing last year to save money, but worry that I should do lower for Shiloh.
A cat's natural body temperature ranges from 100.5-102.5F, a bit higher than humans. A good general rule is if you're comfortable, the cat will be comfortable. My mom has Sphynx, and like people, they go find a blanket if they're cold. (She keeps her house around 71F.)
If you haven't already, get it a bed, with a small blanket. Put it somewhere off the beaten path, bonus points if it can be in the sunlight for part of the day. Most cats like to lay in the sun.
We also bought the Sphynx a heated bed. It's always plugged in and warm, but more often than not they would rather just curl up in a blanket than on the heated bed.
Like it was mentioned before, cats have higher body temperatures than humans and as such can also tolerate much higher temperatures. You could shut off your AC completely and the cat will be fine. In fact, if you see your cat curling up into a ball when the AC is on, then you know that that temperature is actually too cold for him.
My cats usually prefer a soft, cool blanket or comforter to sleep on, and they are comfortable at around 75 to 85 degrees fahrenheit.
My cat sleeps with me and I always have a fan blowing on me unless the house is below 55. I live very rural, high elevation and we get -30° (30 below zero) in winter so if I don't wake up to stoke the fire, it gets COLD. My cat rarely gets under the blankets, he's perfectly content to curl up on me to sleep, ha. If your cat is used to being outdoors, they're more acclimated to the temps in that area but anything below 60 is typically too cold and 80 is okay with shade and plenty of fresh water. If your comfortable, they're most likely comfortable (:
In addition to what the other posters have said, I'd like to point out that your cat has more options for places to hang out in your home than you do. When the weather is warm, they can cool off by lying on the floor, particularly the bathroom or kitchen tile. When it's cold, they can bask on the windowsill, or next to/on top of their favourite human.
