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Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

oneroof.co.nz

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Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#11

Post by dundarious »

bitwize wrote: post #7

The ideal number of cats per home in New Zealand is zero. Cats prey on local wildlife, much of which is near extinction as it is because of introduced predators including humans. Those who advocate for banning cats in New Zealand have a pretty strong case.

Is there an argument against indoor cats? That is now the recommendation in the US, as far as I know.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#12

Post by carabiner »

dkersten wrote: post #2

Not sure where they got their cost estimate from, but I spend a lot more than $250/year on each of my two cats (and 250 NZD is only ~160 USD). Still, fun article :)

Huge variation in cat food costs. Cheapest food can be under $100/year, most expensive can be 10x that.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#13

Post by reaperducer »

I was once desperately poor. Too poor to turn on the heat. But I did have access to friendly cats, so I've been through this experiment in real life.

One cat stuffed under the blankets at night is a significant improvement. But as you add more and more cats, the improvement becomes only incremental.

I eventually learned that two cats was really the best one could hope for. Best positioning is between the legs, and with the blankets pulled up over my head with a little crack for breathing. After that, adding more cats doesn't help much.

If I was still cold after two cats, I had to break down and turn on the heat.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#14

Post by xoa »

An interesting study, but spatially non-uniform dynamic thermal location and local partial biomass availability seem like factors here. While direct heaters, ground source heat pumps in particular, can be exceptionally efficient and functional year round, they ultimately have fixed exchange locations and must bring the whole house volume to temperature. Whereas a cat heater is dynamic: for example while I am sleeping the cat is liable to apply all 15 watts directly to my face. I can anecdotally report a significant insulation effect as well. Or while I'm desperately trying to complete a final sprint the cat may decide that my keyboard is the ideal radiative location. A proper heating model probably needs to take this into account albeit with a lot of chaos and quantum theory mixed in as the cat may or may not be providing heat until observed. And cats in general are equipped with local biomass harvesting and conversion capabilities that may further alter supplemental fuel costs.

Never the less I certainly look forward to continued research on this topic!

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#15

Post by ttymck »

dkersten wrote: post #2

Not sure where they got their cost estimate from, but I spend a lot more than $250/year on each of my two cats (and 250 NZD is only ~160 USD). Still, fun article :)

You should account for the externalities of cat ownership, above and beyond them being a space heater: companionship, responsibility, pride, etc.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#16

Post by Alupis »

dundarious wrote: post #11
bitwize wrote: post #7

The ideal number of cats per home in New Zealand is zero. Cats prey on local wildlife, much of which is near extinction as it is because of introduced predators including humans. Those who advocate for banning cats in New Zealand have a pretty strong case.

Is there an argument against indoor cats? That is now the recommendation in the US, as far as I know.

Loose an outdoor cat in a horrible, easily preventable way, and you'll quickly become an indoor-only cat owner.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#17

Post by kbutler »

ttymck wrote: post #15
dkersten wrote: post #2

Not sure where they got their cost estimate from, but I spend a lot more than $250/year on each of my two cats (and 250 NZD is only ~160 USD). Still, fun article :)

You should account for the externalities of cat ownership, above and beyond them being a space heater: companionship, responsibility, pride, etc.

"pride"

I see what you did there.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#18

Post by aidenn0 »

saagarjha wrote: post #8
bitwize wrote: post #7

The ideal number of cats per home in New Zealand is zero. Cats prey on local wildlife, much of which is near extinction as it is because of introduced predators including humans. Those who advocate for banning cats in New Zealand have a pretty strong case.

Perhaps you can keep your cat indoors?

Any sufficiently popular indoor pet that can survive outdoors will end up with a feral population.

So it's a bit like saying "instead of ROHS can't we just mandate recycling, but if the cheap kids toys people dump indescribably could breed.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#19

Post by rurp »

The first time I took my cat camping it was much colder than expected. At bed time I filled a bottle with hot water and wrapped my cat up in a blanket with it. Being a cat, he immediately squirmed his way out of it and started walking around the freezing tent.

I was starting to get worried until the little guy realized he could just barely squeeze into my zipped up sleeping bag.

It was a big mess of fur and limbs all night, but we both managed to stay warm enough.

Re: Cat vs. panel heater: which is better?

#20

Post by saagarjha »

aidenn0 wrote: post #18
saagarjha wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you can keep your cat indoors?

Any sufficiently popular indoor pet that can survive outdoors will end up with a feral population. So it's a bit like saying "instead of ROHS can't we just mandate recycling, but if the cheap kids toys people dump indescribably could breed.

I mean, you can very easily keep your cat indoors.
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