Poll of the Day > How long can a cat survive in a refrigerator, oxygen wise?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I feel so bad, I came home from work today (luckily I left early for an appointment, was only at work 8 hours) and found my cat in the refrigerator. He must've jumped in while I was closing and and I didn't notice.

I am worried he might have brain damage. He acts all normal, he seemed a little groggy when I opened it up but it went away in like 20 seconds. Not sure if it was because he was asleep or the light, I hope the little guy didn't have any oxygen issues :(

7 and a half hours.

How the fuck do you not notice your cat get into your fridge

I have closed my cat in my room or the bathroom without noticing. But never the fridge...
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Cacciato posted...

How the fuck do you not notice your cat get into your fridge

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Cacciato posted...

7 and a half hours.

How the fuck do you not notice your cat get into your fridge

He's going to be a great father.


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Well from my extensive testing a cat can survive about 10 hours in an empty fridge, but the more stuff you have in the fridge, the less time. In general a fairly full fridge means only about 5-6 hours, so you got lucky.

They don't survive long in the freezer at all though.

*this is a joke.....dear lord so many people take my posts seriously it's crazy*

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Warm that cat up youre lucky its still alive

wtf

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Does it like you still?
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9/27/2011

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskVet/comments/b0atn3/how_long_can_a_cat_survive_locked_in_a_fridge/

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From everything I can gather, refrigerators that are on do cycle the air from the outside somewhat. It seems almost all modern refrigerator deaths occur from discarded fridges that kids hide in. It's also very possible that your cat could open the fridge from the inside as they are designed so that even a small child could force their way out. Granted your cat would have to know that.

I saw some calculation that an adult human could survive on the air in fridge that isn't being cycled for about an hour and a half. I have no idea how much oxygen a cat needs compared to a human but even if they use the same amount per pound, they would probably have enough air in a fridge to last like 10+ hours.

This all leads me to believe that your cat is likely fine but might as well take it to the vet to be sure. I had one of my cats sneak into the fridge for like 4 hours when I was younger and it was fine. Cats seem really good at silently slipping through a doorway right as it's closing.

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All my cats have yeowled loud enough to wake the devil if I even entered the kitchen, let alone opened the fridge, so I never had to worry about stealth cats in the fridge.

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A cat consumes roughly 18 ml of oxygen in a minute of oxygen while under anesthesia according to this study from 1954

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007091217473491/pdf?md5=5632194f314988fd7cc85e57c0654e87&pid=1-s2.0-S0007091217473491-main.pdf

Double the oxygen consumption for a conscious cat and say 36 ml/min.

The oxygen percentage of the air is 20.95%. In a human "Death occurs in 8 minutes at 6 percent to 8 percent oxygen; recovery is possible after 4 to 5 minutes if oxygen is restored."

There are roughly 22.5 to 31 cubic feet in a fridge. Take 22 because of the extra crap in it. 622971 ml.

Multiply by 0.2095, 130512 ml of that is oxygen. Death will occur when 37378-49837 ml of oxygen remains. Your range is 93134 - 80675 of ml/min.

Your cat had roughly 2587 - 2240 minutes to live in your fridge.
Your cat had roughly 43 - 37 hours to live in your fridge.

By comparison, a human has roughly 5.5 hours until death in a coffin.
https://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-long-could-you-survive-coffin-if-you-were-buried-alive/

Why did I do that

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Many times my cats have gotten places that I never saw them go to. I swear by the theory of cat tunnels. Almost like a dimensional tear that they creep through at high speeds that we're unable to see. They'll be in their bed downstairs or something then magically appear at the top of the stairs before I can get there.

Go ahead and test it. Open a can of food. Instant transmission. If they learn a kamehameha I'm outta here.

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Nice going there, Luka Magnotta.

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Zangulus posted...

Did you even read it?

You think this isn't copypasta?

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Zangulus posted...

So... your answer is no. You didnt read what you posted.

So copypastas only count when they are exactly copied?

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We can do math and make rough estimates and assumptions all we want, but the fact remains that you should just take the cat to the vet to get checked out. That's going to be a whole lot more comprehensive and reliable than anything we can give you here.

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PETA disapproves this topic.

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adjl posted...

We can do math and make rough estimates and assumptions all we want, but the fact remains that you should just take the cat to the vet to get checked out. That's going to be a whole lot more comprehensive and reliable than anything we can give you here.

I didn't say that he shouldn't go to the vet. He asked a short question and I answered it while ignoring everything else he said.

I'd like to let TC know that his cat is probably alive.

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Only if I need to survive a nuclear explosion

the cat will be fine

my friend left his kitten out in the freezing cold, now that was messed up, it died of a heart attack
a refridgerator isn't even that cold, cats are used to the desert

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Zangulus posted...

You could just say no. You didnt read the post.

Yeah it was a terrible forum where apparently the rules are hitler and half the comments were removed

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Yellow posted...

Why did I do that

Damn dude, you scienced the fuck out of that.

Don't take the cat to the vet, it's fine. It probably slept comfortably the entire time.

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Cacciato posted...

7 and a half hours.

How the fuck do you not notice your cat get into your fridge

My cat use to jump in the fridge and I would usually let him hang out in there for 20-30 minutes. He eventually stopped, but its not abnormal for cats to go into the fridge.

SunWuKung420 posted...

9/27/2011

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskVet/comments/b0atn3/how_long_can_a_cat_survive_locked_in_a_fridge/

how did you get that date from something posted 11 months ago.

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Humans can survive in a coffin for about 5 hours

The cat should be ok in fridge for a day or two


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St_Kevin posted...

Humans can survive in a coffin for about 5 hours

thats only if you close it

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wtf tc

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Yellow posted...

A cat consumes roughly 18 ml of oxygen in a minute of oxygen while under anesthesia according to this study from 1954

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007091217473491/pdf?md5=5632194f314988fd7cc85e57c0654e87&pid=1-s2.0-S0007091217473491-main.pdf

Double the oxygen consumption for a conscious cat and say 36 ml/min.

The oxygen percentage of the air is 20.95%. In a human "Death occurs in 8 minutes at 6 percent to 8 percent oxygen; recovery is possible after 4 to 5 minutes if oxygen is restored."

There are roughly 22.5 to 31 cubic feet in a fridge. Take 22 because of the extra crap in it. 622971 ml.

Multiply by 0.2095, 130512 ml of that is oxygen. Death will occur when 37378-49837 ml of oxygen remains. Your range is 93134 - 80675 of ml/min.

Your cat had roughly 2587 - 2240 minutes to live in your fridge.
Your cat had roughly 43 - 37 hours to live in your fridge.

By comparison, a human has roughly 5.5 hours until death in a coffin.
https://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-long-could-you-survive-coffin-if-you-were-buried-alive/

Why did I do that

I agree with your work. Kitty seems safe. Gets back into the fridge ever chance he gets. Here he is drinking milk from a wine glass.

https://imgur.com/a/uHNIIVo

Why did you put your into the fridge?
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