Veterinarians are warning cat owners against combating the current heat wave by serving their pets shrew-flavored ice cream.

The advice comes after one U.K.-based cat owner took to social media to reveal she was considering whipping up a rodent-based batch of the frozen dessert favorite, using several shrews one of her cats recently brought home.

With the U.K. in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave, it's crucial that cat owners take steps to ensure their feline friends stay cool and avoid excessive exposure to sunlight, which can lead to skin cancer.

The charity Cats Protection recommends establishing "plenty of shade both inside and out" for any cats residing in your home.

"From sheltered plant pots to cardboard boxes, these items offer makeshift sunshades for outdoor-loving moggies," the charity suggests. "Think about planting shrubs or using cat hides and boxes in the garden."

However, one Mumsnet user appears to be taking the task of helping her cat stay cool in an entirely different direction, after expressing concern that the pet looked "very hot and bothered."

The woman, writing as Bwix, said one of her cats recently brought four dead shrews into the house, which gave her an idea.

"Do you think the cats would like it if I froze them, perhaps mixed with a bit of cream?" she asked. "I know they can't taste sugar, so I was thinking of boiling cream and leaving the shrews to infuse at that stage, then making a sugar-free traditional custard (albeit shrew flavoured) and putting that in the ice cream maker."

It's a bold approach to matters culinary and cat, and the idea of using an ice cream maker after someone just made some shrew-flavored treats may not sound appealing. But opinion on the forum was decidedly split on the matter.

One user thought it was "genius" and encouraged her to "do it," while another dubbed her proposed creation "mice cream" and added, "I like it." A third, meanwhile, asked the cat owner to "let her know the recipe."

Not everyone was quite so enthusiastic. One said, "I don't think I could use a pan again after boiling shrews in it," while another simply commented, "I feel unwell."

Sean McCormack, head vet at Tails.com, told Newsweek: "Despite the logic being almost sound—cats need to keep cool, and if they've brought shrews home they must be high on the menu, right? Well, the opposite is true. Shrews taste disgusting. Fun to catch for a bored house cat, but unlike mice and birds, they almost never eat them.

"In fact, very few wild animals eat shrews," he continued. "They have a pungent musk which many mammals find distasteful. So scrap your shrew ice cream idea. In fact, scrap ice cream for cats altogether. Most are lactose intolerant, and sugary creamy treats are way too calorific, putting your cat at risk of obesity and even diabetes."

McCormack said that the "best ways to keep cats cool in this heat are to provide shady cool areas in quiet rooms with the curtains closed, a fan blowing, preferably over a bowl of iced water. If your cat is one of those who demands the tap is turned on for a drink, then it may be worth investing in a drinking fountain so they always have access to running water."

Another veterinarian, Liz Bales, has a possible alternative, but one that comes with a warning.

She told Newsweek, "A better choice for this cat culinary adventurer would be to forgo the cream and make a rich shrew stock by simmering the fresh carcasses in water. Allow the broth to cool and freeze the prey stew into shrew-sicles. Serve in a bowl or small tray with a lip. Not only will your cat enjoy their summer treat without gastrointestinal distress, they will have the added enjoyment of batting around their shrew-sicle as it melts and slips around in the container."

But Bales warned anyone considering such cat delights that they must take care when handling shrew carcasses, given that fleas found on shrews have been known to carry bubonic plague.

"In addition to ectoparasites, shrews can carry many different intestinal parasites and can transmit the BoDV-1 virus that causes Borna disease, which may result in a deadly encephalitis in an unlucky shrew handler," she added. "So, while tempting, my professional opinion is that the risks to both cat and human from a home shrew treat are too serious. I'd like to suggest some catnip or silver vine instead."

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