I live in the very south of France and face south-west, which gets the sun from mid-day until sunset, with temperatures reaching 35-40 degrees in high summer. I agree blinds, curtains, fans do little to reduce the temperature and the only solution is a (portable) air conditioning unit that you can buy and take with you if you move. There are even small 'split' systems so that the noisy bit can stay outside (standing on a balcony or suspended from the window) with the quieter fan part inside the room. I am in a condo with restrictions but have a large balcony where I can stand the unit. Sleeping outside can leave you at the mercy of all kinds of flying insects.......

As a fellow Melbournian, I feel yr pain!
Invest in a portable air conditioner and some blockout curtains for the worst rooms.
Hopefully this heat wave has broken for a bit...we could all use some sleep!

I'd think heat blocking curtains would help if you shut them during the hottest part of the day – could you try it out with heavy cardboard or something for a few days to see if it makes a difference?

Heat reflective lining is available by the yard and you can get it in white. Make sure to check which side should face out and which side should face in.

If you just use fans you need to think strategically about where you put them (to create as much through draft as possible). In our heat wave last summer we put the fan in the window in the evening to draw air in, and if we'd had another we'd have put it pointing out of the second window in the bedroom.

Lots of good ideas in this thread: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-can-we-keep-our-house-cool-116955

You really need an A/C.

Yikes! I'm up in Sydney, and I've also felt heat like that. For the long term, air conditioning really is the only solution. For a shorter-term one, try setting up a large bowl of cold water (put ice in it) and put a fan behind it so it blows straight over it. That does only work for one room, though...

Living in Abu Dhabi, I .... don't feel your pain, as everything is air conditioned here. For the infrequent power outage we get (due to crappy construction, not power supply), I do the following:

Always keep ice in the freezer, not as a big bag of cubes, but freeze a carton or large water bottle. Do this with several of them. They take foreeever to melt as one big block, and was a secret I learned from after-hurricanes in Florida. We would leave one or two in the freezer to keep things cool when there was no elec.

Take another one or two and set them in front of the fans - it's not air conditioning, but it's a noticeable difference from 'just fan'. For the windows, it's ugly, but during the hottest days, you can put tin foil up - this is the best reflectivity. Maybe have some boards with tin-foil so that it's not so permanent (during the day only?).

The best insulation in any case, is to have a layer of space between two surfaces, and cardboard kind of does this. Some foil on one side of the the cardboard should be a nice window block. For your heated brick exterior? No idea.

We put this up in our sunroom - we love the view in that room but was unbearable in the summer. The windowfilm plus timely use of blinds has made a difference.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=SF_HF_KH_Window_Films&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053

It can be removed when you move if the landlord so desires...

Our bedroom is in the top floor of a 3 story brick house. I remember closing drapes during the day and opening things up at night being very effective in the house I lived in as a kid, but that was only 2 stories and it was a wood frame house.

I think drawing the curtains has minimal effect because 1) heat rises and you are getting the heat generated around the first floor as well as the second floor. 2) at the end of a long hot summer, the bricks are storing heat. 3) You may be getting a lot of heat gain through the roof, depending on what the roof color and insulating situation is. Drawing the curtains may actually be helping a bit, but its just such a drop in the bucket.

Air conditioning is really the only way to go, especially as a renter. If you lived there, you could look into insulation, a roof-top exhaust fan, etc.

Invest in an industrial grade window fan that has an intake/exhaust switch. It will take up one whole window - something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Air-King-9155-Window-16-Inch/dp/B002AGZUMA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1363178068&sr=8-9&keywords=window+exhaust+fan

I lived in an apartment like yours and this really helped to clear the hot air out during the night. I would turn it on exhaust and open up all of the windows. The exhaust action of the fan pulled cool outside air in through the rest of the windows. It's the same concept as an attic fan. They are loud, but powerful and really help.

I used to have a similar problem in Colorado. I took sheets of foam insulation (the pink or blue kind with foil backing on one side), cut them to the exact dimensions of the window, cut a slit vertically the full length of the panel through the non-foil side and the foam - NOT the foil. Now they will fold like bi-fold doors...to install them, keep folded as you insert in the opening, then push flat - they'll stay in place and be fairly well sealed. To remove, pull the panels folded again and out they come. You can put tape or ribbon "handles on the inside surface, so you can pull them out. Not pretty, but it did help. If you wanted to get fancy, you could probably cover the non foil surface with fabric of paper to make them a little more pleasing to the eye, and diminish the black-out/construction site appearance.

Also in Melbourne and commiserations! These folks are in Thornbury and maybe this, or some other product they have, can help stop your place heating up too much during the day: Renshade

For cooling down later in the day you need to get cross-ventilation going. Apparently Melbourne winds are predominately SW. Try to open opposite windows (if you have them - even on corners) to get a flow-through effect. Then later open all the other windows. Sometimes when you open everything up at once, you create a kind of 'wind vaccum' so you want to get flow happening first. And as mentioned above, fans need to be placed with care, to help the flow.

If it's any consolation, our Brunswick house is really hot and very hard to get air into when it cools down : (

I live in south Texas and it still amazes me how people can survive without an A/C... I would have bought one from day one, lol!

If you have access to the attic, installing an attic fan can help bring down the temperature significantly.

Short of air conditioning and your landlord agreeing to investigate your roof insulation:

Light reflecting blinds and/or curtains, closed during daylight. At night, open the windows facing the side of the house that gets the least sun at the end of the day, and put fans in them facing in. Open windows on the opposite side (the brick on this side will hold the sun's heat for some time after it sets) and place fans in these windows that face out. This should quickly bring the inside to the outside temp.

Have you tried setting your fans in front of your windows blowing outwards? It will force air to be drawn from your apartment and out the windows. We did this when I lived in residence at university, and our hot dorm room easily cooled down compared to our neighbours by using this technique!

A portable floor model a/c unit! The actual unit does not hang out the window, which is nice, but you do still need to run a small duct from the window to the unit and have a way to catch the condensate drainage. Our unit's window piece is nice and thin, fits well and stays put. If you're willing to change windows everytime you move it, you can roll it around with you as you spend time in different rooms. Our master bedroom is in the now finished attic of our 1940's home - no heat, no a/c, but with our unit we are more than comfortable.

Air conditioning is the only way we deal in the summer. We have one in the living room and bedroom windows. They're loud and unsightly but when you rent you do what you can. I couldn't live without it!

In the olden days, 70's and 80's, my grandparents had one of those huge fans that took up a whole window and sucked the air out. I never had to sleep there but it never felt cool to me. I think that's why they don't make those things anymore! There are window fans with two fans...one blows in and one out. Not sure if they work but I know people that use them.

Poor kitty! That used to make me so nervous when our cats got that hot.

My husband used to pet his cat with ice cubes...she was an older lady and used to get hot easily. :)

Sun protection has to be outside the window, not inside. You can use anything - cardboard, old curtains - but put them outside. Water is precious in Australia I guess, otherwise it would help to sprinkle the outside walls and the roof with water in the evening.

Top floor living in a sunny locale can be hellish on hot days! When I lived in Arizona, I took a page from my mother's book.

It's not one single thing that will "fix" the problem, but lots of little things will help.

~ Cover the windows during the day. Whether you get blackout or reflective curtains, or cover cardboard with foil, whatever. Get something up over the windows the second the sun comes up.
~ Open the windows at night (if the outside temperature drops lower than the inside temperature). Open every window and set up fans to create a cross breeze. That means fans sucking air from outside in as well as fans blowing inside air out. You'll know you've done it right when you can actually feel a directional breeze moving through your unit.
~ When the place is closed up use some form of AC. That could mean a portable unit, or a big block of ice (place it in a large pan to catch drips) in front of a fan.
~ No matter what type of AC you use during the day, circulate air throughout the rooms you are actually using and close off any really hot rooms you are not using.
~ Take note of what rooms are the hottest and what rooms are the coolest. If your bathroom is super cool, keep it open and use a fan to circulate that cooler air into the rest of the unit. If your bedroom is super hot, close the door so you're not trying to cool that space as well.
~ Try to avoid heat-producing activities during the hottest times of day. Don't run the dishwasher, use the oven, the clothes dryer, etc. If you shower, use cool water. If you cook, use the smallest burner and the fastest cooking method you can (or cook outside).
~ Specifically for your cat: make sure she has a cool place to hang out. That may be the bathroom floor, or the sink. There are even cool mats you can buy for your pet (or wrap an ice pack in her favorite blanket). You can also put ice cubes in her water.

all the comments above are good ones. frog togs makes evaporating gear. wearing an evaporator around your neck is helpful. sleeping in a damp nightie works. wetting a sheet to put in front of a fan helps. gel insert for pillow can go in the fridge.

Bricks hold heat for a long time. You're basically living in a brick oven....for god's sake buy an a/c unit before you come home to roast cat!

At least get a small window air conditioner for your bedroom so you can get some sleep! Cats should not be panting so your little kitty is in distress. For short term, definitely put some blocks of ice in front of the fan. Put ice in kitty's water bowl and maybe wipe her/him down with a cool wet washcloth on occasion.

I'll admit it, I'm a hot weather wimp, but goodness, it sounds like buying an AC unit would be a good investment. Think of it this way, if/when you move out you could offer to sell the it to the next tenant since they'd probably want it too.Pick one room to keep cool (maybe the bedroom?) and keep it that way. Cats are originally from the desert, so if it's panting, it is just *too* hot. Probably goes without saying but be sure your kitty has plenty of access to water. Put water dishes throughout the apartment.

I agree with buying an A/C unit. We'll be doing that this summer. We're in Vancouver, which doesn't even get that hot, but we face east and the sun just beats down on our apartment most of the day-it could be the middle of winter but if it's sunny, we're boiling.

I wanted to install that film on the windows that blocks heat, but the only type we could find was tinted and therefore not allowed by the strata (as it would change the outward appearance of the building). We did get heat blocking curtains, and while they don't make a HUGE difference, walking into the bedroom from the living room it is noticeably a few degrees cooler.

But really, I would invest in a good portable AC unit. Our poor pug spent most of last summer lying on the tile in the bathroom, so we'll be getting one so we will all be more comfortable.

Check you local rental laws. It's hopefully illegal to maintain a hot apartment and you can persuade your landlord to install an air conditioner. If not, you'll have to spring for one of your own.

The best trick for the windows is to keep the sunlight from hitting the glass. Bamboo blinds, screens, window film, foam core covered with aluminum foil, anything you can think of. Short of that, insulated curtains are a must.

Put cool water on your kitty's chest to cool her down.

I second most of the suggestions above.

I've also found that my issues tend to be worst when I'm trying to *fall* asleep. Last summer I tried out sticking one or more freezer packs in my bed about 15 minutes before I climbed into it as reverse bed-warmers -- that helped considerably. I also tried taking cold showers before bed really helped lower my body temperature, with the added benefit of the fan(s) have extra impact once I'm wet.

I pop my cat's bed in the fridge for a while when it's hot here. She loves it.

I've never tried it, but since you're on the top floor, maybe it would be worth looking into painting the roof white to reflect back some of the sunlight? You'd have to get the owners permission, but maybe you could justify it as a building improvement?

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/houseexteriorframework/a/HowToPaintRoof.htm

You can purchase a portable swamp cooler. It has wheels and can move from room to room and helps more than a fan

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/hvac/cooling/evaporative-coolers/portable-evaporative-cooler-350-cfm-high-600552?utm_source=google_pr&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Portable-Evaporative-Coolers-google_pr&infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CICv9oHa-rUCFc9AMgode2QAWQ

Some even come with a remote. Our house is miserable hot in the summer and it helps some.

Is Melbourne dry or humid? If it's humid, swamp coolers will just add to your pain. I live in the American midwest, super-humid, & I don't have a/c. Many of the above suggestions are good, espcially keeping sun out, & creating a cross-draft with in-fans & out-fans. I could not live without my ceiling fans, but that would be tricky in a rental.
For your poor kitty, look into gel packs that can be frozen & refrozen & then wrapped in a towel.. Be careful if your kitty is a chewer, as the gel fill may be toxic--it's not meant to be ingested. A floor fan aimed at his fave sleeping spot will also help--my cats & dogs are often belly-up under the ceiling fan.

I live in northern, dry, almost desert Mexico and it would really help if you could ask your landlord to put insulation in the roof. In our apartment we found a cellulose "paste" that helps a lot. I found these in a super quick google search
http://www.australian-government-insulation-rebates.com/Products/blownincelluloseinsulation.html
And the material to impermeabilize is reflective white, so the ceiling doesn't heat that much.
For the all-day sunbathed walls I would do vines, in pots if there is no possible planting space, you would not only help your own, but your downstairs neighbor as well. Another googling in a jiffy turned out this http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1785393.htm. you could do a lot better work down there.
And for the impossible to sleep nights, do get your A/C.
Good luck.

I once lived on the top, southwest corner of a brick building. I can feel your pain! A couple quick things to try:

Fill the bathtub with cold water. It will help pull hot air out of the room (if your water is fairly cheap, otherwise this would be too expensive). Not so deep that the cat will be in trouble if it goes swimming.

Sleep on a blow up air bed - they don't warm up with your body heat like regular mattresses do. I wore flannel pj's and had a down alternative comforter one summer while sleeping on an air bed - with the windows closed!

Radically reduce the number of calories you eat during the daytime. I did a Ramadan-style fast for a month in record highs-August once (no eating or drinking during daylight hours) and in spite of wearing two shirts, I was cold. Most of your food keeps your temperature up, so reducing your food (for mammals anyway) will help in hot weather. Feed the cat at night only. Lots of water and low calorie liquids during the daytime. Mix 1/3 plain yogurt with some salt and add 2/3 water, mix well then put in the refrigerator - very, very refreshing!

Ensure that there is circulation in the attic. If there is not, all that hot air just gets caught. Hopefully the landlord can open some vents. Even better if your have attic access is to make sure it is open from your apartment to the attic to the vents. This can set up a natural draft that should pull the hot air out of your apartment.

Evaporating water absorbs energy and leaves the object cooler than when it started (why we sweat). This is why a wet head feels cooler. Wet your hair as often as possible and you will feel cooler (especially if you then sleep with a fan on you). This saved me one hot summer when living in a poorly insulated attic.

Another thing to do, especially if you have a hose, is to wet the brick at the end of the day. It will help cool the brick, preventing it from radiating as much heat into the house. I use this trick on my adobe walls.

Speaking as a landlady, I can say that you could probably work something out where you can install blinds, shades or an attic fan (or all three). They might even help cover the cost. It would be a good thing to negotiate in your next lease renewal especially if they pay for utilities. AC units are super expensive on power bills, in my experience.

If you are a good tenant non-slumlords will be happy to make a minor upgrade to keep you on. In the US at least, anything the landlord spends on this is tax deductible.

Also from Melbourne, so I hear you. We have a two story apartment, and the top floor, where the bedrooms are, gets really hot. Portable aircon is really inefficient and costs LOTS to run - I wouldn't do it. We have an evaporative cooler in the bedroom, which we add ice to, and fans in the other rooms. The suggestion of setting up the fans so you get a cross breeze at night is a really good one. Blackout curtains do make a big difference, and so do outside blinds or shade cloth - our outside blinds make a massive difference. Filling a spray bottle with cool water and squirting ourselves (and our dogs) cools us down. If you have exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom put them on at night to suck the hot air out of the place and suck cool air in the windows. And seriously, get an evaporative cooler - lying in bed at night with ours blowing moist air onto us, we couldn't even tell how hot it was.

For all those who asked, Melbourne is very dry heat! (and thank goodness, it's looking a lot more autumnal today!)

PS http://www.bigw.com.au/home-garden/garden-outdoor/coolers/bpnBIGW_0000000249977/coolway-10-litre-evaporative-cooler

I see plenty of helpful comments but I wanted to add some about your kitty. If she is panting, she is overheating and her health might be at risk!

-give her a bowl of water with ice cubes.
-there are cat or dog beds with cooling gels in them (be very careful that you use something that is non-toxic for kitty)
-leave bathroom doors open if the bathroom is tiled and cooler so kitty can sleep in there if needed
-give kitty a bath, the heat will dry her and the wetness will keep her cool in the meantime
-pay close attention to her to make sure she is not overheating, call your vet if she starts acting lethargic or sick in any way

The above poster - akritenbrink - has excellent tips for your kitten. I, too, am concerned about the panting. Please be careful - you don't want to lose that sweet, little orange kitty I see in your photo. He looks precious. If you cannot give your kitten a "bath" wipe him down with cold, wet, washcloths in the bathtub. If you do all the things suggested for her, you should be able to get her through this hot spell. All of the above comments will be helpful for you and your kittten.

I meant to add: I would definitely get a small room-size air conditioner to get you all through the worst heat. At least that way, you would have one room to escape to and get some temporary relief ever so often.

Window air conditioner for the bedroom, at least! And let the kitty sleep in the cooled-down bedroom too. If it's too hot for you, it's definitely too hot for an animal with a fur coat.

if windows are double-hung, can create cross-vent at a single window by opening both the top and bottom of the window, for a circular pattern. (if there is too much heat in the winter, the tiniest of cracks mitigates overheating.)