Cat Health Tips – How The Experts Check And Feel Their Cats For Health Problems
Cat Health Tips
When stroking or grooming your cat, take the opportunity to look any physical health problems. The earlier you detect anything, the easier it should be for the veterinarian to treat your cat successfully.
Look inside your cat’s ears to see if there is a dark brown crusty substance or any other sign of ear mites. Your cat’s eyes should be clear and clean. The appearance of the third eyelid, or haw, may indicate that your cat is sick.
Carefully check inside your cat’s mouth. His breath should be fresh and there should be no sign of gum disease. Have you noticed your cat scratching himself more than usual, particularly around the head and rear? If so, he may be suffering from fleas or other external parasites.
Look for cuts on your cat’s paws or any damage to his nails. Do his claws need trimming? To see if your cat is the proper weight, run your hands down his backbone and across his hips bones and lower abdomen. You should be able to feel his ribs easily, but not see them.
Is your cat not as agile as he used to be, and is he showing signs of stiffness in his joints? This may be nothing more than old age, but you should check with your veterinarian. Examine Your Cat’s rear end. It should be clean and healthy.
If there are signs of inflammation, he may be suffering from diarrhea and if it persists, he should be taken to the veterinarian. Take a look at your male cat’s tail. If there is a build up of a brown secretion or hair loss around the base of his tail, he is suffering from stud tail.
Gently feel your cat’s body. Lumps may indicate an abscess, particularly if he ventures outdoors, or a tumor. Most tumors detected will be benign, but you should have the veterinarian check him.
How To Give My Cat Dry Medicine & Save Myself From Scratches
Have you ever tried to give her medicine especially dry ones and it seems that any size of teaspoon or tablespoon can't fit inside her mouth? Well, actually, it's not the size that matters but the things that you want to put in your tabby's mouth especially when she's not feeling well. No matter how you try, it seems that your cat doesn't seem to cooperate and you might have few scratches or bites to prove it! It's really difficult to give your pet some medications and the first thing that you have to learn right now is how to give dry medicine to your cat or any pet, for that matter.
The most popular dry medicine that you can find is a pill but there is an easy way to feed it to your tabby and it's by putting the medicine in its food. Of course, you will have to crush it into powder form first. Using two spoons put the pill into one and uses the back of the other to break it down. Then, mix it into whatever she is eating (if it's bread, you can sort of "inject" the medicine right in the center of the food) and voila, there you have it.
Now, what if the medicine is a capsule? It can be much easier. All you need to do is take the contents out of the capsule and mixed it just the way you do it.
But, that's just only part of the whole scenario. What if you have a very, very, very sick cat? Do you think it would be easy to give your cat some medicines especially the dry ones?
There is a solution to that and you can only find this in your vet. You may want to purchase a pet pillar from him. Your veterinarian will have this available to you. They are plastic rods where you put the pill into it. You press the plunger to direct the pill in your pussycat's throat. But one word of advise, though. You should be careful not to push the road too far down its throat or you might injure your pet or yourself. It's really painful to have something stuck in your throat, you know.
The general rule of the thumb is, all animals are very wary of these things and you need to focus your attention on several sides: not injure the animal, yourself and see to it that they need medical attention especially when they are that sick.
And if worse comes to worst, you really need to go and see a veterinarian about it but rougher waves are heading your way once you do. What if your vet is not available for that moment in time? What if your nearest vet clinic is 5 miles down the road? What if your vet can't give your pet immediate medications? The only answer to all these queries is: you need to go online and find a "virtual" vet clinic that can give you reliable info and advise 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 30 days a month.
Because of the advent of Internet, people's lives are much more convenient and so go with pets. Be thankful that in modern time like these, the things that you need, be it products or services are just clicks away from you. So, how to give my cat dry medicine the fastest and affordable way possible, you ask? The answer is simple: get online and do some shopping that can really give your pet all the love, the care and the attention that he or she deserves.
Cat illnesses symptoms
Cat Illness Symptoms for Diabetes, Diarrhea, FIV and FIP:
Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin to metabolize glucose. Older or obese cats with diabetes have high levels of glucose in their blood. Symptoms include excessive thirst, urination and hunger. If left untreated, diabetes can cause blindness and kidney damage. Your vet will recommend treatment, which could include dietary changes, pills or daily injections.
What are diarrhea symptoms? A stomach virus, dairy products, overfeeding, stress, spoiled food, or a parasitic infection often cause diarrhea. Kittens and older cats are less hardy than adults, and diarrhea can cause life threatening dehydration in them. If your cat has diarrhea, give him plenty of water and take him to the vet as soon as possible. She may inject your cat with fluids to prevent dehydration and take a blood or fecal sample to determine the cause of the problem.
What is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus or FIV? This virus attacks the immune system and makes a cat susceptible to chronic infections. FIV is transmitted through saliva and bites. If your cat goes outdoor, you should consider having him vaccinated against FIV as a precaution. However, if he does not get vaccinated, he will always test positive for the disease. This taints future testing for the rest of his life. If you have an indoor only cat, you probably will not need to worry about him contracting this virus. Discuss FIV with your vet and see if your feline needs to be inoculated against it.
What about Feline Infectious Peritonitis or FIP symptoms? There are two types of FIP. A cat who has dry form will drink a lot of water because his kidneys are dialing. A cat with the wet form will have trouble breathing because of fluid collection in the chest cavity or abdomen. This disease is common in kittens and older cats because their immune systems are not very strong. There is no cure for FIP. Some symptoms include an unkempt coat, loss of appetite, a swollen stomach, anemia, fever, and weight loss.
If you have an indoor only cat and he never comes into contact with other cats, your vet might recommend that you skip this inoculation.
Tips on Taking Care of Cats & Dogs : Cat Health
The Correct Way To Hold A Cat Like The Experts
You can safely pick up a kitten by the scruff of the neck, while at the same time supporting him by placing your hand underneath his body. However, never pick up an adult cat this way.
To pick up an older kitten or a small cat, support his weight from underneath with one hand and hold him securely to your chest with the other hand. If he is a larger cat, pick him up by placing one arm under his body from the rear, with your hand coming up between his front legs. Cat Fleas Symptoms
Support his weight with the other hand and hold him firmly to prevent him from freeing himself.
Never pick a cat up by his leg or his tail, and do not let children pick him up this way either. A child and a cat will usually work out an equitable solution. The cat may simply let himself go limp and allow the child to carry him around plopped over the child’s arms with the rest of him dangling.
Check to ensure that the animals are kept in sanitary conditions, are in good health, and that the pet store guarantees the health of animals it sells.
Purebred cats are also available through private breeders and catteries. They are also offered for sale or adoption in the case of older, retired breeding cats at cat shows. Cat magazines carry listings of breeders and venues of cat shows and are a good source for locating cats.
When buying a cat from a breeder, let your first impression be your guide. If there is a strong odor in the house, or if the cats flee in fright, then you should not purchase a kitten or cat there.
Although most cats will hide temporarily when strangers invade their homes, the well adjusted cat will soon emerge from hiding to explore the new person. Nothing is more curious than a cat. It is also a good idea to see the parents of the kitten as this will give you some idea of his size and appearance when fully grown.