Tags
When emailing a friend this evening I noted that while Gorgeous has a worrisome spot on his nose he is in great overall health, and I started listing the ways in which he is doing well. As I went through the mental checklist I realized I should post a basic health checklist here.
This is the stuff you should be keeping in the back of your mind at all times, just general awareness of your cat’s health, and some of it is stuff you should be prepared to be asked about if you call to make a vet appointment. And if the receptionist fails to ask, you should volunteer anything unusual on the list.
- Weight – up or down
- Coat – glossy vs dull, matted, thinning, etc
- Eyes – “look in the eye”, discharge, dilated pupils
- Nasal discharge, if any – consistency and color
- Appetite & any change in eating habits
- Drinking water – any change
- Poop – consistency, color, frequency, volume
- Urination – frequency, volume, color
- Activity level – playing, jumping, sleeping, hiding
- Mood
- Normal interaction vs. withdrawal, shyness, fear or skittishness, unusual aggression or irritability
- Body movement & posture
- Vocalization
- Grooming – less or more in general, focusing on spots, pulling hair out
- Unusual lip smacking, drooling, or foaming at the mouth
- Maintaining normal routine
Deziz World said:
Gweat info, fanks fur sharin’. And fanks fur duin’ all you do fur da kitties. Merry Christmas.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
LikeLiked by 1 person
sandradalton said:
Thank you! And Merry Christmas. I know I’m running late…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Deziz World said:
It’s okay, weez had bad wevver and we sumtimes get behind too. happy New Year.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unconfirmed Bachelorette said:
Great list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
sandradalton said:
Thank you!
LikeLike
sandradalton said:
It’s a wonderful thing when you find a vet that asks the right questions when scheduling your appt!
I’m so glad to finally have a local vet that does so, is clean, competent, thorough, gentle, compassionate, available when others are unreachable, and always goes the extra mile behind the scenes (unpaid time!) in researching our pets’ issues and conferring with other professionals, as well as having the equipment to do immediate diagnostics and the safest possible anesthesia.
And, yes, my husband keeps asking her to treat him because she has earned 1000 times more confidence than 99.9% of the human doctors he’s seen. 🙂 Unfortunately, she declines.
LikeLike