National Week For Taking Your Cat to the Vet

August 16th to 22nd is the National Take Your Cat To The Vet Week and is designed to remind cat owners that a vet checkup once a year is very useful. Cats can disguise their problems quite cleverly and owners are often surprised to see that a cat that is acting normally one week, has serious health problems the next week. A regular checkup might catch a disease early and make it more manageable.

Owners might not like taking their cats to the vets, and cats certainly do not like such visits. If you have a cat that is particularly difficult to take to the vet, you might look for feline-only practices. This offers the advantage that there are no dogs in the lobby, the staff is trained to handle more difficult cats and the vet deals with cat problems all the time.

Home visit veterinarians may also be an option. This way, your cat will not go through the stressful experience of a regular visit to the vet.

Common signs that you cat has a health problem are lethargy, weakness, disorientation, weight loss and lack of appetite. Vomiting and diarrhea, bloody urine, inability to walk or difficult breathing are more obvious. It is important to recognize more subtle warning signs and the earlier you spot them, the easier it could be to treat the disease.

Body temperature is another indicator of health or disease. The normal body temperature for a cat is between 100 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The color of the mucous membrane is also most commonly examined by vets to assess the health status of a cat. The color of gums is an indicator of blood oxygenation and the normal color should be pink. Pigmented gums can also be normal, and in such cases lowering the eyelid can give you an idea of how healthy is your cat. If the gums are pale, white, yellow or blue, you should be concerned about your cat's health.

You can check the heartbeat or the pulse rate but you will need some time to get used to it. The easiest way is to check inside the back leg in the groin area. Typical heart rates for cats are between 160 and 220 beats per minute. If you cat begins to pant and this is not related to a stressful event, you should consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.

When your cat becomes ill, try to write down everything you remember about its symptoms. This might be especially useful for your vet. If you are taking your pet to a new veterinarian, previous medical records will be very helpful. It is possible for your cat to behave differently with strangers, so your knowledge of its normal behavior will help the veterinarian assess your cat's state of health.

If your cat is recovering from an illness or an accident, how you take care of it is extremely important. This can make the difference between a successful and speedy recovery or a prolonged, stressful disease. Nursing your cat will be time consuming, but your veterinarian can offer you the best way to cope with such problems. Cats are so independent and a nursing period can be stressful but there are situations when your cat needs extended care and support until everything returns to normal.

Please visit ThePound.org to learn more about your local Animal Shelter and Veterinarians.