Cat Illness: 3 Major Symptom Areas
If your cat isn’t feeling good, you can imagine it’s hard for her to clearly communicate that to you. To make it easier, then, you have to be very observant. Here are a few major areas of cat illness and symptoms to which you should be alert.
Pay attention to changes in your cat’s behavior as this can indicate signs of illness. Cats tend to disguise signs of pain and illness as a throw-back to their wild days.
Elimination problems — Cats may experience a number of issues involving urination, defecation, and litter boxes.
Cats my experience FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease). This is actually the name for a group of problems that may involve crystals, stones, inflammation, or infection. Some of these urinary tract problems can be life threatening.
Excessive urination can be a sign of cat illness such as feline diabetes. Excessive licking in the groin or anal area can be a sign of problems.
Constipation is fairly common in cats. Treatments are available for this, and include store bought and veterinarian prescribed treatments such as lactulose.
Impacted anal glands my also be a factor which will require treatment. It should be noted that long term constipation may lead to a serious bowel condition known as megacolon.
If your cat makes frequent but unsuccessful trips to the litter box, or is howling or crying out while attempting to use the box, she may have some physical problem that needs attention. Also, a common sign of trouble is the act of scooting across the floor while dragging the rear end.
If you notice that your cat is not using the litter box, always assume a physical cause may be at fault. If your cat is not urinating or defecating or is missing the litter box, contact your veterinarian.
Other problems to look for are blood in urine or feces, including black tarry stools. If your cat has diarrhea, it may lead to dehydration, which can be fatal.
Mouth and eye problems — Check your cat’s eyes for uneven pupils, cloudiness, or discharge. The nictating membrane, or haw, is a “third eyelid” that you will sometimes see when a cat’s eyes are open. This can be an indication of disease.
Pallor of the lips and gums is a sign of disease and could indicate anemia. Other possible cat illness symptoms include bad breath, ulcers in the mouth, and obviously, loose teeth.
Hair and skin problems — Poor coat or problem skin can be a sure sign of cat illness. In fact, the coat and skin of your cat can be used as a measure of overall health.
A poor or oily looking coat is a sign of illness. If you notice that cat has stopped grooming, it’s a sure sign of a problem.
Also look for excessive dryness or flaking, skin growths, hair loss, and any kind of swelling or skin eruption. Parasites on the skin are usually easily spotted. Check your cat at least once a week.
There are certainly other health problems that your cat may encounter, but these are a few of the major categories. Keeping alert to your cat’s routine, and being sensitive to any of the possible above problems is an integral part of cat care.
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