Judging whether your cat is healthy or not from its daily performance is the basic knowledge that cat owners should master. Here is a brief introduction to the family diagnosis method of cat disease.

(1) check

It is to let the cat be in a quiet state and observe whether the cat is abnormal with the naked eye. It is very important to observe the abnormal situation of the sick cat and keep the cat quiet, otherwise it will cover up some abnormal phenomena or appear some illusions. For example, a cat's heartbeat will definitely accelerate after exercise or competition for capture, so it is necessary to distinguish between normal activity and illness, otherwise the diagnosis will be inaccurate. When checking, we should not only observe the general situation of the cat, but also carefully observe every detail, and at the same time compare it with the normal cat to see if there is any abnormality. So what should we observe when checking?

1, mental state:

Healthy cats are lively and lovely, flexible in action, full of eyes and ears that often turn with the sound. Even when you sleep with your eyes closed, you will listen to the slightest sound and show a very alert mental state.

If your cat is blind or half-closed, unwilling to move, likes to lie still, its ears are slow or unresponsive to external stimuli, its expression is indifferent, or even coma, these are all neurotic States, called mental depression or coma.

Some cats are very excited, frightened, screaming loudly, often walking aimlessly, circling and even biting all kinds of things. This mental state is called mental excitement or mania. The above two mental states are abnormal mental states.

2. Nutritional status:

Judging the nutritional status mainly depends on the cat's fat and coat. The so-called fatness refers to the degree of obesity and muscular development of cats.

Healthy cats are moderately fat and muscular, while sick cats are often thin and muscular. Coat is also an important indicator of health. The fur of healthy cats is generally smooth and shiny, which makes people feel very comfortable. However, sick cats, especially those suffering from chronic digestive tract diseases or intestinal parasitic diseases, often show rough fur, scorched dry, dull hair and lodging tail hair.

3. Attitude:

It refers to observing the posture of cats when they stand, lie down and walk, as well as their performance when they lie down and stand.

If the cat's limbs are restrained when standing or walking, and it is afraid to carry heavy loads, it means that the limbs are abnormal. If the cat is lying down, curled up, with its head under its abdomen or lying in an unnatural posture, turning over from time to time means that the cat has abdominal pain.

4. Body temperature:

Under normal living conditions, the body temperature of healthy cats is usually constant within a certain range, with the lowest in the morning and slightly higher in the afternoon, but the temperature difference between day and night is generally less than 65438 0℃. If it exceeds 1℃, or the body temperature is high in the morning and low in the afternoon, it means that the body temperature is abnormal.

How to detect whether a cat has a fever? The simple method can be judged from the cat's nose, ears and mental state. The nasal endoscope of normal cats is cool and moist, and the skin temperature at the root of ears is the same as other parts. If the nose mirror is dry and hot, the skin temperature at the root of the ear is higher than other parts, and listlessness, poor appetite and thirst appear, which means that the cat's body temperature is high.

The most accurate method is to measure with a thermometer. When measuring the temperature, the assistant first grasps the skin of the cat's neck and back with both hands and makes the cat stand or lie prone. The surveyor grabs the tail with his left hand, exposing the anus, and gently inserts the right hand into the anus with a thermometer dipped in lubricant (liquid paraffin or vegetable oil) to a depth of 1/3 and 1 min, and then takes it out to watch. The temperature of a healthy cat is 39 degrees Celsius (). It's 38 degrees Celsius.

If a person takes temperature, he can let the cat lie on his left arm, with the cat's head facing backward, the left forearm parallel to the cat's body, the left arm holding the cat, the left hand holding the tail, and the right hand inserting the thermometer. When inserting the thermometer, the action should not be rude to prevent the cat from fidgeting due to pain, or causing direct economic losses and rectal mucosal damage.

5, breathing conditions:

When the respiratory system is abnormal, its respiratory condition will also change.

( 1)

Breathing times. Refers to the number of breaths per minute Usually healthy cats breathe 20 to 30 times a minute. If it exceeds or falls below this number, it is an increase or decrease in the number of breaths. However, the number of breaths of cats is often affected by factors such as temperature, season, activity and excitement, which makes the number of breaths increase. Therefore, when checking the number of breaths, it is necessary to observe the movement of the nose wing or the ups and downs of the chest and abdominal wall when the cat is quiet. Falling down together is a breath. You can also put the back of your hand in an appropriate position in front of the cat's nostrils to sense the exhaled airflow and exhale an airflow as a breath.

(2)

Breathing: Cats generally breathe in the chest and abdomen, that is, the movements of the chest wall and the abdominal wall are coordinated and even when breathing.

If the chest wall movement is more obvious than the abdominal wall movement when breathing, it means that the abdominal wall is sick, and the abdominal wall movement is more obvious than the chest wall movement, which means that the disease is in the chest.

(3)

Examination of breathing rhythm: The normal breathing of healthy cats is an accurate and rhythmic alternating movement. That is, inhalation is followed by exhalation, and after each breath, the next breath is repeated after a short period of time, which is very regular. This rhythm disorder is an abnormal phenomenon. However, the respiratory rhythm of healthy cats can be temporarily changed by excitement, exercise, fear, screaming and sniffing, which should be distinguished from pathological changes.

Exacerbated breathing, nostril opening or mouth opening breathing, abdominal breathing, etc. All suggest dyspnea, which is often a symptom of respiratory tract or systemic infectious diseases.

(4)

Nasal secretions. Healthy cats rarely shed mucus through their noses. When cats catch a cold or have respiratory tract inflammation, they often discharge mucus from their nostrils, which is serous (clearing their noses) or mucinous. When suppurative inflammation occurs, nasal secretions are often purulent (purulent nose), and may also be mixed with blood or tiny bubbles. The amount of secretion often changes with the degree of inflammation. Sometimes nasal secretions can't be seen, which may be licked by cats themselves or wiped off with their front paws. However, when the condition is very serious, they no longer lick their nostrils.

6. Observation of digestive system

( 1)

Observe the mouth. First look at the color of the oral mucosa (oral color). The change of mouth color can give us many hints about the disease and its severity.

The normal mouth color of a healthy cat should be light red. Flushing indicates inflammation or elevated body temperature in the oral cavity, pallor indicates anemia, yellow or yellowish white may appear when there are hepatobiliary diseases, and the mouth color is bluish purple when the illness is severe and shock occurs.

While observing the color of oral cavity, we should pay attention to whether there is tongue coating and its color, tongue movement ability, ulcer and injury. A healthy cat's mouth is moist and saliva will not flow naturally. If sticky saliva is found in the cat's mouth, it means that saliva is increasing. At this time, the tongue, gums, buccal mucosa and throat should be checked for blisters, ulceration and swelling or being stabbed by sharp hard objects.

(2)

Observe drinking and appetite. Through the observation of drinking and appetite, we can understand the diseases of digestive system, some infectious diseases and some infectious or toxic diseases.

Healthy cats drink and have a big appetite, especially when there are a lot of fish in their food. They not only eat fast, but also roar when other cats come near.

If the cat is found eating, it just smells. If it wants to eat, it will stop or walk away, indicating that it has lost its appetite or is ruined. But here we should pay attention to distinguish between refusing to eat or picky eaters, or eating difficulties.

Most cats with high fever, diarrhea and dehydration drink more water. But in severe cases of circulatory failure, you won't drink water.

(3)

Vomiting cats vomit easily. Under normal circumstances, they sometimes vomit, so we should pay attention to identify and analyze the causes of vomiting. Vomiting is actually a protective reaction of the body. When the stomach is stimulated for some reason (such as overeating, foreign bodies, toxic substances, etc.). ), the body spits out irritants to protect the normal function of the stomach and avoid further stimulation by harmful substances. Therefore, it should be distinguished according to the time and frequency of cat vomiting, the quantity and smell of vomit, and the nature and composition of vomit.

For example, vomiting a lot of normal stomach contents at a time, but not vomiting for a short time, is often a phenomenon of overeating. Frequent and repeated vomiting means that the gastric mucosa is constantly stimulated by a certain substance, so vomiting often occurs immediately after eating until all the contents are spit out.

If fish and meat are moldy or spoiled, vomit contains fish or meat that has just been eaten. The vomit is brown or bright red, often accompanied by different degrees of gastroenteritis or gastric ulcer.

Vomiting is a colorless and foamy liquid, which is often caused by eating some irritant on an empty stomach.

Refractory vomiting can occur even on an empty stomach, mostly caused by stomach, duodenum, pancreas and intractable diseases (such as cancer). At this time, vomit is often mucus, such as ascaris, which is mostly caused by ascariasis.

In addition, it often causes vomiting when forced to accept orders or fill drugs.

(4)

Observation of defecation. In general, cat defecation and urination have their inherent laws. The destruction of normal regularity shows that there are abnormal phenomena in digestive system and urinary system. The observation of defecation should include the movement, frequency, shape, quantity, smell and color of defecation.

The posture of cat defecation is squatting, close to sitting down. Free defecation without defecation posture is common in persistent diarrhea, the late stage of some intestinal infectious diseases and the relaxation or paralysis of anal sphincter caused by lumbar spinal cord injury.

If cats defecate frequently, but there is no feces discharged or only a small amount of mucus, it may be a manifestation of intestinal obstruction, which is a common abnormal phenomenon. This kind of fecal obstruction sometimes lasts for half a month, so the sick cat shows anxiety, pain, loss of appetite, getting angry or stopping eating, abdominal fullness and a lot of gas accumulation, which need timely treatment. It is laborious to excrete feces, which is dry, hard, small, small and dark in color, with thick mucus or pseudomembrane on the surface, which can be seen in the early stage of constipation, fever or mild gastroenteritis.

If the frequency of defecation increases, water samples, clots or mucus, pus, blood, bubbles, etc. It is constantly discharged, which is the result of intestinal stimulation and enhanced intestinal movement. Common in enteritis and other diseases.

For adhered substances, whether on the surface of feces or inside feces, we should pay attention to the position and nature of adhesion. If the feces are mixed with digestible food, it means that the cat's digestive function is decreased and there is more mucus, which means that the intestine is inflamed. For example, bright red blood is attached to feces, which is a feature of posterior intestinal bleeding. The blood is evenly mixed in the feces, which is dark brown, indicating that the bleeding force is located in the stomach and foregut.

Also pay attention to the smell of feces, whether it is fishy or sour. In addition, we should pay attention to the existence of parasites and check the parasite eggs in feces when necessary.

Cats are prone to urolithiasis. Sick cats frequently make urination postures but no urine is discharged, or feel pain when urinating. In cystitis and urethritis, the above cash often appears, so we must pay attention to it.

In addition to the above methods, there are palpation, percussion and auscultation. Because it is very difficult, it is difficult to use at home, and it is usually carried out by a skilled pet doctor. There are also cat lovers who need certain equipment, such as blood beauty salon examination, X-ray examination, pathological examination, electrocardiogram examination, ultrasonic examination and immunological examination. And mainly use the above methods to find all kinds of abnormal phenomena of cats as soon as possible and treat them in time.

This article is taken from the book "Domestic Cats".

I hope your cat will get better!