15 Cat Symptoms That Require Action
When Your Sneezing Cat Needs the Vet
There are many obvious feline symptoms that need immediate veterinary
care, but there are also many subtle signs that it’s time for Kitty to
see the doctor. If a puzzling condition exists for more than twelve
hours—even just a little cute cat sneezing that you don’t expect—do not
try to diagnose or treat the condition yourself.
Instead, take your cat to the veterinarian for a check-up. Some cat symptoms are really serious.
Here are a few feline symptoms where it’s critical to get your cat to the veterinarian’s office:
Emergency Cat Symptoms and Situations:
- Loss of consciousness: Get to the doctor’s office immediately!
- Bleeding: Any time you see bleeding from a wound or an orifice, take your cat to the veterinarian right away.
- A long fall:
If your cat falls from a window, don’t assume that the fall killed him.
Search for him and take him quickly to the animal hospital. Cats can
often survive a very lengthy fall.
- Sudden and repeated vomiting:
Your cat may have been poisoned or may have eaten a foreign object.
Also, vomiting can be a symptom of any number of serious illnesses.
- Animal bites:
If another animal bites your cat and breaks the skin, even if the
animal was another domestic cat, take your cat to the animal hospital.
- Insect stings: Cats can be allergic to insect stings and may need treatment for an allergic reaction.
- Lethargy: If an otherwise active cat is difficult to rouse, there may be cause for alarm.
- Breathing difficulties: Cat sneezing may seem cute, but airway illnesses can become life-threatening, so take your cat in right away.
Subtler Cat Symptoms:
- Change in attitude: Was your cat fine yesterday and now he’s behaving very strangely? He may be injured or ill.
- Change in eating habits: Notice how much your cat eats. If he seems to lose his appetite, he may have a medical or dental issue.
- Diarrhea:
Sudden and persistent diarrhea or loose bowls is definitely one of the
feline symptoms that’s a sure sign Kitty needs to see the doctor.
- Change in grooming habits: Is your usually fastidious cat becoming tattered and greasy? There may be a problem.
- Change in activity: An active cat that suddenly becomes lethargic or hides may be ill or injured.
- Change in litter box habits:
If your cat suddenly needs to use the litter box much more than usual,
hasn’t used it in a while, or if he suddenly seems unable to find the
box, he may be experiencing any number of issues.
- Limping: An active cat that begins limping needs to see the veterinarian.
Never try to treat cat symptoms with human over-the-counter
medications. A cat’s system works much differently from a human’s
system.
Also, you have no way of knowing the correct dosage and may make the
condition worse. When in doubt over any kind of cat symptoms at all,
take your cat to the veterinarian.