A physical observation allows one to determine physical and mental state of injured or ill animal. This very physical observation is an important way used by veterinaries to estimate the state of cat health. Conducting it consistently and systematically a vet is able to reveal sighs of disorders or anatomical anomalies on their early stages, and at that increasing the probability of successful recovery.
You may learn how to conduct a physical observation of your animal in the same way as vet does, and to be able to organize such observation, probably not so thorough as could be done by a specialist, but you will not need special skills and diagnostic apparatus, tests and instruments.
When and how often the physical observation should be done? Those who are only at the start should examine the animal right after or during annual vet observation. Watch a specialist's actions attentively and ask him to allow you to take an active part in this process. Don't be shy of asking questions concerning the procedure and all the problems with health, which may happen to your cat. After all, there's no better way to learn how to differ normal state from ailing than to work actively with a professional.
Between annual visits to a vet one should conduct physical observation every three months, if your animal is less than 8 years. Geriatric cats (cats aged 8 years and upwards) are inclined to different diseases, particularly cancer; therefore they should be observed monthly. Besides this, the observation should be done every time when a cat is injured or falls ill.
You'll understand that in most cases the observation will help you determine if your cat needs first medical aid, or interference of specialist or both.
Remember: one should not do always an observation in first turn. Thus, if your cat has got a bleeding wound one should try to stop bleeding first of all (bandage wound tightly) and not conduct a physical observation.
Outward appearance
Begin the observation standing a couple of steps back to estimate the cat appearance and bearing. Is your cat looks lively, active and friendly enough? Don't you notice drowse, depression, or irritability? (Remember: unhealthy animals, or when they feel pain, are aggressive, therefore be careful with them.) Try to estimate a cat habits and don't forget that normal behavior may vary from individual to individual according to situation.
Make sure the cat hair looks healthy and well cleaned. Isn't it greasy, dingy and tousled? The latter often happens if a cat suffers some internal disorder.
And in the last turn examine the cat step and posture. The unusual step but without a pronounced lameness, points onto probable disorders of cardiovascular, cerebral or skeletal-muscular systems. The reasons for that the animal limps may be sprain, fracture, arthritis or local infection. Abnormal postures, spread body, for example, stretched neck or bent arch-like back may be the evidence of respiratory troubles or bellyache correspondingly. Of cause, even at mere suspicion appeared during an outward observation one should call for a vet as fast as possible.
To continue the physical observation one should thoroughly measure the cat temperature by means of rectal thermometer. First, grease the tip with vaseline and push it (not more than on couple of cm) inside rectum and hold it at least two minutes before reading. (If an animal feels nervous and doesn't obey, stop measuring in order to avoid traumatizing.) While reading, make an outward observation of cat genitals, pay attention to swellings and remains of egesta. At the same time one may search for segments of tapeworms around the anus and under the tail. Segment often look like little white and brown grains of rice and may move or, conversely, be immovable. Most often such worms get into the cat organism when it licks itself and swallows fleas, contaminated with worm larvae.
After 2 minutes get the thermometer out. Normal temperature of cat should be between 38,5 and 39 C. Remember that if exited or nervous cat may have increased temperature, yet rarely higher than 39,5 C.
A thrown into a scale
To determine an animal body weight you may use a scale that are at your bathroom. If a cat doesn't agree to stand on the scale quiet long, one may try to do the following to weigh it. Pick the cat up, step on the scale and notice how much you weigh together. After that let the animal go and weigh yourself. Subtract your weight from the summary of yours and cat's weight. The difference is the sweight of your cat.
Every time when you veight the cat, try to use one the same scale. Compare its' actual weight with the data taken three months ago (one month ago in the case of geriatric animal). Loss of weight - more than 600 g, as well as every consistent trend to loss or increase of weight signals that it's necessary to call for a vet. Emaciation and loss of weight are usual sighs of ill health. Obesity represents the same danger for a cat health as for a human health, thus a full-bodied cat should be put on a diet determined and prescribed by a vet.
After reading weight and temperature and estimating its' outward appearance, pay attention to its' head. Start with inspection of eyes. Pay heed to such abnormalities as redness, muddy remains of egesta and dryness, pupils - restricted or of different size. If one or both or the third eyelids stick out, that may be the evidence of local irritation, or a more serious disease.
Whites (called sclera) should be white indeed. When inflamed, sclera usually gets red. Yellowish color of whites may be the evidence that the cat has become infected with hepatitis. Regardless of how serious it seems to be, in presence of any deviations from normal state of eyes a cat should be shown to a vet immediately. The health and ability of vision is probable to depend on this!
Check cat ears, in case if there's no unpleasant smell and remains of egesta. Black or brown mucus may signify for ear ticks. Yellowish and light-brown mucus signifies for a bacteria infection. Among other sighs of ear diseases there are green abrasions, head shaking and nodding. Though problems with ears occur in cats more rarely than in dogs, they nevertheless may appear and create serious complications unless they are not diagnosed at proper time. Watch this!
After inspection of eyes and ears one should start examination of cat nose and mouth. Look for tumors and sores on mucous membranes of nose. Any egesta from nostrils alarm about unhealthy state of cat. Limpid egesta are the evidence of allergy or virus infection. In this case, the eyes water too. Bacteria infection or alien body may be the cause of green and muddy egesta.
At last, injury, tumor, alien body or disruption of coagulability may become a cause of bleeding from nose. It is important to remember that nasal egesta are often accompanied by loss of appetite, since the cat will not eat what it is unable to smell.
After that open cat mouth softly, gripping its' head and upper jaw with one hand and bending the head back, and pulling lower jaw down with another hand.
Gums and mucous membranes should be moisturized and colored pink. Reddish and dry, mucous membranes may indicate anemia, dehydration or shock, especially if the animal has been injured or looks unhealthy.
If you have suspected something, try to measure so-called flooding capillary time. One may run this by pressing the area on the upper gum with a forefinger. The area under your finger should grow white. Put the finger away from gum. It should grow pink again in 1-2 seconds. If this took more time, you may consider your suspicion correct.
Pay attention to swollen gums, abscesses and swellings while you go on with mouth inspection. Lift the tongue with a blunt end of pencil or similar subject and thoroughly inspect the space under the tongue. Needles, wires and other subjects occurring in cat mouth usually stick right there.
If during inspection of mouth you smell a bad odor, this may be due to a considerable layer of tooth-stones or gingivitis as well as swellings, or infection of membranes covering mouth cavity. Tooth-stones and gingivitis are removed by cleaning teeth conducting by a veterinary. Shaky and broken teeth should be observed by a specialist. Perhaps, they will have to be extracted.
Swellings and knobs
In the next step of physical observation you should pass over the cat body in order to seek out swellings and knobs. If it seems that you have found an unordinary knob or lump, compare its' position with a corresponding place on an other side of body. Is such knob there? If it is, than probably this is an ordinary anatomical detail. If you feel doubt - should the knob be on this place of cat body or not, call a vet. A knob or lump may cause cancer (only a veterinary surgeon is able to determine this exactly), and the earlier it is revealed and the earlier the treatment begins, the more chances the cat has to be cured. Besides cancer, enlargements of lymphatic glands, cysts, alien bodies and benign tumors of tissues, ruptures, hemorrhages and abscesses may become the cause of knob or swelling that you have sought out.
Make a thorough observation of skin and hair of cat. Constant licking and scratching of its' skin, shedding of hair, redness, greasy hair, dandruff, scabs, or infection may sign troubles with health. Be attentive while inspecting skin - are there any parasites, fleas or lice, for example? A poor diet, or, as said earlier, some internal disorder may be the cause of dull and tousled hair.
It is hard to make a direct estimation of heart and lungs functioning at home if you don't know how to manage a stethoscope. Nonetheless every cat holder should know some clinical sighs that may be the evidence of heart and lungs disorders. Among clinical symptoms there are weakness, short breath, cough, spread-eagled posture, hard breath. Red-blue or purple color of tongue and gums indicate lack of oxygen in tissues that often is the result of heart dysfunction.
Push softly the upper inside part of hind paw of the cat with a finger and feel the pulse. Normal pulse of cat, when it is still is 100-140 beats per minute. In the case of any alterations from norm or appearance of clinical symptoms stated above, consult a vet. Radiographs and laboratory research may be needed to diagnose directly a heart or a lung disease.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).