How to Keep Your Cat Healthy

Regular exams - who needs them?

Once your cat is past its primary kitten vaccinations, a regular physical examination is the most important thing you can do to keep your cat healthy.  It's a chance to detect and prevent health problems early.  During the exam, your veterinarian might call for laboratory tests or diagnostic workups of blood, stool, urine or skin.  You'll discuss parasite control, nutrition and dental care.  Your veterinarian will consider your cat's risk factors and recommend appropriate vaccinations.

Cat acting strange?  Call the clinic if you see these signs.

• Unusual behavior, including aggression or lethargy
• Unusual discharge from the nose, eyes or other body openings
• An increase or decrease in appetite that lasts more than a few days
• Excessive head shaking, scratching or licking
• Swelling or abnormal lumps
• Limping or difficulty getting up or lying down
• Foul breath or excessive deposits on teeth
• Changes in urination or drinking habits
• Persistent vomiting or diarrhea
• Obvious injury or illness

In an emergency, call your veterinary clinic immediately.  After hours, a message may refer you to an emergency clinic.

What's normal anyway?

Body temperature = 100.5 to 102.5 degrees F (38 to 39.2 degrees C)

Heart rate = 120 to 140 beats per minute

Respiration = 16 to 40 breaths per minute

Five top safety tips for cat lovers.

1. When you first bring a new kitten home or when the house is open to visitors or workers, keep your cat confined to a safe room with food, water, a litterbox and a bed.

2. Always use a cat carrier for transportation in the car.

3. Make sure your cat always has a current identification tag and/or microchip.

4. When adding a second cat to your household, take him or her to the veterinarian first, so you don't expose your first cat to disease.

5. Keep yarn, string, thread and needles - even used dental floss - out of a cat's reach.  It can get caught on a cat's barbed tongue and swallowed.

It's house-cleaning time.

Keep the following toxins out of your cat's reach.  Signs of poisoning vary, but often include vomiting, excess salivation and ulcers in the mouth.

• Antifreeze
• Rat poison (note: cats may eat dead or dying rodents that have consumed poison)
• Insecticides
• Petroleum products
• Household cleaners, such as leave-in toilet bowl cleaners
• Many plants, including philodendron, lilies, poinsettia and mistletoe
• Prescription medicines
• Onions
• Chocolate (especially bakers or unsweetened chocolate)
• Moldy walnuts or moldy dairy products
• Grapes and raisins

ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center: 1-888-426-4435

Sterilization is a loving choice.

Spaying or neutering your cat is a one-time expense that provides lifelong benefits.  Here's how.

Good for Your Cat

• Helps cats live longer, healthier lives 
• Can eliminate or reduce health problems, including certain cancers

Good for You

• Makes cats more affectionate companions
• Eliminates the stress and mess of a female's heat cycle
• Makes cats less likely to spray and mark territory

Good for the Community

• Saves millions of dollars spent controlling unwanted animals
• Reduces pressure on animal shelters

Spay and neuter surgeries are routinely performed in the clinic using general anesthesia.  Ask your veterinarian to explain the procedure.