HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY KITTY IS SICK? Knowing your cat and what is normal makes it easier to identify when your kitty is not feeling well! If your kitty is not feeling well, don't wait to see if it gets better, take it to the vet immediately. WHAT IS NOT NORMAL Weight: Weight loss or excessive weight gain in a short period of time or chronically. Coat: Dull, rough, brittle, oily coat. Excessive hair loss. Presence of dandruff, scabs, knots, hair loss. Presence of fleas and/or flea feces. Presence of lice and ticks. Skin: Presence of nodules, blisters, scabs. Wounds with blood, pus, bad odor. Skin that is redder than normal. Mouth: Halitosis, canker sores, nodules, blisters. White, red, yellowish or bluish gums. Broken teeth and/or missing teeth. Excessive salivation (cat drools, foams). Puts paw in mouth. Drops food or has difficulty picking up and/or swallowing food. Eyes: Red, yellowish or bluish eyeball. Swollen eyelids. Excessive clear secretion. Yellow, green, red or brown secretion. Pupil of one eye with a different size than the other. Large pupils in light environment. Small pupils in dark environment. Change in eye color (it was blue and turned green, for example). Excessive blinking. Inability to open eyes in light. Make rapid movements up and down or from side to side. Opaque, bluish, reddish, yellowish cornea. Nose: Hot and dry to the touch. Presence of excess clear secretion or yellow, green, brown or red secretion. Ear: With a bad smell. Presence of yellow, brown, black or red secretion. Itching. Injury behind the ear. Paws: Swollen, cold or too hot. Cat may limp or not put its paw on the ground. Nail: Broken, missing nail. Presence of crusts or secretions around the nail. Tail: With hair loss. Not moving it up or to the sides may be a sign of a problem. Gait: Losing balance, falling, walking hunched over, limping, refusing to climb where it usually climbs, walking with its head tilted. Breathing: Breathing with the mouth open. Breathing too fast, too slowly. Difficulty breathing. Coughing, sneezing. Urination: Urinating outside the litter box. Going to the litter box several times and not urinating. Going to the litter box and running away or meowing while trying to urinate. Urine with a strong odor, too dark, too light or with blood. Urine in drops, in small or large quantities. Presence of ants in the place where the cat urinated. Vomiting: Vomiting almost every day or more than once a day. Vomiting blood. Yellowish or brown vomit. Vomit with hair. Vomit with foreign objects. Diarrhea: Going more than 24 hours without defecating. Pasty or liquid stools with or without blood. Very dry stools, like clay stones. Bottom: Presence of stuck stools, bleeding, yellow or greenish secretion, itching, yellowish or red anus, presence of something similar to sesame or rice grains, increased volume around the anus. Temperature: Hot and dry nose. Hot tip of the ear. Cold belly and groin. Appetite: Going more than 24 hours without eating. Decreased appetite, refusal to eat. Difficulty eating. Increased appetite combined with weight gain or weight loss. Water intake: Going more than 24 hours without drinking water. Increased water intake combined with increased urine volume. Decreased water intake. Change in Behavior: An animal that was once playful suddenly stops playing. It used to be affectionate and has become aggressive. It used to be active and now only thinks about sleeping. It used to sleep at night and now walks around the house, meowing. A cat that was once sociable and now hides. An animal that does not respond to external stimuli such as petting or a dog barking. Cats that sleep more than usual. Signs of Pain: Different meowing. Rapid breathing. Ruffled fur. Anorexia. Hiding. Prostration. Not climbing where it used to climb. Not using the litter box that it used to use. Dr. Gabriela Toledo is a Veterinarian with 3 Postgraduate Degrees (Specialization in Small Animal Clinic and Surgery and 2 Postgraduate Degrees in Feline Clinic). Available at ProBicho Veterinary Center Tel: (11) 3731-3502 WhatsApp: (11) 9 9853-2847 Instagram: @probicho