A Green Little Cat reader sent us some tips on what to do when your cat is sick. Consider this a public service announcement to encourage you to create a plan of action for what to do if you kitty needs medical attention, which hopefully will be never. At the very least, find the number and address for the 24-hour emergency vet nearest you. Here’s the post:
Like humans, cats can pick up a large number of ailments and illnesses from a sprained poor to an eye infection, a lost tooth to a ripped-out claw, an upset stomach to an abscess. A lot of animal ailments are obvious and visible to the eye, but some are less obvious and can take some working out to diagnose and treat.
My kitten scared us when he was getting severe diarrhea and after 48 hours of it we had to assume it was not just something he had eaten whilst out and about but possibly something more serious, so we took him to our vets for an appointment.
The vet asked what food we were feeding him on and said it could be a case of a dietary intolerance and to try him on Royal Canin Sensitivity, which is a “highly digestable, hypoallergenic diet for kittens and cats”. It has been specially made to assist in managing any diet intolerance and hypersensitivity.
We were very fortunate that the new food helped Ackee’s stomach; we don’t know what triggered his reaction but having found a food that keeps his stomach well we decided to stick with it and not investigate the trigger any further. There is plenty of other cat food on the market to help with other dietary issues your cat might have, so it is always worth a look to see if a food could help with a particular problem.
We have found that some problems do not require medical attention so long as you keep an eye on them. For example, Ackee ripped out one of his claws and it did bleed a lot but he kept it clean and we checked it daily to ensure it was not infected, and it healed up well with a new claw coming through.
It is sometimes easy to panic and rush your cat into its cat carrier and down to the vets, but sometimes problems do resolve themselves. My rule is to think of your cat like a child and would you rush your child to the doctor if they got a cut or a bruise, or would you use common sense and keep an eye on things to see how they got on so long as any wounds were clean? And if the problem is indeed urgent, then always take to the vets ASAP.
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