Cat Health Symptoms
Don't Ignore These 5 Hot Cat Health Symptoms

Some cat health symptoms can be handled with gentle care and love at home. Other situations become life-threatening requiring immediate medical attention. As a feline caregiver, there is a certain amount of on-the-job training you go through trying to monitor your cat's health. Delaying a trip to the vet or waiting to see if things improve can end up in expensive health care bills or even cost your feline her life.

• she has lost her appetite,

• she is lethargic,

• she is losing weight,

• she is drinking lots of water

• urination Is painful or interrupted.

No matter how much love and attention you give, felines experience cat illnesses. Recognizing cat health symptoms is challenging because, unlike their human caregiver, cats are rather brave soldiers.

Take notice when a cat has stopped eating or skipped a meal. If your cat experiences trouble eating, drinking or swallowing, then these are serious cat health symptoms. It is a big RED, FLASHING LIGHT that something is wrong.

A change or lack of appetite can happen slowly or suddenly. If you have a multi-cat household, it can be complicated to recognize a change in appetite for a single cat. We use separate plates to feed our cats, one for each cat. With individual plates you have a better chance of identifying meal skippers.

Your cat's appetite may be off because she is struggling with a hairball or she ate a bad mouse. Far worse, she consumed a poisoned mouse and she is now poisoned, or she is in the early stages of a serious illness like kidney disease or fatty liver syndrome. When your cat misses a couple of meals it is time for a visit to the vet.

Do not wait to see if she is going to suddenly start eating. The sudden drop in food intake causes damage to the liver. This turns into a vicious cycle where the cat won't eat because her liver is sick and no food intake aggravates the liver damage.

A noticeable change in your cat's energy levels is also a good indicator that something is awry. Cats do sleep a lot, as much as 18-20 hours a day. However, if you notice she has zero interest in her beloved toys or catnip, she is quietly telling you something is wrong. She has pain or a fever and feels lousy.

She probably isn't eating well...

When cats are sick they stop eating. When you lift your cat does she feel lighter than normal? Weight loss goes hand-in-hand with loss of appetite, but it can also be a sign of kidney disease, thyroid disease, diabetes and cancer. Weight loss is considered a serious sign of cat illness and should prompt an immediate trip to the veterinarian.

Does she fall to sleep while drinking at the water bowl? The good news is that she's still drinking.  Common causes of excessive thirst and urination include kidney disease, diabetes and elevated thyroid levels.

Straining at the litter box or peeing on the floor...

When a cat strains using the litter box, has accidents outside the box, squats for a long time, cries, or repositions herself over and over, you have spotted a problem indicating one or more cat illnesses. Urinary problems can be caused by a number of things, including bladder stones in the urethra, dietary causes, bacterial infections and the least understood problem, feline lower urinary tract disorder (FLUTD).