What is a cat wellness exam?
A cat wellness exam is when you bring your cat to see us here at Deer Park when you do not have any concerns about your cat's behavior. When they're healthy, doing the normal things, just to keep on the wellness plan to make sure that they're doing what they should be doing and make sure we're not having any health issues that we need to address.
What will a veterinarian be looking for during my cat's wellness exam?
We would start with talking to you about how they're doing, their history, and we would do a full physical exam. So we would check their eyes, their ears, their mouth. We would palpate or feel the cat all over, listen to their heart and lungs, and just make sure that we're not finding anything out of the normal.
Will my cat's wellness exam require any specific lab work or procedures?
We do like to do some lab testing on a regular basis, checking a stool sample to make sure that they haven't picked up any intestinal parasites is important. So that's something that you could bring along with you. And in certain situations, we would draw some blood from the cats to check their organ health and make sure that we're not finding any underlying diseases that we need to address.
How does wellness impact the longevity and health of my cat?
It's very important for us to find out if there are any health issues going on early. And cats are very good at hiding abnormal symptoms. So it would be very easy for them to be masking something that's going on. And in many situations, if we can find those conditions earlier rather than later, we'd be much more successful at treating them and keeping your cat healthier and living a longer, happier life.
When do you recommend I bring in my cat for a veterinary wellness exam?
A lot of that depends on how old your cat is. Certainly if it's a new cat that you've just obtained, we'd recommend you bring him or her in very soon, within a week or two of adoption. So that way we can find out if there's anything that we need to address early. If it's a kitten, then we would want to see them every few weeks for vaccine appointments and wellness exams. For young adult cats, so between one and six to seven years of age, we like to see them once a year. And for older cats, seven and older, we do recommend seeing them twice a year because a lot of times diseases can progress more quickly and we can see things happen more often when they're older.
What are some signs and symptoms that my cat might not be feeling well?
Cats can be very good at hiding when they're not feeling well. So sometimes the signs are very subtle. Your cat may be just a little less active or sleeping more than usual. Sometimes, they're moving around less and just laying down more. Sometimes they're sitting in different spots than their usual happy spots. So they'll be hiding more or just in spots where they're not as likely to go. Some cats that like being up high will avoid getting up to those higher spots if they're uncomfortable, for instance. A lot of times, when cats feel well, they just hide more than usual and are not as social. When other cats are sicker, you will see clearer symptoms. For instance, if they're having any GI issues, you might see vomiting, loss of appetite, or some stool changes. If they're having urinary issues, you might see changes in litter box habits. They might be going more often or less often or in odd spots outside the litter box. Or certainly, cats that are itchy, you'll see some behavior changes there. They can scratch themselves or chew or lick themselves more. And sometimes you can see physical changes with their coat and their skin.
What are some possible environmental factors that can affect my cat's wellness?
The biggest environmental factor that affects cat's wellness is whether they're allowed to go outdoors or not. Cats that are maintained on a strict indoor lifestyle remove a lot of their risk factors. We don't have to worry about them getting in fights with strange animals. We don't have to worry about getting hit by a car. Infectious disease risk is low. So that's the biggest factor. Otherwise, we can see a lot of stress factors affecting cats. So, that would be other pets in the household. Other environmental factors such as the air quality can make a difference. So that could be seasonal with pollens and molds and allergic issues in the air versus stuff that's in the air from the people that live there, cigarette smoke, air fresheners, those kinds of things can all affect cats as well.
Why is early detection so important to the well-being of my cat?
Early detection of disease processes can be very important for us returning cats to health and helping them live happier, healthier lives. So that's the most important part of regular wellness exams is that we can sometimes detect issues before they become problematic and keep the cats healthier longer, especially with dental care. Cats can have some dental disease that leads them to have other issues that we can address with the routine treatment of the teeth, for instance, that a lot of the owners wouldn't be able to detect as well as we would. So, early detection of issues helps us address those quicker and keep your cats healthier and more comfortable in the long term.
If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (513) 791-8550 , or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram