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Earlier we discussed situation where should notify your veterinarian. This blog will discuss other situations.
Inappetence – If your kitty goes more than 24 hours without eating anything at all they need to go to be evaluated as soon as possible. A lot of things can cause a kitty to not want to eat and none of them are very good. If a kitty goes too long without food it can damage their liver and possibly become a chronic problem.
Vomiting that won’t stop – This one is pretty self-explanatory. Anytime a kitty can’t stop vomiting or is projectile vomiting it could be because of something serious that needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian.
Frank (bright red) or severe bleeding – If a kitty is vomiting blood or is bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or rectum it should be seen immediately. This doesn’t mean bleeding from overgrooming or scratching – these kitties should be seen soon, but not as an emergency.
Blowout, bloody, or black diarrhea – Severe diarrhea is very dehydrating so even if there is no blood we need to do what we can to rehydrate your kitty and evaluate the possible causes for the diarrhea. Very black diarrhea could indicate internal bleeding which we’d want to evaluate right away.
Any kitten under 6 months of age that isn’t acting/eating/playing normally should be examined quickly. Kittens have a less developed immune system than adult cats and if there is a problem they can fade quickly, so anything we can do to diagnose a problem or provide supportive care is important to do in a timely fashion.
Pyometra – If an intact female has a smelly or discolored discharge coming from her vagina this could indicate a pyometra, or infected uterus, which can become life threatening if not resolved.
Cat in labor – It’s always a good idea to make your veterinarian aware if your cat is in labor. If any cat in labor hasn’t produced a kitten in more than an hour your veterinarian needs to know as this could be severe cause for concern.
It’s possible that if you contact us with an emergency situation we might recommend you go straight to an emergency clinic such as VCA South Paws or the Hope Center. This is never because we don’t want to see your kitty! Since we are not an emergency clinic, we are nott always properly staffed to handle an emergency so occasionally it will be in your kitties’ best interest to go straight to a clinic that is always prepared and ready for any situation.
This list may not be all inclusive but is a great place to start if you’re not sure if a symptom can wait or not. One thing I like to tell people is to imagine that you are the one having the symptom and you couldn’t talk to ask anyone about it. If you couldn’t stop vomiting, were dragging your leg around, or woke up and couldn’t urinate, would you be concerned enough to seek medical attention? Anything that would worry you if it were happening to you should be a concern if it’s happening to your kitty. And of course you should never hesitate to contact us no matter what you’re concern is – we are here for both you and your kitties and will always do anything we can to help!
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