Pet Symptoms You Should Not Overlook
You love your pet, right? Of course you do. You’ll do everything you can to make sure your little guy lives the longest, happiest, healthiest life possible. Responsible pet owners know they need to pay close attention to their little friends. Behavioral changes that seem minor can sometimes be warning signs for illnesses that require a veterinarian’s attention. No symptoms can be safely overlooked, but some present more potential danger than others. Below are a few symptoms that should sound off alarms and send up red flags. If your pet is experiencing these symptoms, it might be time for a visit to the veterinarian’s office.
• Vomiting and diarrhea: Even responsible pet owners overlook this occasionally because it is such a common occurrence in dogs and cats. These symptoms can represent a wide range of ailments including cancer, colitis, intestinal parasites, liver disease, digestive disorders, gastric ulcers and more.
• Itching and scratching: These symptoms are easy to disregard because our pets do it so often. No need to panic every time kitty cat scratches herself, but if it becomes excessive, she may be suffering from a skin disease or infection. Excessive scratching usually means that your little one is extremely uncomfortable.
• Blood in stool or urine: Waste no time in getting to your veterinarian if this symptom rears its ugly head. Bloody urine is an early warning sign of kidney or bladder stones. Bloody stools are a symptom of intestinal cancer or infection in the digestive tract.
• Wheezing: Your pet might be telling you something very important if it is having a hard time breathing. Respiratory distress in female dogs might be the manifestation of breast cancer. In other pets, wheezing can be a symptom of heart or lung disease, heart failure, tumors and more.
• Coughing: Waste no time in getting to the vet. Lung tumors, pneumonia, bronchitis, heartworm and heart failure are a few of the illnesses that reveal themselves through an animal’s cough.
• Tiredness: This is less of a concern in older pets since they tend to slow down with age, but if you notice that your little friend is more lethargic than normal, it could mean anything from cancer to heart or blood disease and immune system disorders.
• Excessive thirst: As in humans, excessive thirst is a symptom associated with Diabetes. Kidney failure and liver disease are other possible causes.
Pets can’t talk, so it is the pet owner’s responsibility to be vigilant. Some of these symptoms pose little risk to your fuzzies, but safe is always better than sorry. Pay attention to the cues your pet gives you to ensure they have the happiest, healthiest life possible.
Guest post by Leah Gallin of Medical Assistant Schools where you can find information about medical assistant certification.
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