How to Tell if a Cat Is Sick

Your cat can actually tell you a lot about how he's feeling, if you can understand what he's saying. No, there's no secret code to your cat's meows and purrs. But in many ways you might otherwise overlook, your cat is making clear statements about his health. Here's what to look for and what to do:

Behavior. Vets get a lot of the same kinds of phone calls. One of the most common is what the staff at one animal hospital has dubbed a "comedian cat" call. That's when the owner calls and says, "My cat is acting funny..."

If you cat is acting strangely, you need to write down a detailed description for you vet.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
If you cat is acting strangely, you need to
write down a detailed description for you vet.

Many times a cat will "act funny" at home, but he'll be so nervous at the vet's office, he won't do anything; so the more accurate your report, the better your vet can determine what's going on. And since describing your cat's condition as "funny" or "sick" is a little too vague to pin a solid diagnosis on, you need to specifically describe what your cat is doing. A good idea is to write out a detailed description of what you see. (It's not a good idea to take time to do this in a life-threatening emergency, of course.) Try to think of the way you would try to describe to your doctor an ailment or pain you're experiencing. Some descriptions seem easy, such as "My cat is coughing," but might be a little trickier than you think. What you call coughing, another cat owner might call choking. Paint a picture of what you see with words, even imitating the sound, if you can.

Appetite and elimination. As unpleasant as it may seem, keeping a close eye on what goes into and out of your cat's body is a valuable home health care tool. How much food a cat needs will depend a lot on his age, life stage (growth, pregnancy, lactation, or old age, for example), activity, and the type of food he gets. How much he eats is more a function of how much food is available and his health.

Collecting Urine and Stool Samples
One of the best ways to check out what's going on inside a cat is to analyze what comes out of him. Problems as routine as worms or as serious as diabetes and kidney disease can be caught by checking stool or urine samples. A cat can be hospitalized and the animal hospital staff can collect the samples, but it's a lot of stress on the cat, and some cats will just hold it while they're in a strange place. So when a stool or urine sample is called for, it's usually up to you to get it.

Here's an easy trick for collecting either kind of sample. Close your cat in a room with his own litter box. The box should be thoroughly washed first and filled with those plastic foam "peanuts" used for packing. (If those aren't available, you can try cut-up plastic trash bags instead.) Listen for your cat to start scratching in the box and collect samples as quickly as possible. (If a cat urinates and defecates in the box, the urine sample is contaminated and can't be used.)

Collect urine samples in a clean, dry container with a tight-fitting lid. Stool samples can be collected in an ordinary sandwich bag and sealed with a twist-tie. Samples should be taken straight to the vet. If you can't leave immediately, they can be refrigerated for up to three hours.

If you notice your cat isn't eating as much as before, you also need to know the context. For example, does he just seem uninterested in food? Or does he come running as usual for his food but then eats little (if any) of it? In the first case, it would be completely correct to say your cat has no appetite; he isn't hungry. In the second case, he's definitely interested in food; he has an appetite but something is making him feel like he can't eat very much.

It's usually not polite to talk about elimination, and most of us aren't comfortable discussing it in the kind of detail that you need to know to help a sick cat. But it is important in understanding the health of your cat. Are stools well formed, soft, or loose? Is there any trace of blood in urine or feces? Is there mucus in the stool? Even things like color or odor can be important.

Of course, eating and elimination are two sides of the same coin (or two ends of the same digestive system, to be more accurate), so pay attention to how they go together. For example, if your cat has a ravenous appetite but doesn't seem to put on any weight (or actually seems thinner), that should alert you to a possible problem. He could be the feline equivalent of those people we all envy who can eat anything and never gain an ounce -- or there could be something a little more serious going on. Once you've noticed these changes in your cat, take him to the vet to determine the cause of the problem.

Mucous membranes. This is the term for the skin that lines the mouth and nose. It's pretty tough to look up a cat's nose, so that's probably out of the question. You might be able to get your cat to cooperate with looking in his mouth for a second, but the odds are he won't be too pleased. Still, how to open a reluctant cat's mouth is something every cat owner should know.

The best way to check your cat's mouth is to grasp the top of your cat's head with your thumb on one side and your fingers on the other. Tip your cat's head back so his nose points upward. Now, using your other hand, put one finger where the front teeth meet and push down gently with steady pressure on the lower jaw. As your cat's mouth opens, you'll have a few seconds to get a good look inside.

The color of the skin in your cat's mouth and on his gums tell an important story. A healthy cat usually has a tinge of pink. Stark white could be a sign of anemia. A yellowish cast (jaundice) is often a sign of liver trouble. A bluish tint may mean your cat isn't taking in enough oxygen, usually a result of a respiratory problem or poisoning.

If your cat isn't cooperating with having his mouth opened -- or you're squeamish about doing it -- you can also check the color of his gums. Hold his head the same way you would to open his mouth. Gently pull down on the skin covering the lower teeth at the corner of the mouth, using the thumb and forefinger of your other hand.

A word of warning, though. It's not unusual for a cat's gums -- and even the roof of his mouth -- to take on some of his coat color, especially as he gets older. For some reason, orange cats are also prone to developing "freckles" on their lips, gums, and inside their mouths. Black gums on a black cat aren't anything to worry about, but pale, yellowish, or bluish tinged gums on any cat should be reported to your veterinarian right away.

Coat condition. A healthy, well-groomed cat has a soft, clean, slightly lustrous coat. A cat whose fur is dull, dry, oily, or unkempt may not be getting groomed well enough or often enough by his owner, or he may be under the weather.

Even with regular grooming by humans, a cat needs to do some of his own grooming to keep his coat looking good. Cats are usually pretty diligent about their personal hygiene, so a cat who's not keeping up his appearance is likely not being lazy, he doesn't feel good.

On the other hand, a cat who's grooming himself raw is also telling you something. Excessive grooming can be a sign of stress, a skin problem, or a reaction to fleas. Look for "hot spots" -- patches where your cat licks so much that the fur is gone and the skin is red or raw.

Of course, not all hair loss is from grooming. Take note of any bald patches or areas where the hair is thin or sparse. Most of your cat's body should be covered with a coat of hair thick enough to hide the skin underneath. (About the only place where it's normal for the fur to be thinned out is the area between your cat's eyes and ears.) Whatever the case, your vet's advice will help put your cat back on the path to a healthy coat.

Ears. Make it a point to check your cat's ears periodically. Grooming time is a good time to do this. Look for a change in color inside the ears. Just like the gums and inside of the mouth, a yellowish or bluish cast to the skin on the inside of your cat's ears can be a sign of a major health problem; alert your veterinarian right away.

Cats do a pretty good job of keeping their ears clean. Outside of some normal wax, then, you shouldn't see much in your cat's ears other than...well, ear. Any sort of inflammation, raw skin, or crustiness is a tip that something's amiss. Debris in a cat's ear -- it usually looks like dirt or coffee grounds -- is an indication of ear mites, tiny insects that live and breed in the ear canal. Itchiness is another sign of ear mites, but not all cats with ear mites will scratch or rub at their ears -- and not all cats who scratch or rub their ears have ear mites.

Cats who go outdoors need to have their ears inspected from time to time for other reasons. In cold weather, frostbite is a real danger. Those nice, tall, pointy feline ears are made up mostly of skin and cartilage. There isn't a lot of blood flow to the ears. Even being caught outside for an hour when the temperature takes a sudden drop can be enough for the tips of your cat's ears to freeze.

Outdoor (or indoor/outdoor) cats are also more likely to get into scrapes with other cats. The ears are easy targets for scratches and bites during even the mildest of cat fights. A cat's small, sharp teeth can make a puncture wound that seals up immediately, trapping dirt and germs inside, causing infection. The cat may look and act all right when he comes home, but a few days later an abscess -- a tender, swollen area of trapped pus -- may form, and the cat can run a fever. At this point, you'll need to take your cat to the vet.

Your cat's eyes and ears are a prime spot for infections and other problems.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Your cat's eyes and ears are a prime spot for infections and other problems.

Eyes. "The eyes," goes the old saying, "are the windows of the soul." Fortunately for cat owners, the eyes are also a window to how your cat is feeling.
  • A cat's pupils can look like anything from vertical slits, to the classic spindle-shaped "cat's eye," to full dilation -- big black dots that take up all of the colored part of the eye. Certain diseases, including trouble in a cat's nervous system, can cause the pupils to be noticeably different sizes. A cloudy, milky, or filmy look to the pupils might be a sign of cataracts, viral ulcers, or other vision problems.

  • The iris is the colored part of the eye. Cats usually have some variety of green, yellow, or blue eyes. Occasionally, a cat will be "odd-eyed"; each eye is a different color. If you notice changes in your cat's iris or the appearance of splotches of other colors, contact your vet. (Note: It's not unusual for the iris to change with age. Old cats' irises may take on a "Swiss cheese" look, as if they're falling apart -- although they aren't!)

  • The "white" of the eye is officially known as the sclera. Obviously, this should be white (perhaps with some small blood vessels visible). Yellow or "bloodshot" sclera, ulcers or splotches of color, and signs of damage (like scrapes or bruises) are indicators of trouble.

  • Conjunctiva is the pink, fleshy stuff under the eyelids that helps hold the eye in place. You usually don't notice the conjunctiva unless it swells up, in which case it may protrude from under the eyelid, giving the eye a "meaty" appearance.

  • The third eyelid appears when your cat blinks or closes his eyes; this wonderful adaptation moves from the inside corner of the eye to cover the front surface of the eyeball. Again, it's something you rarely notice unless there's a problem. One of the ways cats announce that they don't feel well is when their third eyelids are up -- that is, they've moved partially across the eyeball.
Hydration. A cat who hasn't been eating well may also not be drinking enough to meet all of his needs for water, and he may become dehydrated. To check your cat's hydration, gently grasp the skin between his shoulder blades, pull up slightly, and open your fingers to let go. If the skin snaps back into place immediately, your cat is well hydrated. If not, the odds are the cat is dehydrated and may need to be rehydrated by your veterinarian to prevent serious harm.

Coughing, sneezing, runny nose and eyes. An occasional cough or sneeze -- or even an occasional bout of coughing or sneezing -- is a normal reaction to the millions of unseen irritants in the air. Even good, clean country air has pollen, dust, and other tiny things floating around in it. So if your cat sneezes or coughs now and then, it's probably nothing to worry about.

Of course, cats are notorious for coughing up hairballs -- another natural part of being a cat (especially a longhair cat). Regular grooming can keep down the number and severity of these clumps of swallowed fur (some well-groomed shorthair cats never seem to get them), but periodic coughing or "throat-clearing" sounds are also pretty normal.

Repeated or frequent bouts of sneezing or coughing are usually a sign of a health problem. Sneezing accompanied by a "runny nose" is a definite symptom of illness, as is swelling or discharge from your cat's eyes.

Temperature. Ever notice that a cat is particularly nice to cuddle up to on a chilly night? That's because the average body temperature for a cat is 101.4 degrees Fahrenheit (a good three degrees warmer than ours), although an individual cat's temperature may range between 100 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit and still be considered "normal." Disease -- or prolonged exposure to heat or cold -- can send a cat's temperature above or below the normal range.

Usually, a mild fever is a normal part of a cat's natural disease-fighting system. But extremely high or persistent fever can do serious -- or even fatal -- damage, and calls for professional help.

Now that we have preliminaries out of the way, let's get into some actual home remedies for your cat. We'll begin in the next section with some tips for curing a cat with a cough.

Taking Your Cat's Temperature
You can't really rely on touching your cat to tell if he's running a fever, and you can't get him to hold a thermometer under his tongue. However, there are other options for taking a cat's temperature: under the armpit and in the ear canal. The first of these isn't very reliable, and the second requires an expensive electronic ear thermometer. Unfortunately, the most accurate and reliable way to take your cat's temperature is the way he's going to like least -- rectally.

Obviously, a rectal thermometer is the equipment called for here. Shake the thermometer down below 99 degrees Fahrenheit, and lubricate the end with petroleum jelly or vegetable oil. With his feet firmly planted on a secure surface, tuck your cat under one arm with his tail pointed outward and his nose back by your elbow. With the hand of that same arm, hold the cat's tail up, and gently insert the thermometer in the anus with the other hand (you may have to bear down slightly at first). Slowly insert the thermometer about one inch, and keep it there for up to three minutes, if possible. Gently remove the thermometer, wipe off the glass, and read the temperature.