Know your pet

No doubt that you love your pet and you wish to provide the best care for your companion. We generally treat our pets as members of the family – we remember their birthdays, we spoil them from time to time and we let them have the best seat in the living room. But love alone is not enough to ensure the well being of your pet and you need to know much more about him/her than just his/her favorite brand of treats.

Knowing and understanding your four-legged friend is crucial because, in order to recognize the pathological, you need to be much familiarized with the normal. But what is normal? To some extent, normal means “within generally accepted parameters”. For example, a dog’s temperature is considered normal while ranging between 38 and 39.2° C (100.4 to 102.5° F). Anything outside that interval is considered to be abnormal and a sign of some health problems.

But what about things that are not measurable? Like behavior, the amount of food eaten and so on. This is where your knowledge and observation set the norm. You should be able to recognize changes in different cases, based on your knowledge of how that particular case or situation usually (normally) is. Here are a few examples:

Behavior: If you have a “lazy” cat, sleeping on the couch all day, you can consider that to be part of daily routine. But the same type of behavior may become cause for concern when your pet is alert and playful by nature.

Food/water consumption: Generally dogs are not fussy eaters compared to cats. Our feline friends may look with obvious despise onto a tuna dinner, or countless brands of kibbles or whatever else you may try to feed them. Knowing your pet’s eating habits (what? how often? how much?) can tell you if, at some point, something changes. A picky cat can be picky, but a cat that won’t eat anything may be suffering from more than just diet moodiness.

Food is important, but water is even more so. Your pet may dislike your choice for his/her dinner that day but drinking water is paramount. You should notice when your dog or cat is drinking too little or too much water, especially if there is no apparent reason for that change. This may be very helpful information for your veterinarian.

Excessive grooming: I am not aware of any statistics telling you exactly how many times a day should your pet be grooming. But too little or too much time spent on fur cleaning is usually a sign there’s something wrong. When an animal is in pain, for example, grooming is the last problem on the “to do list”. On the other hand, parasites like fleas or mange can drive your pet into constant scratching, licking and biting at the fur coat.

Some things about your pet can be a bit more complicated than just making sure he/she is eating properly. There are things that you will need to remember correctly, like names of drugs your pet is allergic to or past health problems. This is why having a “pet log book” can be very helpful. You can write down anything significant, like the examples mentioned above or things that you may need to refer to at some point in the future: your veterinarian’s recommendations, situations in which your pet may become aggressive, brands of pet products and many more.

At this point one could argue that it is impossible to monitor your pet all the time and therefore it is impossible to know everything about your cat or dog. Indeed, that is very true, but knowing your pet doesn’t require knowing everything. You should only be able to provide the information and details that matter. To make things a bit more clear here is a list of questions the veterinarian may have for you during a health check of your pet. Try answering the questions to the best of your knowledge.

How long have you owned your pet?

Where did you get your dog from? (shelter, breeder, previous stray)

What other pets do you have?

What is the age of your cat/dog?

Has your pet experienced any previous illnesses?

Is your pet currently under any type of treatment?

Are there any other pets ill?

Has your pet been vaccinated? When? What vaccine?

Have there been any recent pet acquisitions?

Is the majority of your pet’s time spent indoors or outdoors?

Have there been any recent changes in diet or eating habits?

What brand of food, how much and how frequently does your pet eat?

What type of table scraps are offered and how frequently?

What type of treats are offered and how frequently?

Have there been any recent changes in water consumption?

Have you noticed any coughing or sneezing?

Is your pet urinating normally?

Have you noticed any recent weight loss or weight gain?

When was the last meal your pet had?

Have you noticed any behavior changes?

Does your pet have any known allergies?

All of this may sound complicated and challenging, especially for first time pet owners. Rest assured that, like with most things in life, time and love can sort things out. Given the right amount of time and a big amount of caring you will be able to “read” your pet and know whether he/she is feeling happy or sad, healthy or sick.

Please keep in mind that whenever you feel in doubt, whenever you have questions about any aspects concerning your pet, the one and only person to ask is your veterinarian. It is in the best interest of your pet not to rely on friends’ advice, or answers on forums and so on. To keep your cat or dog safe and well treated remember one simple rule: don’t ask around, ask a vet.