001. In General
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This article is from the Basic Health Care FAQ, posted to rec.pets.cats newsgroup. Maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.
001. In General
Your cat can't tell you how it's feeling so you must familiarize yourself with its normal behavior. A healthy cat maintains normal body weight, level of activity, and social behavior. A significant change in any of these is a warning sign.
Getting regular, accurate weights can detect problems early. You can weigh yourself on a bathroom scale with (holding) and without the cat and subtract. This is accurate only to about two pounds on most bathroom scales. For better accuracy, modify a kitchen scale by mounting a bigger platform on it. Train your cat to get on the platform by placing a Pounce or similar treat on it. Any sudden weight change, especially loss, probably means your cat is feeling sick.
Medicines for humans are often used for cats, both prescription and non-prescription drugs (phenobarbitol, lasix, amoxicillin, cold medications, etc.). When you hear that you should never give human medicines to cats, it means that you should not give them without first consulting your vet. Certain very common human drugs like aspirin and especially tylenol (acetominophen) are deadly to cats, so don't give them any kind of medication unless recommended by the vet (note that aspirin can be given in very small doses, but you need to check correct dosage and frequency of administration).
A final cautionary note about this section. This is not meant to be a complete treatise on these various diseases. It is intended to familiarize you with the various major diseases your cat can develop. If your cat has any of these diseases, you should be in close contact with your vet, who will provide you with all the information you need
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