Advice on Sick Cat
The chances are your cat will need treatment some time during its lifetime. There will be minor ailments which you can treat at home, but more serious conditions should be referred to the vet. It is your responsibility to learn to distinguish one from the other and to act accordingly.
Familiarize yourself with the causes, symptoms, mode of transmission and treatment of the various cat diseases, as wells the symptoms of injuries and first aid measures required. That is not to say that you should learn the technical terms, master the veterinary pharmacopoeia or become an expert diagnostician, all of which are requirement of the veterinary surgeon.
But you should have a working knowledge of the various cat diseases and injuries and be able to judge whether your cat should be taken to the vet. You should also be able to describe the cat’s condition intelligently especially important when you talk to the vet by telephone.
Another important reason for familiarizing yourself with cat diseases and injuries is that, in many cases, you will have to nurse the cat back to health. This will involve reporting symptoms and progress to the veterinary surgeon and you will be in a better position to make intelligent reports if you are well-informed. You will also better understand the vet’s objectives and be better able to follow his instructions.
Resist the temptation to doctor your cat when it is seriously ill or injured. As already stated, you should learn what conditions you can safely treat and do not attempt to go beyond them. When in doubt as of the severity of a disease or injury, or when a seemingly minor condition persists, always take the cat to the vet. Don’t risk your cat’s life by trying to do more than you are trained to do.