Cat health check: noticing changes at home

Build a picture of normal

Watch your cat during ordinary routines: eating, grooming, stretching, jumping, resting and using the litter tray. Note usual food and water intake, stool and urine patterns, sociability and favourite resting places. Gradual change is easier to spot when there is a baseline.

Choose a relaxed moment for touch. Stop when the cat moves away, flicks the tail sharply, flattens the ears, growls or guards an area. A photo, weight log or video of altered movement can be more useful than forced examination.

Body condition and muscle

Feel gently over the ribs and look for a waist behind them. A loose primordial pouch beneath the abdomen is normal and should not be confused with body fat. Check muscle over the spine, shoulders and hips as well as weight; muscle loss can be masked by fat or long fur.

Unexpected loss or gain deserves veterinary discussion. Never crash-diet a cat: prolonged inadequate intake can be dangerous, particularly in an overweight cat.

Coat, skin, claws and lumps

• Look for matted or greasy coat, dandruff, bald areas, redness, parasites, wounds or overgroomed patches.
• Check claws when the cat accepts it, particularly dewclaws that can overgrow.
• Record the position and approximate size of lumps; touching or photographing one cannot diagnose it.
• Notice reduced grooming or difficulty reaching part of the body.

Mouth, eyes and ears

Without forcing the mouth, notice changed breath, drooling, red gums, visible broken teeth, pawing at the face, chewing on one side or dropping food. Dental pain can be present even when a cat continues to eat.

Compare eyes and ears. Squinting, cloudiness, discharge, a visible third eyelid, swelling, head shaking, odour or sensitivity warrants advice. Do not use leftover drops or put objects into the ear canal.

Movement and behaviour

Cats may show pain through smaller jumps, hesitation, stiffness after rest, altered posture, hiding, irritability or sleeping in a different place. Because cats adapt their routes, moving furniture or adding a step can reveal or reduce difficulty. Environmental adjustments should accompany assessment, not replace it.

A new loss of interest in play, change in voice, confusion, house-soiling or intolerance of touch is health information, even when there is no obvious wound.

Food, water and the litter tray

Track appetite, swallowing, vomiting, thirst and meal pace. In the tray, note urine-clump size and number, stool, straining, repeated visits or toileting elsewhere. These patterns can change for medical or environmental reasons; observation does not establish which.

A cat that is straining and producing little or no urine needs urgent veterinary attention, especially a male cat. A cat that stops eating also needs prompt advice rather than a prolonged wait-and-see approach.

When to contact a vet

Seek urgent help for breathing difficulty or open-mouth breathing, collapse, inability to urinate, major trauma, severe pain, poisoning, repeated seizures or sudden inability to use the legs. Call the practice first when possible.

For less dramatic changes, note timing, frequency and associated signs. Discuss with your vet. Cats can conceal illness, so the fact that a change seems subtle does not make it unimportant.